COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 285
(By Senator Kessler)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 24, 2006.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact §36-8-1, §36-8-2, §36-8-7, §36-8-8,
§36-8-12, §36-8-13, §36-8-15 and §36-8-17 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend said code by adding
thereto two new sections, designated §36-8-5a and §36-8-15a;
and to amend and reenact §42-1-3c of said code, all relating
to unclaimed property; definitions; shortening the abandonment
period for stocks, bonds, mineral proceeds and demutualization
proceeds; changing the abandonment period and reporting
requirements for gift certificates; limiting locator fees;
waiving notary requirements for unclaimed property reports
submitted electronically; authorizing Treasurer to require
that unclaimed property holders to liquidate securities and
report proceeds as unclaimed property; authorizing Treasurer
to sell abandoned property through electronic auction or other
methods; increasing the maximum amount that may be transferred
from the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to the Prepaid Tuition Escrow Fund to one million dollars annually; authorizing
Treasurer to transfer one million dollars from the Unclaimed
Property Trust Fund to any public campaign financing fund that
may be approved by the Legislature; waiving notary
requirements for claims under five hundred dollars and
limiting administrator's liability for duplicate claims
payment; authorizing any state agency, board or commission
owed delinquent funds by any person to claim that person's
property to offset delinquent amounts owed the agency;
authorizing unclaimed property holder to deliver property and
Treasurer to treat property as abandoned property prior to
expiration of abandonment period where property holder has
given notice to the apparent owners; and allowing property
with no taker under laws of descent and distribution to be
administered by Treasurer as unclaimed property.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §36-8-1, §36-8-2, §36-8-7, §36-8-8, §36-8-12, §36-8-13,
§36-8-15 and §36-8-17 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by
adding thereto two new sections, designated §36-8-5a and §36-8-15a;
and that §42-1-3c of said code be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
CHAPTER 36. ESTATES AND PROPERTY.
ARTICLE 8. THE UNIFORM UNCLAIMED PROPERTY ACT.
§36-8-1. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(1) "Administrator" means the State Treasurer.
(2) "Apparent owner" means a the person whose name appears on
the records of a holder as the person entitled to property held,
issued or owing by the holder.
(3) "Business association" means a corporation, joint stock
company, investment company, partnership, unincorporated
association, joint venture, limited liability company, business
trust, trust company, safe deposit company, financial organization,
insurance company, mutual fund, utility or other business entity
consisting of one or more persons, whether or not for profit.
(4) "Demutualization" means the process of converting a mutual
membership company to a stock-based company, whether undertaken in
conjunction with a plan of demutualization, liquidation, merger or
other form of reorganization.
(5) "Domicile" means the state of incorporation of a
corporation and the state of the principal place of business of a
holder other than a corporation.
(5)(6) "Financial organization" means a savings and loan
association, bank, banking organization or credit union.
(6)(7) "Gift certificate" means a prefunded tangible or
electronic record evidencing an agreement by the issuer of the
record that goods, services, credit, money or anything of value
will be provided to the consumer for the value shown in the record
and that the value of the record will be decreased accordingly.
(A) "Gift certificate" includes, but is not limited to, a
record that contains a microprocessor chip, magnetic chip, or other
means for the storage of information; a gift card, an electronic
gift card, a stored-value card or certificate; a store card; or a
similar record or card.
(B) "Gift certificate" does not include traveler's checks or
any access device, such as a debit card, code or other means of
access to a customer's account that may be used by the consumer to
access the funds for the purpose of initiating a withdrawal of an
electronic funds transfer.
(6)(8) "Holder" means a person obligated to hold for the
account of, or deliver or pay to, the owner property that is
subject to this article.
(7)(9) "Insurance company" means an association, corporation,
or fraternal or mutual benefit organization, whether or not for
profit or not for profit, engaged in the business of providing life
endowments, annuities or insurance, including accident, burial,
casualty, credit life, contract performance, dental, disability,
fidelity, fire, health, hospitalization, illness, life,
malpractice, marine, mortgage, surety, wage protection and workers'
compensation insurance.
