Florida Statutes Title XL Chapter 717 - Disposition Of Unclaimed Property

• 717.001 - Short Title.
  This chapter may be cited as the “Florida Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act.”History.—s. 1, ch. 87-105.
• 717.101 - Definitions.
  As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Aggregate” means the amounts reported for owners of unclaimed property of less than $50 or where...
• 717.102 - Property Presumed Unclaimed; General Rule.
  (1) All intangible property, including any income or increment thereon less any lawful charges, that is held, issued, or owing in the ordinary course of the...
• 717.103 - General Rules For Taking Custody Of Intangible Unclaimed Property.
  Unless otherwise provided in this chapter or by other statute of this state, intangible property is subject to the custody of the department as unclaimed...
• 717.1035 - Property Originated Or Issued By This State, Any Political Subdivision Of This State, Or Any Entity Incorporated, Organized, Created, Or Otherwise Located In The State.
  (1) All intangible property, including, but not limited to, any interest, dividend, or other earnings thereon, less any lawful charges, held by a business association, federal,...
• 717.104 - Traveler’s Checks And Money Orders.
  (1) Subject to subsection (4), any sum payable on a traveler’s check that has been outstanding for more than 15 years after its issuance is presumed...
• 717.1045 - Gift Certificates And Similar Credit Items.
  Notwithstanding s. 717.117, an unredeemed gift certificate or credit memo as defined in s. 501.95 is not required to be reported as unclaimed property.(1) The consideration...
• 717.105 - Checks, Drafts, And Similar Instruments Issued Or Certified By Banking And Financial Organizations.
  (1) Any sum payable on a check, draft, or similar instrument, except those subject to ss. 717.104 and 717.115, on which a banking or financial organization...
• 717.106 - Bank Deposits And Funds In Financial Organizations.
  (1) Any demand, savings, or matured time deposit with a banking or financial organization, including deposits that are automatically renewable, and any funds paid toward the...
• 717.107 - Funds Owing Under Life Insurance Policies.
  (1) Funds held or owing under any life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract which has matured or terminated are presumed unclaimed if unclaimed for...
• 717.1071 - Lost Owners Of Unclaimed Demutualization, Rehabilitation, Or Related Reorganization Proceeds.
  (1) Property distributable in the course of a demutualization, rehabilitation, or related reorganization of an insurance company is deemed abandoned 2 years after the date the...
• 717.108 - Deposits Held By Utilities.
  Any deposit, including any interest thereon, made by a subscriber with a utility to secure payment or any sum paid in advance for utility services...
• 717.109 - Refunds Held By Business Associations.
  Except as otherwise provided by law, any sum that a business association has been ordered to refund by a court or administrative agency which has...
• 717.1101 - Unclaimed Equity And Debt Of Business Associations.
  (1)(a) Stock or other equity interest in a business association is presumed unclaimed 3 years after the earliest of:1. The date of the most recent dividend, stock...
• 717.111 - Property Of Business Associations Held In Course Of Dissolution.
  All intangible property distributable in the course of a voluntary or involuntary dissolution of a business association which is not claimed by the owner for...
• 717.112 - Property Held By Agents And Fiduciaries.
  (1) Except as provided in ss. 717.1125 and 733.816, all intangible property and any income or increment thereon held in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit...
• 717.1125 - Property Held By Fiduciaries Under Trust Instruments.
  All intangible property and any income or increment thereon held in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit of another person under a trust instrument is...
• 717.113 - Property Held By Courts And Public Agencies.
  All intangible property held for the owner by any court, government or governmental subdivision or agency, public corporation, or public authority that has not been...
• 717.115 - Wages.
  Unpaid wages, including wages represented by unpresented payroll checks, owing in the ordinary course of the holder’s business that have not been claimed by the...
• 717.116 - Contents Of Safe-deposit Box Or Other Safekeeping Repository.
  All tangible and intangible property held by a banking or financial organization in a safe-deposit box or any other safekeeping repository in this state in...
• 717.117 - Report Of Unclaimed Property.
  (1) Every person holding funds or other property, tangible or intangible, presumed unclaimed and subject to custody as unclaimed property under this chapter shall report to...
• 717.118 - Notification Of Apparent Owners Of Unclaimed Property.
