Senate Bill No. 496

(By Senators Craigo and Dittmar)

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[Introduced February 21, 1994; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section eight, article eight, chapter thirty-six of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to stale dated checks held by state, local or federal entities; and including stale dated checks as intangible property under the uniform disposition of unclaimed property act.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, article eight, chapter thirty-six of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. UNIFORM DISPOSITION OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY ACT.

§36-8-8. Property held by courts and public officers and agencies.

(a) All intangible personal property, including stale dated checks, held for the owner by any state or federal court, public corporation, public authority or public officer in this state, or a political subdivision thereof, that has remained unclaimed bythe owner for more than five years is presumed abandoned: Provided, That this provision shall in no way affect such property in the custody or control of any state or federal court in any pending action: Provided, however, That if any federal statute provides for the distribution of any unclaimed property subject to the jurisdiction of a federal court, this statute shall not apply.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, all intangible personal property in the custody or control of a general receiver of a state court of record appointed pursuant to the provisions of article six, chapter fifty-one of this code, that has remained unclaimed by the owner for more than five years is presumed abandoned: Provided, That any such property in the custody or control of any such general receiver in which there is any contingent remainder interest, or any vested remainder interest which is subject to open to let in persons not yet in being or to open to let in members of any class, or any executory interest, or executory devise interest, or any base, qualified, conditional or limited fee estate or interest, or any other qualified, conditional, limited or determinable estate or interest, shall not be presumed abandoned until such property has remained unclaimed for more than five years after such estate or interest has vested or any such class has closed and the persons entitled to such property have been determined.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to include stale dated checks held by state, federal and local entities as intangible property under the uniform disposition of unclaimed property act.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.