(8)(10) "Mineral" means gas; oil; coal; other gaseous, liquid
and solid hydrocarbons; oil shale; cement material; sand and
gravel; road material; building stone; chemical raw material;
gemstone; fissionable and nonfissionable ores; colloidal and other clay; steam and other geothermal resource; or any other substance
defined as a mineral by the law of this state.
(9)(11) "Mineral proceeds" means amounts payable for the
extraction, production or sale of minerals, or, upon the
abandonment of those payments, all payments that become payable
thereafter. The term includes amounts payable:
(i)(A) For the acquisition and retention of a mineral lease,
including bonuses, royalties, compensatory royalties, shut-in
royalties, minimum royalties and delay rentals;
(ii)
(iii)
(10)(12) "Money order" includes an express money order and a
personal money order, on which the remitter is the purchaser. The
term does not include a bank money order or any other instrument
sold by a financial organization if the seller has obtained the
name and address of the payee.
(11)(13) "Owner" means a person who has a legal or equitable
interest in property subject to this article or the person's legal
representative. The term includes a depositor in the case of a
deposit, a beneficiary in the case of a trust other than a deposit
in trust, and a creditor, claimant or payee in the case of other property.
(12)(14) "Person" means an individual, business association,
financial organization, estate, trust, government, governmental
subdivision, agency or instrumentality, or any other legal or
commercial entity.
(13)(15) "Property" means tangible personal property described
in section three of this article or a fixed and certain interest in
intangible personal property that is held, issued or owed in the
course of a holder's business, or by a government, governmental
subdivision, agency or instrumentality, and all income or
increments therefrom. The term includes property that is referred
to as or evidenced by:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(14)(16) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a
tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium
and is retrievable in perceivable form.
(15)(17) "State" means a state of the United States, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any
territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the
United States.
(16)(18) "Utility" means a person who owns or operates for
public use any plant, equipment, real property, franchise or
license for the transmission of communications or the production,
storage, transmission, sale, delivery or furnishing of electricity,
water, steam or gas as defined in section two, article one, chapter
twenty-four of this code.
§36-8-2. Presumptions of abandonment.
(a) Property is presumed abandoned if it is unclaimed by the
apparent owner during the time set forth below for the particular
property:
(1) Traveler's check, fifteen years after issuance;(2) Money order, seven years after issuance;
(3) Stock or other equity interest in a business association
or financial organization, including a security entitlement under
article eight of the Uniform Commercial Code, five three years
after the earlier earliest of: (i) The date of the most recent
dividend, stock split or other distribution unclaimed by the
apparent owner; or (ii) the date of the second mailing of a
statement of account or other notification or communication that
was returned as undeliverable; or after (iii) the date the holder
discontinued mailings, notifications or communications to the
apparent owner;
(4) Any dividend, profit, distribution, interest, redemption,
payment on principal, or other sum held or owing by a business
association for or to its shareholder, certificate holder, member,
bondholder, or other security holder, who has not claimed it, or
corresponded in writing with the business association concerning
it, three years after the date prescribed for payment or delivery;
(5) Unmatured or unredeemed debt, of a business association or
financial organization, other than a bearer bond or an original
issue discount bond, five three years after the date of the most
recent interest payment unclaimed by the apparent owner
(6) Unpaid matured or redeemed debt, three years after the
date of maturity or redemption;
(5)(7) A noninterest bearing demand, savings or time deposit,
including a deposit that is automatically renewable, five years after the earlier of maturity or the date of the last indication by
the owner of interest in the property; an interest bearing demand,
savings or time deposit including a deposit that is automatically
renewable, seven years after the earlier of maturity or the date of
the last indication by the owner of interest in the property. A
deposit that is automatically renewable is deemed matured for
purposes of this section upon its initial date of maturity, unless
the owner has consented to a renewal at or about the time of the
renewal and the consent is in writing or is evidenced by a
memorandum or other record on file with the holder;
(6)(8) Money or credits owed to a customer as a result of a
retail business transaction, three years after the obligation
accrued;
(7)(9) Gift certificate,
three years after the thirty-first
day of December of the year in date on which the certificate was
sold, but if redeemable in merchandise only, the amount abandoned
is deemed to be sixty percent of the certificate's face value
remaining balance on the gift certificate.