  (1) It is specifically recognized that the state has an obligation to make an effort to notify owners of unclaimed property in a cost-effective manner. In...
• 717.119 - Payment Or Delivery Of Unclaimed Property.
  (1) Every person who is required to file a report under s. 717.117 shall simultaneously pay or deliver to the department all unclaimed property required to...
• 717.1201 - Custody By State; Holder Relieved From Liability; Reimbursement Of Holder Paying Claim; Reclaiming For Owner; Defense Of Holder; Payment Of Safe-deposit Box Or Repository Charges.
  (1) Upon the payment or delivery of property to the department, the state assumes custody and responsibility for the safekeeping of property. Any person who pays...
• 717.121 - Crediting Of Dividends, Interest, Or Increments To Owner’s Account.
  Whenever property other than money is paid or delivered to the department under this chapter, the owner is entitled to receive from the department any...
• 717.122 - Public Sale Of Unclaimed Property.
  (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2)(a), the department after the receipt of unclaimed property shall sell it to the highest bidder at public sale on...
• 717.123 - Deposit Of Funds.
  (1) All funds received under this chapter, including the proceeds from the sale of unclaimed property under s. 717.122, shall forthwith be deposited by the department...
• 717.124 - Unclaimed Property Claims.
  (1) Any person, excluding another state, claiming an interest in any property paid or delivered to the department under this chapter may file with the department...
• 717.12403 - Unclaimed Demand, Savings, Or Checking Account In A Financial Institution Held In The Name Of More Than One Person.
  (1)(a) If an unclaimed demand, savings, or checking account in a financial institution is reported as an “and” account in the name of two or more...
• 717.12404 - Claims On Behalf Of A Business Entity Or Trust.
  (1)(a) Claims on behalf of an active or dissolved corporation, for which the last annual report is not available from the Department of State through the...
• 717.12405 - Claims By Estates.
  An estate or any person representing an estate or acting on behalf of an estate may claim unclaimed property only after the heir or legatee...
• 717.12406 - Joint Ownership Of Unclaimed Securities Or Dividends.
  For the purpose of determining joint ownership of unclaimed securities or dividends, the term:(1) “TEN COM” means tenants in common.(2) “TEN ENT” means tenants by the entireties.(3) “JT...
• 717.1241 - Conflicting Claims.
  (1) When conflicting claims have been received by the department for the same unclaimed property account or accounts, the property shall be remitted in accordance with...
• 717.1242 - Restatement Of Jurisdiction Of The Circuit Court Sitting In Probate And The Department.
  (1) It is and has been the intent of the Legislature that, pursuant to s. 26.012(2)(b), circuit courts have jurisdiction of proceedings relating to the settlement...
• 717.1243 - Small Estate Accounts.
  (1) A claim for unclaimed property made by a beneficiary, as defined in s. 731.201, of a deceased owner need not be accompanied by an order...
• 717.1244 - Determinations Of Unclaimed Property Claims.
  In rendering a determination regarding the merits of an unclaimed property claim, the department shall rely on the applicable statutory, regulatory, common, and case law....
• 717.1245 - Garnishment Of Unclaimed Property.
  If any person files a petition for writ of garnishment seeking to obtain property paid or delivered to the department under this chapter, the petitioner...
• 717.125 - Claim Of Another State To Recover Property; Procedure.
  (1) At any time after property has been paid or delivered to the department under this chapter, another state may recover the property if:(a) The property was...
• 717.126 - Administrative Hearing; Burden Of Proof; Proof Of Entitlement; Venue.
  (1) Any person aggrieved by a decision of the department may petition for a hearing as provided in ss. 120.569 and 120.57. In any proceeding for...
• 717.1261 - Death Certificates.
  Any person who claims entitlement to unclaimed property by means of the death of one or more persons shall file a copy of the death...
• 717.1262 - Court Documents.
  Any person who claims entitlement to unclaimed property by reason of a court document shall file a certified copy of the court document with the...
• 717.127 - Election To Take Payment Or Delivery.
  The department may decline to receive any property reported under this chapter that the department considers to have a value less than the expense of...
• 717.128 - Destruction Or Disposition Of Property Having Insubstantial Commercial Value; Immunity From Liability.
  If the department after investigation finds that any property delivered under this chapter has insubstantial commercial value, the department may destroy or otherwise dispose of...
