Unclaimed Property in Florida When the Owner Has Died: How Heirs Claim It

Reviewed August 2026 by Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr., Esq. · Florida Bar No. 107002 · Lorenzo Law, Florida probate · English & Español

Florida changed the rule. If all of the unclaimed property Florida holds for your deceased relative adds up to $20,000 or less and no probate case is pending, you can claim it with a sworn affidavit — no court, no judge, no letters of administration. That ceiling used to be $10,000. It was doubled by Chapter 2024-140, Laws of Florida, and most of what you will read online has not caught up.

Above $20,000, or if an estate is already open, you will need probate paperwork — the documents that come out of Florida’s probate process. This page walks through both routes, tells you exactly which documents the state requires in each situation, and shows you the traps that cause most claims to be denied.

We at Lorenzo Law handle Florida probate matters statewide, and claiming unclaimed property for a deceased owner is one of the most common reasons families call us. The money is real, the search is free, and there is no deadline. What there is, is a documentation standard — and that is where people get stuck.

On this page: the $20,000 rule · how to search Florida Treasure Hunt · the four ways to claim · exactly which documents the state wants · Form DFS-UP-1243 · what to do when one heir won’t sign · why claims get denied · finder fees and the 30% cap · 15 questions we get asked most.

The short answer

That single table is the decision most people came here to make. Everything below explains how to execute it.

Did the $10,000 limit really change? Yes — it is now $20,000

Section 717.1243, Florida Statutes — titled “Small estate accounts” — is the provision that lets a beneficiary claim a deceased owner’s property without a probate court order. Subsection (4) sets the ceiling:

“This section applies only if all of the abandoned property held by the department on behalf of the owner has an aggregate value of $20,000 or less and no probate proceeding is pending.”

Section 50 of Chapter 2024-140, Laws of Florida, doubled that figure from $10,000 to $20,000, and the 2026 Legislature carried it forward in Chapter 2026-174. Two points that trip people up:

• The $20,000 is an aggregate, not a per-account figure. If the Department is holding three accounts for your mother worth $9,000, $7,000, and $6,000, that is $22,000 and you are over the line — even though no single account is close to it.
• “No probate proceeding is pending” is a separate condition. If someone in the family already opened an estate, the affidavit route is closed to you regardless of the dollar amount, and the claim goes through the personal representative.

Why some sources still say $10,000 — and which one controls

The Department’s administrative rule, Fla. Admin. Code r. 69G-20.0022, is the rule its examiners work from day to day, and older published versions of that rule and of the Form DFS-UP-1243 instructions still show the $10,000 figure. The statute controls. Where a rule and a statute conflict, the statute wins.

In practice, if you submit a claim between $10,000 and $20,000 and receive a request for probate documentation, the response is to cite Section 717.1243(4) and Chapter 2024-140, Section 50 directly in writing. We have found that examiners resolve this quickly once the session law is in front of them. If it does not resolve, the denial carries administrative hearing rights, and we discuss those below.

“Unclaimed property” or “abandoned property”? Both — here is the difference

You will notice the statute quoted above says abandoned property, not unclaimed property. That is not a typo.

As of the 2026 legislative session, Chapter 717, Florida Statutes is officially titled the Florida Disposition of Abandoned Personal Property Act. Section 717.124 is now captioned “Abandoned property claims.” The Department’s finder forms are now the Abandoned Property Recovery Agreement and the Abandoned Property Purchase Agreement. Chapter 2026-174 made these changes effective June 26, 2026.

The state’s public database is still called Florida Treasure Hunt, and it still says “unclaimed property.” So does virtually everyone else. They are the same thing. When you are searching, use “unclaimed property.” When you are reading the statute or responding to the Department in writing, use “abandoned property.” Nothing about your rights changed — only the vocabulary.

Step 1 — Find the property

How to find out whether a deceased relative left money

Families arrive here one of two ways. Either they are administering an estate and doing the due diligence, or someone mentioned that a deceased parent — or a deceased mother, deceased father, grandparent, aunt or uncle — may have had money sitting somewhere. Either way, how to find out if a deceased relative had money, or whether someone left you money you never knew about, has the same free starting point: a name search in the state database.