(8)(10) An amount owed by an insurer on a life or endowment
insurance policy or an annuity that has matured or terminated,
three years after the obligation to pay arose or, in the case of a
policy or annuity payable upon proof of death, three years after
the insured has attained, or would have attained if living, the
limiting age under the mortality table on which the reserve is
based;
(9)(11) Property distributable by a business association or
financial organization in a course of dissolution, one year after
the property becomes distributable;
(10)(12) Property received by a court as proceeds of a class
action, and not distributed pursuant to the judgment, one year
after the distribution date;
(11)(13) Property held by a court, government, governmental
subdivision, agency or instrumentality, one year after the property
becomes distributable;
(12)(14) Wages or other compensation for personal services,
one year after the compensation becomes payable;
(13)(15) A deposit or refund owed to a subscriber by a
utility, two years after the deposit or refund becomes payable;
(14)(16) Property in an individual retirement account, defined
benefit plan or other account or plan that is qualified for tax
deferral under the income tax laws of the United States, three
years after the earliest of the date of the distribution or
attempted distribution of the property, the date of the required
distribution as stated in the plan or trust agreement governing the
plan, or the date, if determinable by the holder, specified in the
income tax laws of the United States by which distribution of the
property must begin in order to avoid a tax penalty;
(15)(17) Warrants for payment issued by the State of West
Virginia which have not been presented for payment, within six
months of the date of issuance;
(16) All funds held by a fiduciary, including the state
municipal bond commission, for the payment of a note, bond,
debenture or other evidence or indebtedness, five years after the
principal maturity date, or if such note, bond, debenture or
evidence of indebtedness is called for redemption on an earlier
date, then the redemption date, such premium or redemption date to
also be applicable to all interest and premium, if any,
attributable to such note, bond, debenture or other evidence of
indebtedness; and
(18) Mineral proceeds, three years after the proceeds are
payable or distributable. Any mineral proceeds later accruing as
a result of the same underlying right and not previously presumed
abandoned are presumed abandoned at the time of accrual;
(19) Property distributable in the course of the
demutualization of an insurance company:
(A) Any funds, two years after the date of the
demutualization, if the funds remain unclaimed and the owner has
not otherwise communicated with the holder or its agent regarding
the property as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file
with the holder or its agent;
(B) Any stock, two years after the date of the
demutualization, if instruments or statements reflecting the
distribution are either mailed to the owner and returned by the
post office as undeliverable or not mailed to the owner because of
an address on the books and records of the holder that is known to be incorrect and the owner has not otherwise communicated with the
holder or its agent regarding the property as evidenced by a
memorandum or other record on file with the holder or its agent;
(C) Demutualization property not otherwise subject to this
section, as provided in subdivision (20) of this subsection; and
(17)(20) All other property, five years after the owner's
right to demand the property or after the obligation to pay or
distribute the property arises, whichever first occurs.
(b) At the time that an interest is presumed abandoned under
subsection (a) of this section, any other property right accrued or
accruing to the owner as a result of the interest, and not
previously presumed abandoned, is also presumed abandoned.
(c) Property is unclaimed if, for the applicable period set
forth in subsection (a) of this section, the apparent owner has not
communicated in writing or by other means reflected in a
contemporaneous record prepared by or on behalf of the holder, with
the holder concerning the property or the account in which the
property is held, and has not otherwise indicated an interest in
the property. A communication with an owner by a person other than
the holder or its representative who has not in writing identified
in writing
the property to the owner is not an indication of
interest in the property by the owner.
