FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Think of it as a treasure hunt, but one that you can do from your cell phone or computer screen. And one that can give your bank account a boost this holiday season.
The state of Florida is holding more than $2 billion in unclaimed property waiting for rightful owners to come forward and take what belongs to them. Of that, more than $835 million is right here in South Florida, the state’s CFO Jimmy Patronis says.
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To be precise, there’s $503,124,576 sitting unclaimed in Miami-Dade County, $319,252,342 in Broward and $13,230,797 in Monroe.
This unclaimed property can be the result of bank accounts left dormant, unclaimed insurance proceeds, stocks, refunds, or even abandoned safe deposit boxes.
So, how do you check to see if any of this money belongs to you?
Head over to fltreasurehunt.gov and plug in your info to search.
One in five Floridians has unclaimed funds from a forgotten financial account, the state says, and it’s free to claim it.
“Currently, the Miami area holds more than $835 million in unclaimed property and now is the perfect time to search to see if you or your business has unclaimed property in Florida,” Patronis said in a news release. “With the holiday season being an expensive time of year, we could all use a little extra spending money. This year has been a very difficult year for most, and my goal in doing this is to spread a little holiday cheer by helping Floridians find cash they didn’t know they had.”
Patronis says that since he took office in 2017, the state has returned more than $1 billion of this money to residents.
About $323 million was paid out last year.