An unclaimed inheritance is rarely a dramatic windfall. Far more often it is a lost bank account nobody ever closed, a final paycheck that was never cashed, a utility or rent deposit, an unclaimed life insurance policy the family did not know existed, or an old 401(k) or other retirement account left behind at a former employer. Those are the assets that go quiet, get reported to the state, and sit there — sometimes for decades.

Search Florida Treasure Hunt, the state’s official database

The Florida unclaimed property search runs through Florida Treasure Hunt, the public database operated by the Division of Unclaimed Property within the Florida Department of Financial Services. It is at FLTreasureHunt.gov (the state also publishes it as FLTreasureHunt.org).

Searching is free. Filing a claim is free. The state never charges a fee to return your money. Any site that asks you to pay to search is not the state.

When you are searching for a deceased person rather than yourself, search wider than you think you need to:

• Search first and last name only. This is the state’s own guidance: run a search by name using just the first and last name, and narrow with a middle name, initial, city or ZIP only if the name is common enough to flood the results.
• Every name variation. Maiden name, married names from every marriage, middle initial in and out, hyphenated and unhyphenated, nicknames on payroll records (Bob, Robert, Roberto), and common misspellings.
• Every address the person ever had in Florida. The database matches on last known address, and property is often reported under an address the family forgot about.
• Business names. If your relative owned a company, held a professional license, or was a landlord, search the entity name separately. Vendor overpayments, security deposits and uncashed customer refunds are reported under the business, not the person.
• A trust name, if the person had one.
• Both spouses, separately and jointly.

Why property may appear two years after the death — and not before

Here is a rule almost nobody explains, and it matters enormously if you searched once and found nothing.

Under Section 717.102, Florida Statutes, the general dormancy period is five years. But there is a death exception: property is presumed abandoned two years after the owner’s death unless an authorized representative demonstrates an interest in it within that window. The clock accelerates.

So a bank account that would otherwise have sat dormant for five years can be reported to the state two years after your father died. If you searched shortly after the death and found nothing, search again. We tell every probate client to re-run the search at the two-year mark and again before closing an estate.

The money that is not in the state database

The Florida unclaimed property search does not reach everything. If your search comes up empty, or the amount seems too small, these are the other places to look — and unlike Chapter 717 property, several of these have hard deadlines that can expire.

That last row is newer than most people realize. Section 717.1065 now addresses virtual currency as reportable abandoned property. If your relative held crypto on an exchange and the account went quiet, it may have been reported to Florida. Very few people are checking.

Step 2 — Pick your path

There are four ways to establish that you are entitled to a deceased owner’s unclaimed money in Florida, not two. Which route fits depends on the size of the estate and on which assets actually go through probate. Choosing correctly is the difference between a two-month affidavit and a nine-month probate.

Note the number in Path C. Florida summary administration is now available up to $150,000 — raised from $75,000 by Section 7 of Chapter 2026-57. The $75,000 figure still appears on a great many Florida law firm websites. It is out of date.

Reopening an estate that was already closed

This is the most common situation we see: an estate was administered and closed years ago, and someone runs a Florida unclaimed property search and finds money in the decedent’s name.

You may not need to reopen anything. If the aggregate is $20,000 or less and no proceeding is pending, Path A is available to you even though the estate was previously administered. That is the fastest and cheapest answer, and many families never learn it.

If the amount is above $20,000, the route is a petition for subsequent administration under Florida Probate Rule 5.460, which reopens the estate and reappoints a personal representative for the limited purpose of collecting the after-discovered asset. It is a narrow, targeted proceeding — not a full re-administration.

Is it worth probating at all? Run the numbers first

Be honest with yourself about the math before you file anything, and start from what probate actually costs in Florida. The unclaimed property is very often the estate’s only asset. If the Department is holding $26,000 and formal administration will cost a meaningful fraction of that, the recovery may not justify the process.

There is a second cost people miss. Opening a probate estate opens a creditor claims process. Under Sections 733.702 and 733.710, Florida Statutes, publishing notice to creditors starts a claims window — see how Florida handles claims against an estate — that can expose the estate to debts it had otherwise escaped entirely. An estate that quietly held nothing for eight years may attract claims the moment it is opened.

This is exactly the cost-benefit analysis we run with clients before recommending a route. Sometimes the right advice is that the claim is not worth pursuing through probate — and we would rather tell you that in a consultation than after you have paid filing fees.

Step 3 — Assemble your documents

The Department’s requirements are set out in Fla. Admin. Code r. 69G-20.0022, which recognizes four distinct situations. Match yours before you gather anything.

