Florida Statutes 717.104 – Traveler’s checks and money orders
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(1) Subject to subsection (4), any sum payable on a traveler’s check that has been outstanding for more than 15 years after its issuance is presumed unclaimed unless the owner, within 15 years, has communicated in writing with the issuer concerning it or otherwise indicated an interest as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file with the issuer.
(2) Subject to subsection (4), any sum payable on a money order or similar written instrument, other than a third party bank check, that has been outstanding for more than 7 years after its issuance is presumed unclaimed unless the owner, within 7 years, has communicated in writing with the issuer concerning it or otherwise indicated an interest as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file with the issuer.
(3) No holder may deduct from the amount of any traveler’s check or money order any charges imposed by reason of the failure to present those instruments for payment unless there is a valid and enforceable written contract between the issuer and the owner of the property pursuant to which the issuer may impose those charges and the issuer regularly imposes those charges and does not regularly reverse or otherwise cancel those charges with respect to the property.
(4) No sum payable on a traveler’s check, money order, or similar written instrument, other than a third party bank check, described in subsections (1) and (2) may be subjected to the custody of this state as unclaimed property unless:
(a) The records of the issuer show that the traveler’s check, money order, or similar written instrument was purchased in this state;
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 717.104
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- 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) A person who is in possession or control or has custody of property or the rights to property belonging to another; is indebted to another on an obligation; or is obligated to hold for the account of, or to deliver or pay to, the owner, property subject to this chapter; or(b) A trustee in case of a trust. See Florida Statutes 717.101
- Owner: means a person, or the person's legal representative, entitled to receive or having a legal or equitable interest in or claim against property subject to this chapter; 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 a negotiable instrument or other intangible property. See Florida Statutes 717.101
- Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Florida Statutes 717.101
- 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
- writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01
(b) The issuer has its principal place of business in this state and the records of the issuer do not show the state in which the traveler’s check, money order, or similar written instrument was purchased; or(c) The issuer has its principal place of business in this state; the records of the issuer show the state in which the traveler’s check, money order, or similar written instrument was purchased; and the laws of the state of purchase do not provide for the escheat or custodial taking of the property, or its escheat or unclaimed property law is not applicable to the property.
(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, subsection (4) applies to sums payable on traveler’s checks, money orders, and similar written instruments presumed unclaimed on or after February 1, 1965, except to the extent that those sums have been paid over to a state prior to January 1, 1974.