(d) An indication of an owner's interest in property includes:
(1) The presentment of a check or other instrument of payment
of a dividend or other distribution made with respect to an account or underlying stock or other interest in a business association or
financial organization or, in the case of a distribution made by
electronic or similar means, evidence that the distribution has
been received;
(2) Owner-directed activity in the account in which the
property is held, including a direction by the owner to increase,
decrease or change the amount or type of property held in the
account;
(3) The making of a deposit to or withdrawal from a bank
account; and
(4) The payment of a premium with respect to a property
interest in an insurance policy; but the application of an
automatic premium loan provision or other nonforfeiture provision
contained in an insurance policy does not prevent a policy from
maturing or terminating if the insured has died or the insured or
the beneficiary of the policy has otherwise become entitled to the
proceeds before the depletion of the cash surrender value of a
policy by the application of those provisions.
(e) Property is payable or distributable for purposes of this
article notwithstanding the owner's failure to make demand or
present an instrument or document otherwise required to obtain
payment.
§36-8-5a. Locator fees.
Any agreement to pay compensation to recover or assist in the
recovery of property reported under this article is unenforceable, if it is made within eighteen months after the date on which a
report of abandoned property is filed under section seven of this
article or within twelve months after the date on which abandoned
property is paid or delivered to the administrator under section
eight of this article. No person who contracts to recover or to
assist in the recovery of abandoned or unclaimed property may
charge a fee, including all expenses incurred, in excess of ten
percent of the value of any property recovered.
§36-8-7. Report of abandoned property.
(a) A holder of property presumed abandoned shall make a
report to the administrator concerning the property. A holder shall
submit the report in an electronic format prescribed by the
administrator. The administrator may waive this requirement if he
or she determines that enforcing the electronic filing requirement
would create an undue hardship.
(b) The report must be verified, unless it is submitted in
electronic format, and must contain:
(1) A description of the property;
(2) Except with respect to a traveler's check or money order,
the name, if known, and last known address, if any, and the social
security number or taxpayer identification number, if readily
ascertainable, of the apparent owner of property of the value of
fifty dollars or more;
(3) An aggregated amount of items valued under fifty dollars
each;
(4) In the case of an amount of fifty dollars or more held or
owing under an annuity or a life or endowment insurance policy, the
full name and last known address of the annuitant or insured and of
the beneficiary;
(5) In the case of property held in a safe deposit box or
other safekeeping depository, an indication of the place where it
is held and where it may be inspected by the administrator and any
amounts owing to the holder;
(6) The date, if any, on which the property became payable,
demandable or returnable and the date of the last transaction with
the apparent owner with respect to the property; and
(7) Other information that the administrator by rule
prescribes as necessary for the administration of this article.
(c) If a holder of property presumed abandoned is a successor
to another person who previously held the property for the apparent
owner or the holder has changed its name while holding the
property, the holder shall file with the report its former names,
if any, and the known names and addresses of all previous holders
of the property.
(d) The report must be filed before the first day of November
of each year and cover the twelve months next preceding the first
day of July of that year, but a report with respect to a life
insurance company must be filed before the first day of May of each
year for the calendar year next preceding.
(e) The holder of property presumed abandoned shall send written notice to the apparent owner, not more than one hundred
twenty days or less than sixty days before filing the report,
stating that the holder is in possession of property subject to
this article, if:
(1) The holder has in its records an address for the apparent
owner which the holder's records do not disclose to be inaccurate;
(2) The claim of the apparent owner is not barred by a statute
of limitations; and
(3) The value of the property is fifty dollars or more.
(f) Before the date for filing the report, the holder of
property presumed abandoned may request the administrator to extend
the time for filing the report. The administrator may grant the
extension for good cause. The holder, upon receipt of the
extension, may make an interim payment on the amount the holder
estimates will ultimately be due, which terminates the accrual of
additional interest on the amount paid.
(g) The holder of property presumed abandoned shall file with
the report an affidavit stating that the holder has complied with
subsection (e) of this section. If the report is submitted in an
electronic format, in lieu of an affidavit, the holder may file a
statement that it has complied with the requirements of subsection
(e) of this section.
§36-8-8. Payment or delivery of abandoned property.
(a) Except for property held in a safe deposit box or other
safe-keeping depository, and except as otherwise provided in this section, upon filing the report required by section seven of this
article, the holder of property presumed abandoned shall pay,
deliver or cause to be paid or delivered to the administrator the
property described in the report as unclaimed, but if the property
is an automatically renewable deposit, and a penalty or forfeiture
in the payment of interest would result, the time for compliance is
extended until a penalty or forfeiture would no longer result.