In every case, you will need:

• A certified copy of the death certificate. Under Section 717.1261, it must be a copy certified as authentic by the issuing governmental agency. A photocopy of a certified copy is not the same thing and will be rejected.
• Documentation connecting you to the deceased apparent owner — the chain from the name on the account to you. Birth certificates, marriage certificates, and prior death certificates for anyone in between.
• Photo identification, or a notarized sworn statement of identity where the Department permits it under Section 717.124.

Then, by situation:

The 180-day rule on court documents — this is why claims get rejected

Section 717.1262, Florida Statutes contains a requirement that catches almost everyone, because it asks for something people do not think of as part of a claim:

“Any person who claims entitlement to abandoned property by reason of a court document shall file a certified copy of the court document with the department. A certified copy of each pleading filed with the court to obtain a court document establishing entitlement, filed within 180 days before the date the claim form was signed by the claimant or claimant representative, must also be filed with the department.”

Read that twice. You must file the order and the pleadings that produced it, all certified — and those pleadings must have been filed within 180 days before you signed the claim form.

If you obtained an order of summary administration two years ago and are only now filing your unclaimed property claim, the supporting pleadings fall outside the window. Plan the sequence: get the court documents, then file the claim promptly. Do not let the order sit.

Step 4 — Form DFS-UP-1243, the Estate Affidavit

If you are on Path A, Form DFS-UP-1243 is the document that does the work. It is worth understanding what you are signing.

The Department’s forms, by number

What the affidavit actually says

Under Section 717.1243(1), the affidavit is signed by all beneficiaries and states that:

1. All beneficiaries have amicably agreed among themselves upon a division of the estate;
2. All funeral expenses, expenses of the last illness, and any other lawful claims have been paid; and
3. No probate proceeding is pending.

If the owner died with a will, a copy of the will goes with the claim.

Who counts as a “beneficiary”

The statute borrows the definition from Section 731.201, Florida Statutes: in an intestate estate, the heirs at law; in a testate estate, the devisees. It does not include an heir or devisee whose interest has already been satisfied.

For an intestate estate, that means you need Florida’s intestate succession order — Sections 732.102 and 732.103 — to know who must sign. The order runs surviving spouse, then descendants, then parents, then siblings and their descendants, then grandparents and their descendants (aunts, uncles, and then cousins). Grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins can absolutely be beneficiaries when the closer relatives have died. Getting this list wrong is the single most common reason an affidavit claim fails.

What happens if one heir will not sign

This is the question we are asked more than any other, and the answer is unforgiving: Section 717.1243 requires every beneficiary to sign. There is no majority rule and no workaround inside the statute.

The affidavit route closes if:

• One beneficiary refuses to sign;
• One beneficiary cannot be located;
• One beneficiary is a minor or is otherwise legally incapacitated and cannot sign for themselves; or
• The family cannot agree on how to divide the money.

When that happens, the path becomes probate administration, where the court determines entitlement and no one’s signature is a veto. If you are in a blended family, or you have half-siblings or stepchildren in the picture, or there was a prior marriage, assume you will need to have this conversation early. This is the point at which most families should talk to a lawyer, because the alternatives — pressuring a relative to sign, or leaving them off the affidavit — create real exposure, and disputes among heirs are how Florida probate litigation starts.

The personal liability you take on

Section 717.1243(2) is easy to skip and should not be. Each person who receives property under the affidavit is personally liable for all lawful claims against the estate, up to the value of what they received, excluding property exempt from creditors under Florida’s constitution and laws.

And under subsection (3), an heir or devisee who was entitled to a share and did not get it can sue the people who did — and recover attorney’s fees. Leaving a sibling off the affidavit is not a shortcut. It is a lawsuit with a fee-shifting provision attached.

Step 5 — Filing, timing, and what goes wrong

Creating a claim online is not the same as filing one

This is the most common way a claim quietly goes nowhere, and the Division warns about it on its own site.

Selecting an account on Florida Treasure Hunt produces a claim form with an assigned claim number. That is not a filed claim. You must print the form, complete and sign it, and mail it to the Division along with your photographic identification and every supporting document the instructions list. Until that paperwork physically arrives in Tallahassee, nothing has been filed and nothing will show as received.

