Florida’s ‘Holiday Money Hunt’ begins with nearly $3 billion at stake
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis launched the “Holiday Money Hunt” as a way for Floridians to find out if they have unclaimed property that has been unknown or lost and to receive their money back.
“I am excited to kick off the Holiday Money Hunt this holiday season and spread the word about unclaimed property in Florida,” Patronis said.
The initiative is to help Floridians find out if they or their business has unclaimed property that is ready to recover by searching on the website.
“During the holidays, everyone can use a little extra cash, and an unexpected check from the State of Florida may help make things a little brighter this year,” Patronis said.
According to Patronis, Florida has unclaimed property accounts with a total value of $2.9 billion and one in five Floridians have unclaimed property “just waiting to be claimed.”
Unclaimed property is a financial asset that is unknown, lost, left inactive, unclaimed or abandoned by its owner.
According to Patronis’ office, 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. They are held by business or government entities for typically a period of 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.
“I am going to be working throughout this month and next to get the word out about Unclaimed Property and I hope you take advantage of this great opportunity,” Patronis said.
Patronis encouraged Floridians to spread the word about the initiative by using the hashtag #FLHolidayMoneyHunt on social media throughout the months of November and December.
Unclaimed property available by Florida regions include:
- Pensacola – $66 million available
- Panama City – $37 million available
- Tallahassee – $47 million available
- Jacksonville – $193 million available
- Gainesville – $36 million available
- Orlando – $465 million available
- Tampa/St. Pete – $610 million available
- Fort Myers/Naples – $161 million available
- West Palm Beach – $344 million available
- Miami – $1 billion available
Since Patronis took office in 2017, more than $2.2 billion in unclaimed property has been returned to Florida citizens, according to his office.
