Somewhere out there, there could be money with your name on it.
It could be a little money, or it could be a lot. In some cases, the total could be tens of thousands of dollars. It comes from many sources: Abandoned bank accounts and checks mailed that are never cashed. Unexpected dividends on stocks. Utility deposits forgotten in the haste and hassle of an interstate move. Refunds generated from doctors’ offices after insurance checks clear.
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Florida’s unclaimed property fund holds an estimated $2.7 billion in money that’s gone astray, some of it from accounts that are a decade or more old. It’s estimated that about 20% of Floridians (or former Floridians) have at least one account that’s been handed over to the state. In a perfect world, the entities holding this money would be on the hook for returning it to its rightful owners, but it’s not always easy to figure out how to do that; Florida’s law requires businesses, financial institutions and governmental agencies to perform “due diligence” to find owners but again, it’s not always easy to do that; a substantial number of the people named in the state database are probably deceased. (That money can still be claimed by their qualified heirs).
Claiming money isn’t difficult. Floridians, former Florida residents and potential heirs of people who lived in Florida can visit www.fltreasurehunt.gov to initiate a search. If property shows up, the website walks people through the process of filing a claim, which usually involves establishing your identity and valid claim to the funding. For a national search try another trustworthy site, MissingMoney.com (run by the the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators) which redirects people to state websites.
In a few weeks — maybe a month or two — a check shows up. Just be sure to cash it this time.
We could do better
There are a few things Florida could improve in its handling of unclaimed property, and the first starts with notice.
Under state law, money is always coming into the fund, but it trickles out more slowly. In April, the Florida Department of Financial Services announced a “record” total payout of more than $92 million in March, but that’s obviously just a fraction of the account total at any given time. One of the biggest barriers is simple ignorance: Floridians don’t realize they are owed money, so they never look.
We suspect the state — which has updated address information through driver licensing and voter registration data, could do a better job of finding the owners of this misplaced money. One possibility: Install self-serve kiosks in driver’s license offices, libraries and other government buildings that would prompt Floridians to check out the database in an atmosphere of trust.
Private businesses are already starting to take up the slack here. But they often charge a percentage of the amount owed, which is pure profit for them — there’s no good reason for Floridians to use these services.
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The state should also consider expanding the definition of “unclaimed property.” We see at least three areas where more could be done.
The first: Unused gift cards and certificates. Florida has done away with expiration dates on many types of gift certificates, but most of them aren’t considered unclaimed property. It isn’t always easy to prove ownership of a gift card, but in cases where it is, there should be a process for reclaiming those funds. Current estimates of the value of lost or misplaced gift cards in $1.7 billion to the unclaimed property pool in Florida.
The second: Uncashed payroll checks. Technically, these fit under the definition of unclaimed property, but they are usually not treated that way — even when there’s no dispute between the employer and employee over the amount owed. They should be.
The third: Unemployment benefits that were legitimately owed, but never paid — including unemployment checks that were issued but not cashed. The state has sent reports of some of these checks to the unclaimed property office, many of them dated from the COVID-19 era, which sent Florida’s unemployment system into meltdown. The state made an effort to reclaim payments that were sent in error, but there’s been no comprehensive audit and reconciliation for people who should have received benefits but did not, or for those whose payments went astray.
Florida’s doing OK when it comes to reuniting its residents with money that belongs to them, but it could do better. That’s something lawmakers should explore. For now, however, every Floridian should be checking that database regularly — and telling their family and friends to log in as well.
The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Use [email protected] to contact us.
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