Two points specific to deceased-owner claims:

• When the system asks whether the person on the account is deceased, answer yes. Answering as though the owner is living routes you into the wrong claim type and the wrong document instructions.
• The claimant is you, not the decedent. Your own information goes in the claimant fields; the connection to the deceased owner is established through the supporting documents.

Write down the claim number and reference it in every communication with the Division.

Who decides your claim — and it is not the probate judge

The Department of Financial Services, not the circuit court, decides entitlement to property in its custody. Section 717.1242 says so directly, and the 2026 amendments expanded it to reach beneficiaries, devisees, heirs, personal representatives and other interested persons.

The courts have enforced this consistently. In Atwater v. Citibank, F.S.B., 96 So. 3d 1010 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012), the Third District confirmed the Department’s sole authority to make financial determinations on unclaimed funds. In Yergin v. Georgopolos, 217 So. 3d 155 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017), a personal representative was required to file with the Department and exhaust administrative remedies before going to court.

Practical consequence: a probate order in your favor is evidence supporting your claim. It is not a command the Department must obey. Build the claim to satisfy the Department, not just the judge.

A rule that applies to estates specifically

Section 717.12405 provides that an estate, or anyone representing an estate, may claim abandoned property only after the heir or legatee entitled to the property has been located. An estate that receives property before that point faces strict personal liability and must return the full amount to the Department immediately.

If you are serving as personal representative, identify and locate the entitled beneficiary before you collect the funds — not after.

The 90-day clock, and the 60-day trap inside it

Under Section 717.124:

• The Department must determine each claim within 90 days — measured from receipt of the claim or from your response to a request for additional information, whichever is later.
• That period extends by 60 days where the Department has good cause, or where the owner was a bankruptcy debtor, the property was reported with an address outside the United States, the claimant is outside the United States, or supporting documents are not in English and are not translated.
• Here is the trap: if the Department requests additional information and you do not respond within 60 days, your claim is treated as withdrawn. Not denied — withdrawn. Nothing further happens and no one calls you.

Diary that 60-day date the moment any request arrives. It is the most common quiet failure in this entire process.

Completeness is not entitlement

The Department makes two separate determinations, and understanding the difference explains most confusing correspondence:

1. Is the claim complete? Are all required forms and documents there? A complete claim is a precondition to review on the merits.
2. Has the claimant established entitlement? The burden is on you, by a preponderance of the evidence, under Section 717.126. The Department makes that determination under Section 717.1244 by applying the governing statutory, regulatory, common and case law.

A claim can be complete and still be denied on the merits. And under Section 717.126, having the same name as the reported owner is not, by itself, enough to prove entitlement. You have to show the chain.

If two people claim the same account

Section 717.1241 governs conflicting claims, and the rule is a race: where claimants appear equally entitled, the Department remits to the person who filed the first claim that is complete or made complete. Tie-breakers favor the claimant over a claimant’s representative, and the lowest-fee representative among competing representatives.

There is no deadline to file, but if you have reason to think another relative is preparing a claim, delay has a cost. That is a legitimate reason to move promptly — not a sales pitch.

A cautionary case: in Bartsch v. Costello, 170 So. 3d 83 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015), a stepdaughter obtained an order of summary administration by representing herself as the sole heir and used it to collect accounts owed to the decedent’s widow and other heirs. The probate court later vacated the order as fraudulently obtained. The court’s practical point is the one to remember: rightful claimants protect themselves by filing their own claims with the Department.

Why claims get delayed or denied — and what to do about it

Most denials are documentary, not substantive. The recurring causes:

• Name mismatches — maiden names, misspellings on the original account, a business that no longer exists;
• Missing links in the chain — no proof connecting you to the reported owner;
• Probate documents omitted, or a will submitted without the order admitting it;
• Wrong claimant — filing individually when the property belongs to an estate or trust;
• The 180-day pleadings problem under Section 717.1262;
• Uncertified copies where certification is required;
• The 60-day non-response that converts a live claim into a withdrawn one.

A denial is not the end. Every determination must include a notice of rights under Sections 120.569 and 120.57, Florida Statutes. You may petition for an administrative hearing; venue is Leon County unless the parties agree otherwise, and the presiding officer may allow remote video appearance. A party adversely affected by a final order may seek judicial review under Section 120.68.

