WELCOME TO THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT

OF FINANCIAL SERVICES, BUREAU OF

UNCLAIMED PROPERTY

CLERKS OF COURT WORKSHOP

Chapter 717, Florida Statutes

Disposition of Unclaimed Property

What is Unclaimed Property?

Unclaimed property is intangible property to which the owner has not, during a certain length of time specified by law, taken some action to indicate their ownership, interest or awareness.

UP Laws generally do not apply to real property (i.e. land and things affixed to land).

Purpose/Benefits of Unclaimed Property Law• Consumer protection: the Chief Financial

Officer (CFO) stands in the shoes of the rightful owner to protect the owner’s right to recover his property.

• The CFO takes custody of the property, depositing it in the State Treasury for the use of the State School Fund as provided by law.

Purpose/Benefits of Unclaimed Property Law• The Bureau of Unclaimed Property

(Bureau) load the funds and owner information to the searchable Unclaimed Property Management Information System (UPMIS) database so owners can locate and claim their property.

• No time limit for most claims• The Bureau maintains the accounts

indefinitely.

Purpose/Benefits of Unclaimed Property Law

• The liability is transferred to the state• The obligation is removed from the

company’s books and records forever

• The holder is indemnified• The State School Fund has use of the

funds for the benefit of the citizens of the state.

How the Unclaimed Property Law Applies to Unclaimed Funds Held by

the Clerks of Court

43.19 Money Paid Into the Court; Unclaimed Funds.

Directs the Clerks to withdraw funds from the registry

The case has to be adjudicated or not be in dispute – thus owner should be determined

Deposited for 5 years or more and unclaimed by the person, firm, or company entitled to it

Judge directs on or before December 1of each year to deposit such funds with the CFO

Under Chapter 717, reporting deadline is April 30

Current Issues with Clerk UP Reports

Incorrect Report Format

Owner Full Name and Last Known Address Not Reported

Incorrect Property Type Codes

Remitting Multiple Reports/Checks

Responsibilities of the Clerk of Courts

Identify potential unclaimed property

Perform notice/due diligence

Prepare the unclaimed property NAUPA report

File the report and remit the funds

Keep adequate supporting records

Identify Potential Unclaimed Property

Review the Registry for properties deposited for 5 years or more and unclaimed by the person, firm, or company entitled to it as defined under 43.19

Identify any other liability that meets the unclaimed property definition under Chapter 717.113 F.S.

Determine the owner of the property

Notice/Due Diligence

The court should notify owners to give them the opportunity to exercise their rights prior to sending property to the State.

NOTE: the form of notice may be prescribed by statute or rule.

Prepare the Unclaimed Property NAUPA Report

What is NAUPA File Format? Required for the Electronic Report Format

filling Not Required for the Manual Format filing

Third party softwares such as “UPExchange” and “HRS Pro” could be used to prepare the NAUPA file. You could access these software at:

http://www.naupa.org/reporting/

File the Report and Remit the Funds

Register to file your unclaimed property online

Go to our website at www.fltreasurehunt.org. Click on the Report & Remit Unclaimed Property link and then the Online Filing tab to register.

You must have your UPID and your Tax ID

(FEID) associated with the UPID in our system

File the Report and Remit the Funds

There are three ways to file your report online:• Upload the NAUPA file that was created

using a third party software

• Manually input reports with less than 25 properties

• Input zero report if you do not have unclaimed property to report for the year

File the Report and Remit the Funds

There are three ways to remit the funds:• Use the secure Bank of America portal to

remit funds

• Send funds by wire transfer

• Send a check

Online Reporting Step by Step Tutorial

Online filing tutorial document can be found at

https://www.fltreasurehunt.org/files/OnlineFilingTutorial.pdf

Microsoft Office Word Document

QUESTIONS?