Escheatable

Welcome to 2016.  What unclaimed property issues will come up over the next 365 (actually, 366) days?  While you can never be sure, here are some stories that we will be keeping an eye on. Lawsuits, Lawsuits, Everwhere -- More and more holders are challenging state audit procedures, practices, and

According to an article in Monday's Daily News by Erin Durkin, New York City Public Advocate Letitia James and her staff found over $1.67M in over 2,000 accounts held by the New York Office of Unclaimed Funds on behalf of New York City agencies, departments, and organizations.  As the article notes,

Australia to Revise Bank Account Rules -- According to an article om News.com.au, the Australian government is considering legislation to (re)revise its laws relating to unclaimed bank accounts.  Under the current rules, certain bank accounts are deemed unclaimed if there has been no activity for 3

Earlier this month, we mentioned the legislative approval of Delaware Senate Bill 141.

Early this morning Delaware Senate Bill 141 passed the House, and now is ready to be signed by the Governor.  If passed, the bill would make some significant changes to the First State's audit practices and would further extend the voluntary disclosure program run by the Secretary of State (which is

Texas Lowers Aggregate Reporting Threshold . . .  -- Texas Senate Bill 1021 lowers the aggregate reporting threshold from $50 to $25, effective September 1, 2015. . . .

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion in Purdue v.

Death Master File Searches -  Idaho Senate Bill 1023 was enacted in March, to come into effect on July 1, 2016.  Arkansas Senate Bill 768, a similar bill, was enacted earlier this month, to come into effect June 30, 2016.  Utah House Bill 168 comes into effect in July of this year.

The Charleston Post & Courier has an article about the boost provided to South Carolina's budget as a result of unclaimed property collections.  Just as lawmakers were putting the finishing touches on the state budget, State Treasurer Curtis M. Loftis, Jr.

Last year, a company called Temple-Inland commenced a lawsuit against the State of Delaware, challenging the findings of a Kelmar-initiated unclaimed property audit, especially as to how estimated liabilities are calculated.  In particular, Temple-Inland alleged that Delaware made an audit demand in

Kentucky State Treasurer Defends His Post -- Kentucky.com has an article about Kentucky Treasurer Todd Hollenbach's defense of the position of State Treasurer.  Although term limits prevent Hollenbach from running again, a according to Kentucky.com some candidates for the position of State Treasurer

Perhaps we can now tie a bow on the long-running New Jersey gift card saga.  First, a brief refresher: In 2012, Governor Christie signed Senate Bill 1928 into law, which revised New Jersey's 2010 gift card legislation.  Briefly, the bill extended the dormancy period for gift cards from 2 years to 5

At the start of the year, we noted that the Delaware Unclaimed Property Task Force issued a report suggesting certain reforms to the state's unclaimed property practices and procedures.  Unfortunately, many of the high-profile recommendations (e.g., limiting lookback periods, implementing a new VDA

Since the widespread audits of life insurance companies' unclaimed property compliance became public knowledge in 2011, there has been copious ink spilled on discussion regarding the Social Security Death Master File.  The macabre-sounding index is not the central plot point of a horror movie, it is

Private companies are not the only ones with the obligation to comply with unclaimed property laws.  In many states, the escheat laws also apply to state, municipal, and local government entities.  For example, under the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act of 1995, property held by a "court, government,