"Finders keepers, losers weepers!" This age-old adage implies that when a person finds a lost object, he or she becomes the new, rightful owner of that piece of property. But is this really the law that applies in our modern-day world? In this article, we’ll examine the laws that apply when the objects of the "finder’s" affection are abandoned, lost, or misplaced. This article will show you that depending on the "status" of the property, the laws may give different people different rights.

First, we’ll discuss abandoned property.