(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a United States savings bond in possession of the department or registered to a person with a last known address in the state, including a bond that is lost, stolen, or destroyed, is presumed abandoned and unclaimed 5 years after the bond reaches maturity and no longer earns interest and shall be reported and remitted to the department by the financial institution or other holder in accordance with ss. 717.117(1) and (3) and 717.119, if the department is not in possession of the bond.
(2)(a) After a United States savings bond is abandoned and unclaimed in accordance with subsection (1), the department may commence a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction in Leon County for a determination that the bond shall escheat to the state. Upon determination of escheatment, all property rights to the bond or proceeds from the bond, including all rights, powers, and privileges of survivorship of an owner, co-owner, or beneficiary, shall vest solely in the state.

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 717.1382

  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Claimant: means the person on whose behalf a claim is filed. See Florida Statutes 717.101
  • Department: means the Department of Financial Services. See Florida Statutes 717.101
  • Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. Source: OCC
  • Holder: means a person, wherever organized or domiciled, who is:
    (a) In possession of property belonging to another;
    (b) A trustee in case of a trust; or
    (c) Indebted to another on an obligation. See Florida Statutes 717.101
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • last known address: includes any partial description of the location of the apparent owner sufficient to establish the apparent owner was a resident of this state at the time of last contact with the apparent owner or at the time the property became due and payable. See Florida Statutes 717.101
  • Owner: means a depositor in the case of a deposit, a beneficiary in the case of a trust or a deposit in trust, or a payee in the case of other intangible property, or a person having a legal or equitable interest in property subject to this chapter or his or her legal representative. See Florida Statutes 717.101
  • person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any state, district, commonwealth, territory, insular possession, and any other area subject to the legislative authority of the United States. See Florida Statutes 717.101
  • United States: means any state, district, commonwealth, territory, insular possession, and any other area subject to the legislative authority of the United States of America. See Florida Statutes 717.101
(b) Service of process by publication may be made on a party in a civil action pursuant to this section. A notice of action shall state the name of any known owner of the bond, the nature of the action or proceeding in short and simple terms, the name of the court in which the action or proceeding is instituted, and an abbreviated title of the case.
(c) The notice of action shall require a person claiming an interest in the bond to file a written defense with the clerk of the court and serve a copy of the defense by the date fixed in the notice. The date must not be less than 28 or more than 60 days after the first publication of the notice.
(d) The notice of action shall be published once a week for 4 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published in Leon County. Proof of publication shall be placed in the court file.
(e)1. If no person files a claim with the court for the bond and if the department has substantially complied with the provisions of this section, the court shall enter a default judgment that the bond, or proceeds from such bond, has escheated to the state.
2. If a person files a claim for one or more bonds and, after notice and hearing, the court determines that the claimant is not entitled to the bonds claimed by such claimant, the court shall enter a judgment that such bonds, or proceeds from such bonds, have escheated to the state.
3. If a person files a claim for one or more bonds and, after notice and hearing, the court determines that the claimant is entitled to the bonds claimed by such claimant, the court shall enter a judgment in favor of the claimant.
(3) The department may redeem a United States savings bond escheated to the state pursuant to this section or, in the event that the department is not in possession of the bond, seek to obtain the proceeds from such bond. Proceeds received by the department shall be deposited in accordance with s. 717.123.
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