Money Found – What are Your Legal Obligations?

Everyone has seen a few cents on the ground, likely dropped while someone pulled a bunch of keys from their pocket.

While we would probably not think twice about picking up 10 cents, what if it was a bank envelope full of N$100 notes? It may seem like a dream come true, but there are certain legal obligations when one finds misplaced money.

Every state has laws requiring the return of money or property if it is possible to identify the owner. As a result, if you find a wallet full of cash and an ID, you cannot legally pocket the cash because the owner is recognisable. 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. If the owner is not easily identified, most states still require that you contact local law enforcement and give the money to them for a period of time to allow the owner the opportunity to claim it. Should the rightful owner fail to surface after a certain period of time, every state’s laws will allow the finder to take the money as his or her own. Doing otherwise is considered theft, and the reasoning should be obvious: everyone ever accused of theft would just claim that they found the stolen property if there was not this legal obligation to try to return lost things to their owners.

This brings us back to the usual hauls one finds on the street: coins or the stray N$10 notes. Obviously the time and expense of trying to find someone over a few dollars is so prohibitive that, while technically illegal, keeping these sums is acceptable. As the old Latin saying goes “de minimis non curat lex”, which translates to: the law does not bother with trivial things. Of course, if you find this money and someone is walking around looking for it, then you would be breaking the law if you lied and said you had not seen it just so you could keep it.

To some, if you pick up money, particularly a large sum of money, it is advisable for your own protection to contact the local police or law enforcement and give the money to them for a period of time to allow the owner the opportunity to claim it.

Johannes Uusiku is a 20-year-old third year Bachelor of Law (LLB) student at Unam. He likes to write on issues experienced by the youth in their daily life from a legal perspective.

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