Property held in a safe deposit box or other safe-keeping
depository may not be delivered to the administrator until one
hundred twenty days after filing the report required by section
seven of this article.
(b) If the property reported to the administrator is a
security or security entitlement under article eight of the uniform
commercial code, the administrator is an appropriate person to make
an indorsement, instruction or entitlement order on behalf of the
apparent owner to invoke the duty of the issuer or its transfer
agent or the securities intermediary to transfer or dispose of the
security or the security entitlement in accordance with article
eight of the Uniform Commercial Code.
(c) (1) In lieu of requiring the transfer of a security to the
administrator, the administrator may require that the holder
liquidate the security and report the proceeds as unclaimed
property. Securities listed on an established stock exchange must
be sold at prices prevailing on the exchange at the time of sale.
Other securities may be sold over the counter at prices prevailing at the time of sale or by any other reasonable method authorized by
the administrator.
(2) Within sixty calendar days of any sale conducted pursuant
to this subsection, the holder shall deliver to the administrator
the monetary proceeds resulting from the sale, after deducting a
proportionate share of the reasonable expense attributable to the
sale. The holder shall report the number of shares sold, the value
of each share and the expense attributable to the sale. The holder
shall include in its report and shall pay or deliver to the
administrator all interest, dividends, increments, earnings and
accretions due, payable or distributable at the time of liquidation
and all earnings on the property between the time of liquidation
and the time of reporting.
(d) If the holder of property reported to the administrator is
the issuer of a certificated security, the administrator has the
right to obtain a replacement certificate pursuant to article
eight, section four hundred eight five of the Uniform Commercial
Code, but chapter forty-six of this code without posting an
indemnity bond is not required.
(d)(e) An issuer, the holder and any transfer agent or other
person acting pursuant to the instructions of and on behalf of the
issuer or holder in accordance with this section is not liable to
the apparent owner and must shall be indemnified against claims of
any person in accordance with section ten of this article.
§36-8-12. Sale of abandoned property.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
administrator, within three years after the receipt of abandoned
property other than money with a cash value equal to its face value
shall sell it to the highest bidder at public sale at a location in
the state by the method and at the location which, in the judgment
of the administrator, affords the most favorable market for the
property.
(b) The administrator may decline the highest bid and reoffer
the property for sale if the administrator considers the bid to be
insufficient. The administrator need not offer the property for
sale if the administrator considers that the probable cost of sale
will exceed the proceeds of the sale. A sale held under this
section must be preceded by a single publication of notice, by
publication of a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the
provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code
, at
least three weeks before the sale in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county in which the property is to be sold.
(c) The administrator may dispose of abandoned property
without a public sale by any method if, in his or her opinion, the
probable cost of public sale will exceed the value of the property.
The provisions of this subsection do not apply to securities for
which there is an established market, which shall be sold in the
manner customary in that market.
(b)(d) Securities listed on an established stock exchange must
be sold at prices prevailing on the exchange at the time of sale. Other securities may be sold over the counter at prices prevailing
at the time of sale or by any reasonable method selected by the
administrator. If securities are sold by the administrator before
the expiration of three years after their delivery to the
administrator, a person making a claim under this article before
the end of the three-year period is entitled to the proceeds of the
sale of the securities less any deduction for expenses of sale. A
person making a claim under this article after the expiration of
the three-year period is entitled to receive the securities
delivered to the administrator by the holder, if they still remain
in the custody of the administrator, or the net proceeds received
from sale, and is not entitled to receive any appreciation in the
value of the property occurring after delivery to the
administrator, except in a case of intentional misconduct or
malfeasance by the administrator.
(c)(e) A purchaser of property at a sale conducted by the
administrator pursuant to this article takes the property free of
all claims of the owner or previous holder and of all persons
claiming through or under them. The administrator shall execute all
documents necessary to complete the transfer of ownership.