• 717.129 - Periods Of Limitation.
  (1) The expiration before or after July 1, 1987, of any period of time specified by contract, statute, or court order, during which a claim for...
• 717.1301 - Investigations; Examinations; Subpoenas.
  (1) The department may make investigations and examinations within or outside this state of claims, reports, and other records as it deems necessary to administer and...
• 717.1311 - Retention Of Records.
  (1) Every holder required to file a report under s. 717.117 shall maintain a record of the specific type of property, amount, name, and last known...
• 717.1315 - Retention Of Records By Claimant’s Representatives And Buyers Of Unclaimed Property.
  (1) Every claimant’s representative and buyer of unclaimed property shall keep and use in his or her business such books, accounts, and records of the business...
• 717.132 - Enforcement; Cease And Desist Orders; Fines.
  (1) The department may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce or administer any provision of this chapter, any rule or order...
• 717.1322 - Administrative And Civil Enforcement.
  (1) The following acts are violations of this chapter and constitute grounds for an administrative enforcement action by the department in accordance with the requirements of...
• 717.1323 - Prohibited Practice.
  No person may knowingly enter false information onto the Internet website of the Bureau of Unclaimed Property.History.—s. 19, ch. 2005-163.
• 717.133 - Interstate Agreements And Cooperation; Joint And Reciprocal Actions With Other States.
  (1) The department may enter into agreements with other states to exchange information needed to enable this or another state to audit or otherwise determine unclaimed...
• 717.1331 - Actions Against Holders.
  The department may initiate, or cause to be initiated, an action against a holder to enforce a subpoena or recover unclaimed property. If the department...
• 717.1333 - Evidence; Estimations; Audit Reports, Examiner’s Worksheets, Investigative Reports, Other Related Documents.
  (1) In any proceeding involving a holder under ss. 120.569 and 120.57 in which an auditor, examiner, or investigator acting under authority of this chapter is...
• 717.134 - Penalties And Interest.
  (1) The department may impose and collect a penalty of $500 per day up to a maximum of $5,000 and 25 percent of the value of...
• 717.1341 - Invalid Claims, Recovery Of Property, Interest And Penalties.
  (1)(a) No person shall receive unclaimed property that the person is not entitled to receive. Any person who receives, or assists another person to receive, unclaimed...
• 717.135 - Power Of Attorney To Recover Reported Property In The Custody Of The Department.
  (1) A power of attorney executed by a claimant to a claimant’s representative for compensation to recover or assist in the recovery of property reported to...
• 717.1351 - Acquisition Of Unclaimed Property.
  (1) A person desiring to acquire ownership of or entitlement to property reported to the department under s. 717.117 must be an attorney licensed to practice...
• 717.1355 - Theme Park And Entertainment Complex Tickets.
  This chapter does not apply to any tickets for admission to a theme park or entertainment complex as defined in s. 509.013(9), or to any...
• 717.136 - Foreign Transactions.
  This chapter does not apply to any property held, due, and owing in a foreign country and arising out of foreign transaction.History.—s. 37, ch. 87-105.
• 717.138 - Rulemaking Authority.
  The department shall administer and provide for the enforcement of this chapter. The department has authority to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54...
• 717.1381 - Void Unclaimed Property Powers Of Attorney And Purchase Agreements.
  (1) Protecting the interests of owners of unclaimed property is declared to be the public policy of this state. It is in the best interests of...
• 717.1382 - United States Savings Bond; Unclaimed Property; Escheatment; Procedure.
  (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a United States savings bond in possession of the department or registered to a person with a last known...
• 717.1383 - United States Savings Bond; Claim For Bond.
  A person claiming a United States savings bond escheated to the state under s. 717.1382, or for the proceeds from such bond, may file a...
• 717.139 - Uniformity Of Application And Construction.
  This chapter shall be applied and construed as to effectuate its general purpose of protecting the interest of missing owners of property, while providing that...
• 717.1400 - Registration.
  (1) In order to file claims as a claimant’s representative, acquire ownership of or entitlement to unclaimed property, receive a distribution of fees and costs from...
• 717.1401 - Repeal.
  This chapter shall not repeal, but shall be additional and supplemental to the existing provisions of ss. 43.18, 43.19, and 402.17 and chapter 716.History.—s. 41,...

Last modified: September 23, 2016