Question: If you are walking down a street in New York City and come across a valuable diamond ring lying in the gutter, what should you do? You might be tempted to keep the ring or sell it and enjoy the proceeds, but that would be unethical. It would also be illegal under New York law-and under the laws of many other states as well. An Example-New York Laws New York law defines lost property to include lost property, mislaid property, and abandoned property, whether it is cash, goods, or some other type of tangible personal property. Generally, the finder of property worth $20 or more must either return it to the rightful owner or report it to the police and deposit it at a police station within ten days. Failure to do so is a misdemeanor, subject to a fine and imprisonment for not more than six months. When the finder delivers the property to the authorities, he or she is given a receipt, and the statutory waiting period begins (ranging from three months for property valued at less than $100, to three years for property valued at more than $5,000). The police then attempt to find the rightful owner. Other States' Lost-Property Laws Many other states have also enacted lost-property statutes.

The statutes differ greatly from state to state, but typically they eliminate the distinctions among lost property, mislaid property, and abandoned property, as the New York statute does. Many statutes also require the finder to deposit found property with local authorities, although the penalty imposed for failure to do so may not be as severe as under New York's statute. Lost-property statutes also typically require the police to attempt to find the true owner through such measures as calling the owner or person in charge of the premises where the property was found. Sometimes, the finder must advertise the property and its discovery through the county court. Generally, if the true owner cannot be located within a certain period of time, which varies depending on the value of the property and whether the property is perishable, the finder gets the property. If the finder does not appear after the period of time has lapsed, the property may be sold and the proceeds disposed of as specified by the statute. In California, for instance, the proceeds from such a sale go into a state abandoned-property fund (if the state police had custody of the lost property) or become the property of the city, county, town, or village (if other police had custody). Every statute has exceptions, of course. In some situations, an employer may have rights to property found by an employee. Property found in a safe-deposit area in a bank may also be subject to different rules.

CHECKLIST FOR THE FINDER OF LOST PROPERTY

1 To maximize your chances of legally keeping lost property, take the found property to the nearest police station.

2 Make sure you follow the statutory requirements of the jurisdiction, which may require you to advertise the found property.