§36-8-13. Deposit of funds.
(a) The administrator shall record the name and last known
address of each person appearing from the holders' reports to be
entitled to the property and the name and last known address of
each insured person or annuitant and beneficiary and with respect to each policy or annuity listed in the report of an insurance
company, its number, the name of the company and the amount due.
(b) The Unclaimed Property Fund is continued. The
administrator shall deposit all funds received pursuant to this
article in the Unclaimed Property Fund, including the proceeds from
the sale of abandoned property under section twelve of this
article. In addition to paying claims of unclaimed property duly
allowed, the administrator may deduct the following expenses from
the Unclaimed Property Fund:
(1) Expenses of the sale of abandoned property;
(2) Expenses incurred in returning the property to owners,
including without limitation the costs of mailing and publication
to locate owners;
(3) Reasonable service charge; and
(4) Expenses incurred in examining records of holders of
property and in collecting the property from those holders.
(c) The Unclaimed Property Trust Fund is continued within the
State Treasury. After deducting the expenses specified in
subsection (b) of this section and maintaining a sum of money from
which to pay claims duly allowed, the administrator shall transfer
the remaining moneys in the Unclaimed Property Fund to the
Unclaimed Property Trust Fund.
(d) On or before the fifteenth day of December of each year
and after receipt of a report from the Chairman of the Board of
Trustees of the West Virginia College Prepaid Tuition and Savings Program stating the amount certified by an actuary in accordance
with the provisions of section six, article thirty, chapter
eighteen of this code, notwithstanding any provision of this code
to the contrary, the administrator shall transfer the sum of money
certified by the actuary from the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to
the Prepaid Tuition Trust Escrow Account Fund, the amount
transferred not to exceed five hundred thousand one million dollars
annually.
(e) In the event a program for public campaign financing is
authorized by the Legislature, upon the written request of the
person or entity in charge of the program, the administrator shall
transfer a one-time sum of one million dollars from the Unclaimed
Property Trust Fund to the public campaign financing program's
fund.
(f) After transferring any money required by subsection
subsections (d) and (e) of this section, the administrator shall
transfer moneys remaining in the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to
the General Revenue Fund.
§36-8-15. Filing claim with administrator; handling of claims by
administrator.
(a) A person, excluding another state, this state, or a
governmental agency of this state, claiming an interest in any
property paid or delivered to the administrator pursuant to this
article may file a claim on a form prescribed by the administrator
and verified by the claimant. If the value of the property claimed is five hundred dollars or less, the administrator may accept in
lieu of the affidavit verifying the claim, the claimant's unsworn
statement, given under penalty of perjury in substantially the
following form: "I certify under penalty of perjury that the
foregoing is true and correct."
(b) Within ninety days after a claim is filed, the
administrator shall allow or deny the claim and give written notice
of the decision to the claimant. If the claim is denied, the
administrator shall inform the claimant of the reasons for the
denial and specify what additional evidence is required before the
claim will be allowed. The claimant may then file a new claim with
the administrator or maintain an action under section sixteen of
this article.
(c) Within thirty days after a claim is allowed, the property
or net proceeds of a sale of property must be delivered or paid by
the administrator to the claimant.
(d) A claimant receiving property from the administrator shall
indemnify the state and its officers and employees against any
liability on account of payment or delivery of the property.
(e) When the administrator pays or delivers money or other
property to any claimant in good faith
under the provisions of this
article, any person who subsequently claims to be lawfully entitled
to the property delivered may enforce his or her rights only in an
appropriate civil proceeding against the person to whom the money
or property was delivered. In such civil actions, the successful claimant may be awarded costs, including attorney's fees.
§36-8-15a.Unclaimed property offset for delinquent debts owed
state agencies, boards or commissions.
(a) Any state agency, board or commission which has issued a
final order or finding that an individual is liable to the agency,
board or commission for payment of any sum, whether for taxes,
penalties, fees, interest, past-due support or other amounts
authorized to be collected under provisions of this code
, may file
a claim in the manner provided in this section against property in
the possession of the administrator pursuant to this article in
satisfaction of any delinquency on the part of the debtor.