And separately from all of that: because Chapter 717 contains no deadline to claim, a denied claim can simply be refiled with better documentation. Administrative decisions have said so plainly. A denial usually means “not yet,” not “never.”

What you will actually receive

Cash, securities, and safe deposit box contents

• Cash accounts are paid out at the amount the Department received.
• Securities may already have been liquidated at public sale under Section 717.122. Where non-money property is involved, Section 717.121 entitles the owner to any dividends, interest or other increments realized or accruing on the property at or before liquidation.
• Safe deposit box contents (Section 717.116) are delivered in kind where the Department still holds them; where contents were sold, you receive the proceeds. Items of insubstantial commercial value may have been disposed of under Section 717.128 — which is a hard thing to hear when the contents were photographs or a wedding ring rather than bullion.

Does Florida pay interest on money it held?

On cash, no. The Department pays what it received. There is no interest on a dormant cash balance for the years the state held it.

On property other than money, yes — Section 717.121 gives the owner the dividends, interest and increments realized or accruing at or before liquidation. So a stock position that paid dividends before it was sold carries those dividends to you.

Is there a deadline?

No. Chapter 717 contains no statute of limitations for an owner or an heir. Section 717.139 declares that property reported under the chapter remains the property of the owner and that the state acts solely as custodian. Title does not pass to Florida.

One distinction matters, because these two rules sit close together and look contradictory. Chapter 717 property is held indefinitely. But funds a personal representative could not deliver, deposited through the clerk under Section 733.816, carry a 10-year window — the clerk posts or publishes notice, remits to the Chief Financial Officer after six months, and funds not claimed within 10 years of that deposit escheat to the State School Fund. Section 732.107 applies a similar 10-year rule to estates with no heirs. Those clocks are real. The Chapter 717 clock is not.

Finder fees, and the 30% cap under Section 717.135

If you have received a letter offering to recover money in a relative’s name for a percentage, read this before you sign anything.

The cap is 30%. Section 717.135 limits total fees and costs — or the total discount in the case of a purchase agreement — to 30% of the claimed amount. In a recovery agreement, fees above that are automatically reduced to 30% and the balance is remitted directly to you. You will see other sites publish a 20% cap. That figure is wrong, and at least one of them cites a statute section that does not exist.

Only three kinds of people may act as a claimant’s representative, under Sections 717.124 and 717.1400: a Florida-licensed attorney, a Florida-certified public accountant, or a private investigator licensed under Chapter 493 holding a Class C individual license. Each must hold a certificate of registration from the Department, and registration lapses without at least 10 paid claims per calendar year.

Three more protections worth knowing:

• The agreement must be on the Department’s own form — the Abandoned Property Recovery Agreement or Purchase Agreement. Any other engagement, authorization or fee agreement is void.
• Fees are payable only after the claim is approved. No one should be asking you for money up front.
• A recovery agreement may not be made irrevocable, and may not assign away any portion of the property held by the Department.

Is FLTreasureHunt.gov legitimate, or is it a scam?

FLTreasureHunt.gov is the State of Florida’s official site, operated by the Division of Unclaimed Property within the Department of Financial Services. It is not a scam. It never charges you to search and never charges you to file a claim.

The letter in your mailbox is a separate question. Registered claimant’s representatives are permitted to contact owners and heirs, and many operate lawfully. Before you sign anything, check three things: the agreement must be on the Department’s own form, the fee must be 30% or less, and nothing should be payable until the claim is approved. If any of those is wrong, the agreement is void by statute — and you can always close the letter and file the claim yourself for free.

A finder and an attorney are not the same arrangement

A finder charges a percentage of your recovery. That is their business model, and the 30% cap is what stands between it and your inheritance.

When we represent an estate, we are charging for legal representation — opening or reopening the administration, establishing heirship, preparing the affidavit correctly, and dealing with the Department. That is a different service at a different price structure, and for a straightforward claim the honest answer is often that you do not need us at all. The database is free. The affidavit is a form. If the amount is modest, the heirs agree, and the paperwork is clean, file it yourself.

Call us when the amount justifies it, when an heir won’t sign, when an estate has to be opened or reopened, or when a claim has already been denied.

After you file — status, timing, and contacting the Division

Once your claim is in, here is what to expect and where to check.

