The same holds true for a bank envelope full of money (especially if it has a receipt in it), a purse, or even an abandoned vehicle. As a result, if you find a wallet full of cash and an ID, you cannot legally pocket the cash because the owner is recognizable. But what should my friends and I have done? Were we under a legal obligation to do anything with the money?Įvery state has laws requiring the return of money or property if it is possible to identify the owner. Being younger and more naïve we collected the money, gave it to the manager, and asked him to call us and return it if the owners did not come back. Even I, your humble author, once found several hundred dollars literally blowing around a parking lot after a lunch with some colleagues. A 75-year-old woman once found (and returned) $100,000 she found in the parking lot of a restaurant in Tennessee. While we would probably not think twice about picking up a penny, what if it was a bank envelope full of $100 bills? It may seem like a dream come true, but there are certain legal obligations when one finds misplaced money.Ī few people have found incredible sums of money in unlikely places. Everyone has seen a few cents on the ground, likely dropped while someone pulled a ring of keys from their pocket.
