Jeff Atwater: More Floridians Being Reunited with Unclaimed Property

More than $211 million in initially unclaimed cash and property was returned to Floridians during fiscal year 2011-2012 -- nearly 12 percent more than the previous fiscal year, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced.

Last year, the Bureau of Unclaimed Property approved nearly 300,000 claims to reunite Floridians with their unclaimed property.

During these challenging economic times, I am proud that our Bureau of Unclaimed Property has been successful in reuniting a record number of Floridians with their unclaimed cash and property, CFO Atwater said. Through their diligent, proactive efforts, weve been able to get more money back in the pockets of hard-working Floridians, where it belongs.

The unclaimed property is mostly from dormant accounts in financial institutions, insurance and utility companies, securities and trust holdings. However, the property includes tangible property such as watches, jewelry, coins, currency, stamps, historical items and other miscellaneous articles from abandoned safe deposit boxes.

To find out if you have unclaimed property, visit www.FLTreasureHunt.org, or call 1-88-VALUABLE or 850-413-3089.