Florida returns $25M in unclaimed property to residents; are you among them?

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — If you live in Florida now or you used to, today could be your lucky day.

You might have money owed to you that you didn’t even know about.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

The state said Friday that it gave back millions of dollars worth of unclaimed property to its residents last month.

READ: Fully vaccinated and still got COVID-19? Here is what you should do next

“December was a big month for Florida as we returned more than $25 million back to Floridians,” CFO Jimmy Patronis said.

For all of 2021, state treasury officials identified the rightful owners of $358 million in unclaimed property.

“The most common types of unclaimed property are dormant bank accounts, unclaimed insurance proceeds, stocks, dividends, uncashed checks, deposits, credit balances and refunds,” Patronis said.

He also noted that unclaimed property might show up in other ways, such as a safe deposit box that was abandoned at a bank.

READ: Final lap: Iconic Central Florida business to close this weekend

That’s why Patronis is once again urging Floridians to check if they have unclaimed funds waiting for them.

And there’s an easy way to do it.

READ: Bed Bath & Beyond is closing 37 stores in 19 states

The Florida Department of Financial Services has set up a website anyone can visit.

CLICK HERE to check it out and begin your search.

Here’s a breakdown by Florida’s metro regions of December’s total unclaimed property:

• Orlando - $4 million
• Tampa/St. Pete - $6.4 million
• Miami - $7.4 million
• West Palm Beach - $2.6 million
• Fort Myers/Naples - $1.2 million
• Jacksonville - $1.4 million
• Tallahassee - $1 million
• Pensacola - $582,000
• Gainesville - $328,000
• Panama City - $328,300

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

©2022 Cox Media Group