(b) Any agency, board or commission which intends to make
claim against unclaimed property in satisfaction of a debt must
periodically report to the administrator the name, social security
number or federal employer identification number and last known
address of the delinquent debtor, the amount owed and any other
identifying information required by the administrator.
(c) The administrator shall compare the information provided
by the agency, board or commission to the information the
administrator has with regard to reported owners of unclaimed
property. If the name and associated social security number or
federal employer identification number of the debtor matches that
of a reported owner, the administrator shall notify the reporting
agency, board or commission that the debtor may have an interest in
unclaimed property.
Where the name or social security number of the debtor and the reported owner do not match, but the
administrator has other documentation establishing that the debtor
has an interest in unclaimed property,
the administrator may notify
the reporting agency, board or commission, of the debtor's interest
in unclaimed property. The administrator shall include in the
notice the most recent known address of the reported owner.
(d) In order to make a claim against property in which the
debtor appears to have an interest, the agency, board or commission
must first:
(1) Notify the debtor that a claim will be made and that the
value of the claim may be withheld from any unclaimed property
otherwise payable to the debtor;
(2) Publish a Class I legal advertisement in a newspaper of
general circulation in the county in which the debtor is believed
to be located and in the county where the property is located; and
(3) Instructing the debtor of the procedures provided by the
administrator for contesting the claim of the agency, board or
commission against the unclaimed property.
(e) After satisfying the requirements of subsection (d) of
this section, the agency, board or commission file a claim with the
administrator against the unclaimed property reported in the name
of the debtor.
(f) The administrator shall provide by rule the procedure by
which a debtor may contest the claim of the agency, board or
commission against the unclaimed property. In any proceeding under this subsection, the issues to be decided are limited to:
(1) Whether the final order or finding that the debtor was
liable to the agency, board or commission for the claimed sum was
made after giving the alleged notice of the alleged and an
opportunity to be heard on the merits of the claim of the agency,
board or commission;
(2) Whether the debtor is delinquent in paying the sum owed to
the agency, board or commission;
(3) Whether the debtor and the reported owner of the property
against which the agency, board or commission has made a claim are
the same person; and
(4) Whether the debtor, in fact, has an interest in the
property against which the agency, board or commission has made a
claim.
(g) If the administrator determines that the agency, board or
commission should prevail upon its claim, the administrator shall
reduce the value of the unclaimed property in which the debtor has
an interest by the amount of the debt claimed and transmit that
amount to the agency, board or commission. If the value of the
unclaimed property is less than or equal to the amount of the debt,
the administrator shall withhold the entire amount of the unclaimed
property.
(h) The agency, board or commission receiving the property
shall dispose of the property received as required by law.
§36-8-17. Election to take payment or delivery.
(a) The administrator may decline to receive property reported
under this article which the administrator considers to have a
value less than the expenses of notice and sale.
(b) A holder, with the written consent of the administrator
and upon conditions and terms prescribed by the administrator, may
report and deliver property before the property is presumed
abandoned. Property so delivered pursuant to this subsection must
be held by the administrator and is not presumed abandoned until it
otherwise would be presumed abandoned under this article:
Provided, That where the holder has provided notice to the apparent
owner of the property as required by section seven of this article,
and does not receive a claim, response or other communication from
the apparent owner regarding the property within six months, the
abandonment period is considered to have expired and the
administrator is not required to hold the property under this
section.
CHAPTER 42. DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION.
ARTICLE 1. DESCENT.
§42-1-3c. No taker.
If there is no taker under the provisions of this article, the
intestate estate passes to the state. Any real property shall pass
to the State Auditor. Any personal property shall pass to the
State Treasurer as unclaimed property to be administered pursuant
to the provisions of article eight, chapter thirty-six of this
code. Property, other than money valued at its face value, shall be disposed of for disposition by public sale in accordance with
the provisions of section twelve of said article. The proceeds of
the sale of any such real property shall be deposited to the credit
of the General School Fund. The proceeds of the sale of any such
personal property shall be deposited to the credit of the General
Revenue Fund.