New site replaces Florida Treasure Chest
Might there be some cash that’s yours, that never got to you?
The state of Florida is holding it … and they want to give it to you.
The state has launched, and formally introduced last week, Claim Your Cash Florida, a holding for unclaimed property that was formally called Florida Treasure Chest.
According to Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia’s office, more than $3 billion in abandoned property is currently held in about 4.6 million records by the State of Florida— which is waiting for residents to claim it. In most cases, it’s smaller amounts like utility or apartment deposits, insurance or investment dividends, mortgage escrow overages, or even last paychecks that didn’t make it to their owners because of a lack of a forwarding address or some other issue.
In those cases, Florida law requires abandoned property to be reported to the State, where it is held until it can be returned through a program like Claim Your Cash Florida.
The state has had a longstanding abandoned property program, administered by the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Unclaimed Property. It’s just been rebranded, with a new website: ClaimYourCashFL.gov.
(Editor’s note: DO IT! I had a $52 escrow payment being held. That’s a dinner date with the wife that can be passed on to a small business like a restaurant.)
The state says as many as 1 in 5 Floridians have such abandoned funds that somehow lost their connection to their rightful owner. Even businesses may have amounts waiting for them—even large ones. Ingoglia presented a check for $41,716 in abandoned property to the University of Central Florida at last week’s announcement; the school said it would contribute the money to its Student Emergency Fund.
“Floridians work too hard for their money to have any of it left behind,” Ingoglia said. “We’re launching Claim Your Cash Florida with one goal: get more money back into the hands of its rightful owners.”
