| Churches have unclaimed property
By Michael Wacht
ORLANDO — The State of Florida is holding
nearly $806 million in unclaimed property. Some of that belongs to
Florida Conference United Methodist churches that don’t know it’s
there, according to Joye Koerber, a finance specialist with the Office
of Unclaimed Property.
Unclaimed property is “cash or equivalent
assets left by an owner with a company…like a bank, insurance
company or an employer,” Koerber said, adding it can include stock,
bonds or mutual funds, or it can be a utility deposit left when
someone moves or cancels service and does not leave a forwarding
address.
“Many times, an owner will die and the
relatives may not be aware of the assets,” Koerber said.
The Florida Department of Banking and Finance
receives unclaimed property from companies and is charged with finding
its rightful owners. During the search process the money is placed in
the state’s School Trust Fund, where it is invested and the interest
used for the benefit of the state’s public schools.
Randy Casey-Rutland, the conference’s
treasurer, said one reason Florida Conference churches have unclaimed
money is that they used to operate with multiple checking and banking
accounts. Many groups within a church, such as Sunday school classes,
ministry teams, and men’s and women’s groups, operated with
different budgets and accounts.
“When churches had lots of accounts, it was
not uncommon for them to lose track of one of them,” Casey-Rutland
said.
Companies can legally hold that money for five
years before they have to turn it over to the Office of Unclaimed
Property. The state, however, must keep the property until it is
claimed. “In Florida, there is no statute of limitations,” Koerber
said. “We keep them until they’re claimed…by the owners or
rightful heirs.”
Churches can search the database of unclaimed
property through the state’s Web site, http://up.dbf.state.fl.us.
Once a church has determined it does have unclaimed property, it can
request a claim form on-line or call the Office of Unclaimed Property’s
toll-free phone number.
Casey-Rutland said some of the unclaimed
property and money dates back before 1968 when the Methodist Episcopal
and United Brethren churches merged to form the United Methodist
Church. Churches searching for property should look under any former
names.
Koerber said an official representative of a
church, including the chairperson of the church’s administrative
board or council, must file a claim on behalf of the church.
The state has 90 days after a claim is received
to decide to either pay or deny the claim. Once a claim is approved a
check will be made out to the church, not to an individual, Koerber
said. If a closed church has unclaimed property the district may file
a claim to recover it.
A search of the on-line database revealed a
number of Florida Conference churches have unclaimed property held by
the state.
For more information, contact the Florida
Department of Banking and Finance’s Office of Unclaimed Property at http://up.dbf.state.fl.us
or 1-888-258-2253.
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