This week, state Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced that his Florida Division of Unclaimed Property returned more than $25 million to Florida’s residents and businesses in the month of April.
This fiscal year, the CFO has returned $292.4 million on more than 456,000 approved claims. Since taking office in July 2017, Patronis has recovered and returned more than $936 million to Floridians.
“I am extremely proud of the hard work that the Division of Unclaimed Property is putting in during these challenging times,” Patronis said. “In March, we had the second-highest month in returns in the program’s history, and with April’s figures in, we are on track to soon return $1 billion to the pockets of Floridians since I took office as your CFO. As COVID-19 continues to impact our communities, this money is critical to helping Florida’s economy and small businesses. I encourage all Floridians to search now for unclaimed property at FLTreasureHunt.gov.”
Unclaimed Property is a financial asset that is unknown or lost, or has been left inactive, unclaimed or abandoned by its owner. The most common types of unclaimed property are dormant bank accounts, unclaimed insurance proceeds, stocks, dividends, uncashed checks, deposits, credit balances and refunds. Unclaimed property also includes contents from abandoned safe deposit boxes in financial institutions. Unclaimed property assets are held by business or government entities (holders) for a set period of time, usually five years. If the holder is unable to locate, re-establish contact with the owner and return the asset, it is reported and remitted to the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Unclaimed Property.
To search for unclaimed property or to claim an account, go online to FLTreasureHunt.gov.
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