Florida Surplus Funds Laws
How mortgage foreclosure surplus, tax sale surplus and unclaimed funds work in Florida.
Mortgage foreclosure surplus
Fla. Stat. §§ 45.031–45.035 govern surplus after a judicial mortgage sale. Section 45.032 presumes that the owner of record when the lis pendens was filed receives the remainder after timely subordinate-lien claims; § 45.033 regulates assignments of surplus rights. A subordinate lienholder must claim before the clerk reports the surplus as unclaimed; under § 45.032(3)(c), a balance held one year after sale is presumed unclaimed. The owner of record may claim while the clerk holds the funds and may claim later remitted funds under Chapter 717. The 60-day period in § 45.033 concerns filing an assignment of surplus rights, not the owner’s claim deadline.
Tax sale surplus
Fla. Stat. § 197.582 governs distribution of excess proceeds from a tax-deed sale. Valid governmental liens, other lienholders by priority, and then the former titleholder may receive the surplus under its procedures. A person receiving the clerk’s tax-deed surplus notice has 120 days from the notice to file a claim; a nonowner lienholder who misses it is barred (§ 197.582(3), (5)). The former property owner is expressly excepted from that bar. After the period, the clerk determines priority or interpleads and may pay the legal titleholder if no other claims are made (§ 197.582(6), (9)).
Unclaimed funds
Florida Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, Fla. Stat. Chapter 717; § 717.124 governs an owner’s claim to property delivered to the Department of Financial Services. Chapter 717 states no fixed deadline for an owner to file an initial claim for property held by the department under § 717.124. The one-year court-clerk reporting period for mortgage surplus and 120-day nonowner tax-deed claim period are separate procedures.
Fee and practice notes
For mortgage foreclosure surplus, working with an attorney is recommended. If you use an assignment of interest, fees are reported as capped at 12%.
Statute text
Links to the statutes referenced in our research. These may be third-party copies of older code editions, so check the current official code before relying on them.