• Check your claim status online. Florida Treasure Hunt has a Check Claim Status page, and it displays the date the Division is currently processing — which is the number that actually tells you where you stand. The Division asks that you not call for an update unless your claim was received on or before that displayed date.
• Realistic timing. The statute gives the Department 90 days to determine a claim, extendable by 60. In practice the Division states plainly that claims are worked in the order received and that it cannot give an exact completion timeframe, because volume varies. For a deceased-owner claim that also needs probate documents, plan on several months to a year, most of it court time rather than Division time.
• Why an account may not appear yet. Holders file their annual reports with the state in late spring, and the Division loads several thousand reports and millions of new accounts each year in the order received. An account remitted this year may not be searchable for months. Check back periodically.
• Contact the Division. The Division of Unclaimed Property sits within the Florida Department of Financial Services, 200 East Gaines Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0358. Email FloridaUnclaimedProperty@MyFloridaCFO.com, use the contact form on FLTreasureHunt.gov, or call (850) 413-5555 or toll-free (888) 258-2253.
• Payment. Approved cash claims are paid by state warrant or electronic transfer. Tangible property is delivered separately.

Frequently asked questions

Can I claim my parent’s unclaimed property in Florida without opening probate?

Yes, if all of the property the Department holds for them totals $20,000 or less and no probate proceeding is pending. You file Form DFS-UP-1243, an affidavit signed by all beneficiaries, along with a certified death certificate and a copy of the will if there was one. Above $20,000, you will need probate documentation.

Did the Florida small estate limit really change from $10,000 to $20,000?

Yes. Section 50 of Chapter 2024-140, Laws of Florida, doubled the ceiling in Section 717.1243(4), and the 2026 Legislature kept it. Older articles, and some published versions of the Department’s rule and form instructions, still show $10,000. The statute controls.

What is Form DFS-UP-1243?

It is the Estate Affidavit — the form that lets beneficiaries claim a deceased owner’s unclaimed property without a probate court order, where the total is $20,000 or less and no estate is pending. All beneficiaries must sign it.

What happens if one heir refuses to sign the affidavit?

The affidavit route closes. Section 717.1243 requires every beneficiary to sign, with no majority rule. The same is true if a beneficiary cannot be located or is a minor. At that point the claim proceeds through probate administration, where the court determines entitlement.

My mother’s estate was closed years ago and I just found unclaimed property. What now?

If the total is $20,000 or less and no proceeding is pending, you may be able to use the affidavit and skip court entirely — even though the estate was previously administered. If it is more, the route is a petition for subsequent administration under Florida Probate Rule 5.460, which reopens the estate for the limited purpose of collecting the newly found asset.

What documents does Florida require when the owner has died?

Always a death certificate certified as authentic by the issuing agency (Section 717.1261) plus documentation connecting you to the reported owner. Then: an open estate requires clerk-certified records certified within one year of filing showing the personal representative’s authority; a closed estate requires a certified probate order identifying beneficiaries and their shares; an estate never administered uses Form DFS-UP-1243 if the total is $20,000 or less.

Why do Florida unclaimed property claims get denied?

Almost always documentation, not merit: name mismatches, a missing link in the chain from the reported owner to you, probate documents omitted, a will submitted without the order admitting it, filing individually when the property belongs to an estate, uncertified copies, or the 180-day pleadings requirement in Section 717.1262. Note also that failing to answer a request for information within 60 days causes the claim to be treated as withdrawn.

Can I appeal if my claim is denied?

Yes. Every determination carries a notice of rights under Sections 120.569 and 120.57, Florida Statutes. You may petition for an administrative hearing, with venue in Leon County unless the parties agree otherwise, and judicial review is available under Section 120.68. Separately, because there is no deadline to claim, you can also simply refile with better documentation.

Can two people claim the same account? Who wins?

Under Section 717.1241, where claimants appear equally entitled, the Department remits to the person who filed the first complete claim. Tie-breakers favor the claimant over a representative, and the lowest-fee representative among competing representatives. Filing your own claim is the way to protect your position.

How long does the Department have to decide?

90 days from receipt of the claim or from your response to a request for more information, whichever is later — extended by 60 days in defined circumstances including bankruptcy, foreign addresses, and untranslated documents.

Does Florida pay interest on money it held for years?

Not on cash — the Department pays the amount it received. But for property other than money, Section 717.121 entitles the owner to dividends, interest and other increments realized or accruing at or before liquidation.

Is there a deadline to claim a deceased relative’s unclaimed property?

