Finders keepers? Is it legal to keep money you find in Kentucky? What state law says

Picture this: You wake up one morning, brew yourself some coffee, check your bank account through bleary eyes and do a double take. You see $100,000 has been deposited into your account overnight.

Your mind boggles at the possibilities. It has to be some sort of computer glitch on the bank’s part, right? But still, even if it is a mistake, are you within your rights to keep the money anyway?

In 2019, that fantastic scenario came true for a Pennsylvania couple when $120,000 was deposited into their joint bank account by accident.

Spending $107,416, the couple bought a new SUV, two all-terrain vehicles, a camper, parts for a race car, gave $15,000 to some friends in need and more, according to PennLive. In that case, after the bank asked for its money back and the police got involved, a judge ruled the couple had to pay back all the money they spent and perform 100 hours of community service. All other charges were dropped, and the two were placed on probation for seven years.

So what if a similar situation happened in Kentucky, say an armored truck full of bank deposits turns over on the freeway, spilling cash all over the road? What would likely happen to the drivers who stopped to pick up $20 bills off the road?

Here’s what Kentucky law has to say about property that’s “lost, mislaid or delivered by mistake.”

Is it legal to keep money you find in Kentucky?

The short answer is it depends on the circumstances.

As explained by the Kentucky Law Journal and as laid out in state law KRS 514.050, a person is guilty of “theft of property lost, mislaid or delivered by mistake” when two elements are shown to have occurred:

1. “He or she comes into control of the property of another that he or she knows to have been lost, mislaid, or delivered under a mistake as to the nature or amount of the property or the identity of the recipient.”

2. The finder has “intent to deprive the owner thereof” and “he or she fails to take reasonable measures to restore the property to a person entitled to have it.”

So, should a large sum of money unexpectedly show up in your bank account overnight or a Brinks truck tip over and spill cash all over the road, a case could be made that a reasonable person would see that money as “lost, mislaid or delivered by mistake.”

Additionally, the person who discovers the money under these circumstances would be obligated to take reasonable steps to return it. That could mean calling the bank to report a possible error with the account or contacting the police to report an overturned armored truck full of cash.

What questions or story ideas do you have about life in Kentucky for our service journalism team? Let us know via email to ask@herald-leader.com or submit them using the Know Your Kentucky form below.