The Florida Senate

717.135  Agreement to recover reported property in the custody of the department.--

(1)  All agreements between a claimant's representative and a claimant for compensation to recover or assist in the recovery of property reported to the department under s. 717.117 shall be in 11-point type or greater and:

(a)  Limit the fees and costs for services to 20 percent per unclaimed property account held by the department. Fees and costs for cash accounts shall be based on the value of the property at the time the agreement for recovery is signed by the claimant. Fees and costs for accounts containing securities or other intangible ownership interests, which securities or interests are not converted to cash, shall be based on the purchase price of the security as quoted on a national exchange or other market on which the property is regularly traded at the time the securities or other ownership interest is remitted to the claimant or the claimant's representative. Fees and costs for tangible property or safe-deposit box accounts shall be based on the value of the tangible property or contents of the safe-deposit box at the time the ownership interest is transferred or remitted to the claimant; or

(b)  Disclose, on such form as the department shall prescribe by rule, that the property is held by the Bureau of Unclaimed Property of the Department of Financial Services pursuant to this chapter, the person or name of the entity that held the property prior to the property becoming unclaimed, the date of the holder's last contact with the owner, if known, and the approximate value of the property, and identify which of the following categories of unclaimed property the owner's representative is seeking to recover, as reported by the holder:

1.  Cash accounts.

2.  Stale dated checks.

3.  Life insurance or annuity contract assets.

4.  Utility deposits.

5.  Securities or other interests in business associations.

6.  Wages.

7.  Accounts receivable.

8.  Contents of safe-deposit boxes.

Such disclosure shall be on a page signed and dated by the person asserting entitlement to the unclaimed property. However, paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) shall not apply if probate proceedings must be initiated on behalf of the claimant for an estate that has never been probated.

(2)(a)  Agreements for recovery of cash accounts shall state the value of the unclaimed property, the unclaimed property account number, and the percentage value of the unclaimed property account to be paid to the claimant and shall also state the percentage value of compensation to be paid to the claimant's representative.

(b)  Agreements for recovery of accounts containing securities, safe-deposit box accounts, other intangible or tangible ownership interests, or other types of accounts, except cash accounts, shall state the unclaimed property account number, the number of shares of stock, if applicable, the approximate value of the unclaimed property, and the percentage value of compensation to be paid to the claimant's representative.

(c)  All disclosures and agreements shall include the name, address, and professional license number of the claimant's representative, and, if available, the taxpayer identification number or social security number, address, and telephone number of the claimant. The original of all such disclosures and agreements to pay compensation shall be signed and dated by the claimant of the property and shall be filed with the claim form.

(d)  All agreements between a claimant's representative and a claimant, who is a natural person, trust, or a dissolved corporation, for compensation to recover or assist in the recovery of property reported to the department under s. 717.117 must use the following form on 8 and ¹/₂-inch by 11-inch paper or on 8 and ¹/₂-inch by 14-inch paper with all of the text on one side of the paper and with the other side of the paper left blank; except that, at the option of the owner representative, the department disclosure form may be placed on the reverse side of the agreement. The agreement must be accurately completed and executed. No other writing or information shall be printed on the agreement. The title of the agreement shall be in bold 14-point type and underlined. The rest of the agreement shall be in 10-point type or greater. All unclaimed property accounts claimed must be identified on the agreement. The agreement must state:

RECOVERY AGREEMENT


$__________ = APPROXIMATE DOLLAR VALUE OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY

NUMBER OF SHARES OF STOCK TO BE RECOVERED (IF APPLICABLE):__________

PROPERTY ACCOUNT NUMBERS:__________

__________ PERCENT TO BE PAID AS COMPENSATION TO THE CLAIMANT'S REPRESENTATIVE

$__________ = NET AMOUNT TO BE PAID TO CLAIMANT

$__________ = AMOUNT TO BE PAID TO CLAIMANT'S REPRESENTATIVE


THIS AGREEMENT is between: _______________ (hereinafter, CLAIMANT) and _______________ (hereinafter, CLAIMANT'S REPRESENTATIVE) who agree to the following:

(1)  As consideration for the research efforts in locating and identifying assets due to the CLAIMANT and for assistance in procuring payment of the assets to the CLAIMANT, the CLAIMANT authorizes the government to pay to the CLAIMANT'S REPRESENTATIVE a fee of either:

(a)  __________ percent of all assets recovered, or

(b)  A flat fee of $ __________ to recover the unclaimed property account identified above.

NO FEES ARE TO BE PAID IN ADVANCE.

(2)  I have read this agreement and in consideration thereof, do hereby grant the CLAIMANT'S REPRESENTATIVE a limited power of attorney to demand, collect, recover and receive the above compensation from the government in accordance with this agreement.

(3)  IT IS HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGED BY ALL PARTIES TO THIS AGREEMENT THAT UNLESS THESE ASSETS ARE RECOVERED, NO FEES, NO COSTS OR CHARGES ARE DUE TO THE CLAIMANT'S REPRESENTATIVE, ITS AGENTS OR ATTORNEYS, AND THIS AGREEMENT WILL BECOME NULL AND VOID.

Original Signature of CLAIMANT:

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DATE:

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CLAIMANT'S Social Security Number or FEID number:

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Make the CLAIMANT'S check payable to:

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Mail check to this address:

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The CLAIMANT'S telephone number is:

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Original Signature of CLAIMANT'S REPRESENTATIVE:

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FEID Number of CLAIMANT'S REPRESENTATIVE:

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DATE:

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Address of CLAIMANT'S REPRESENTATIVE:

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Telephone number of CLAIMANT'S REPRESENTATIVE:

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Professional license number of CLAIMANT'S REPRESENTATIVE:

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(e)  All fees, whether expressed as a percentage or as a flat fee, are subject to the limitations and requirements of subsection (1).

(3)  As used in this section, "claimant" means the person on whose behalf a claim is filed.

(4)  This section does not supersede the licensing requirements of chapter 493.

History.--s. 36, ch. 87-105; s. 1, ch. 91-261; s. 2, ch. 94-191; s. 22, ch. 96-301; s. 30, ch. 2001-36; s. 1889, ch. 2003-261; s. 139, ch. 2004-390.