A recent newspaper article caught my attention coming out of Florida. $28M in Child Support Payments Go Untouched in Florida (AVVO.COM April 20, 2009) claimed that “According to a report from the Orlando Sentinel, the state of Florida is holding onto $28 million in child support payments because it can’t figure out which parents should receive the money.”
The part that gets interesting is that more than $5 million of the money has been sitting there for five years or more. When I read that, I decided to look further into the State’s laws pertaining to “unclaimed funds” and what the state does to regarding “proceedings to recover escheated property.” The laws in Florida are stated under Chapter 716 of the Florida Code, entitled “Escheats.”
Basically the State of Florida is going to be able to make at least $5,000,000.00 for being inept at distributing child support. The appropriate law dealing with Escheat (transfer to the state budget) is 716.02 and states:
716.02 Escheat of funds in the possession of federal agencies.–All property within the provisions of subsections (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5), are declared to have escheated, or to escheat, including all principal and interest accruing thereon, and to have become the property of the state.
(1) All money or other property which has remained in, or has been deposited in the custody of, or under the control of, any court of the United States, in and for any district within this state, or which has been deposited with and is in the custody of any depository, registry, clerk or other officer of such court, or the United States treasury, which money or other property the rightful owner or owners thereof, either:
(a) Has been unknown for a period of 5 or more consecutive years; or,
(b) Has died, without having disposed thereof, and without having left heirs, next of kin or distributees, or
(c) Has made no demand for such money or other property for 5 years;
are declared to have escheated, or to escheat, together with all interest accrued thereon, and to have become the property of the state.
So if someone is unable to bring the proper action under 716.07 of the Florida Code within 5 years, their claim will be forever barred and the money will become the property of the state, rather than the property of the children or returned back to whoever it was originally taken from.
716.07(1) Recovery of escheated property by claimant. Any person who claims any property, funds, or money delivered to the Treasurer or Chief Financial Officer under this chapter, shall, within 5 years from the date of receipt of such property, funds, or money, file a verified claim with the Chief Financial Officer, setting forth the facts upon which such party claims to be entitled to recover such money or property. All claims made for recovery of property, funds, or money, not filed within 5 years from the date that such property, funds, or money is received by the Chief Financial Officer, shall be forever barred, and the Chief Financial Officer shall be without power to consider or determine any claims so made by any claimant after 5 years from the date that the property, funds, or money was received by the Chief Financial Officer.
The original article didn’t raise any of the points about the state being able reward itself for getting away with failure to distribute money that it collected from one parent in the State’s Title IV-D program. One has to ask the question on why the money is not returned to the person that paid in at the end of the 5-year period and why the State gets to tack on fees, keep the money, and otherwise benefit from doing a poor job.