Not for Chapter 717 property. Section 717.139 provides that the property remains the owner’s and the state acts only as custodian. Different clocks apply to funds deposited through the clerk under Section 733.816 and to escheated estates under Section 732.107, both of which carry 10-year windows.

Do I have to pay someone to find or recover the money?

No. Searching Florida Treasure Hunt and filing a claim are free. If you do use a claimant’s representative, the fee is capped at 30% under Section 717.135, must be on the Department’s own form, and is payable only after the claim is approved.

I live out of state. Can I still claim Florida unclaimed property?

Yes. An out-of-state heir files with the Department the same way a Florida resident does — online and by mail, from anywhere. If probate administration is required and you are a non-resident, Florida’s qualification rules for a personal representative under Section 733.304 come into play, and ancillary administration may be relevant if the decedent was not a Florida resident.

Do I owe income tax on unclaimed property I recover?

It depends on what the money was. Recovering a principal balance that already belonged to the decedent is generally not itself taxable income to you, but interest, dividends, or amounts that were never taxed can be. This is a question for a CPA on your specific facts, and we are happy to coordinate with one.

How do I find out if a deceased parent left money I don’t know about?

Start with a free search by name on FLTreasureHunt.gov, using every name variation and every Florida address they ever had. Then check the sources outside the state database — an unclaimed life insurance policy through the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator, an old 401(k) or retirement account, matured savings bonds at TreasuryHunt.gov, a pension through the PBGC, and any county tax deed or foreclosure surplus. A lost bank account or unclaimed inheritance most often turns up in one of those places rather than in a will.

Is FLTreasureHunt.gov legitimate, or is it a scam?

It is legitimate. FLTreasureHunt.gov is the official site of the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Unclaimed Property, and it is free to search and free to claim. Treat any site that charges you to search, and any letter demanding money before a claim is approved, as a red flag — under Section 717.135 fees are capped at 30%, must be on the Department’s own form, and are payable only after approval.

I created a claim online. Is that the same as filing it?

No, and this is where many claims quietly die. Selecting an account on Florida Treasure Hunt generates a claim form and a claim number, but the claim is not filed until you print it, sign it, and mail it to the Division with your photo identification and the supporting documents. Keep the claim number and use it in every communication.

How do I check the status of my Florida unclaimed property claim?

Use the Check Claim Status page on FLTreasureHunt.gov. It also shows the date the Division is currently processing. The Division asks that you not call for an update unless your claim was received on or before that date, because claims are worked in the order received.

Does Florida property show up on MissingMoney.com?

Yes. Florida is a participating state on MissingMoney.com, the multi-state search sponsored by NAUPA, so Florida accounts are searchable there as well. Use MissingMoney when you are checking several states at once — for a relative who lived in Florida and somewhere else, for instance. But FLTreasureHunt.gov is the authoritative source for Florida property and the only place you file a Florida claim, so start and finish there.

Talk to a Florida probate attorney about your claim

We at Lorenzo Law handle Florida probate and unclaimed property claims for deceased owners statewide, from Miami-Dade and Broward to Orlando and Central Florida. If you have found money in a relative’s name and are not sure which of the four paths applies — or an heir won’t sign, or an estate needs to be opened or reopened, or a claim has already been denied — we can tell you quickly whether it is worth pursuing and what it will take.

If your claim is straightforward and the amount is modest, we will tell you that too, and point you at the form.

Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr., Esquire · Florida Bar No. 107002 · Member in good standing, The Florida Bar

Bilingual — English and Spanish · Serving clients throughout Florida

Telephone: (305) 224-6811 · Email: jml@lorenzolaw.com

Miami-Dade — 2850 Douglas Rd., Suite 303, Coral Gables, FL 33134

Broward — 12 SE 7th Street, Suite 701, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

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This page is general legal information about Florida law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Outcomes depend on the specific facts of each matter, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Statutory references are to the 2026 Florida Statutes and were verified in August 2026; Chapter 717 was amended in 2024 and again in 2026, and readers should confirm the current text before relying on it.

Related reading

• What Are Probate Assets in Florida
• The Florida Probate Process, Step by Step
• Summary Administration in Florida
• What Happens to a Bank Account When Someone Dies
• Transferring a Car Title After the Owner Has Died
• Florida Probate Creditor Claims
• The Cost of Probate in Florida
• Florida Probate Litigation