Abandoned Property

What Do I Need To Know an Abandoned Property?

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The Unclaimed Property Division of the State Controller’s Office (SCO) administers California’s Unclaimed Property Program. The program contains two sorts of property: Abandoned Property and Deceased Persons’ Probated Estates.

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Abandoned property

Abandoned properties are assets that the property owners might have forgotten about or, sometimes, be unaware of their existence. The holders of the abandoned properties are required by law to report such properties to the SCO when they can’t contact the owners for a set period of time.

The SCO holds the property indefinitely, and the rightful owner has no deadline to register a claim.

The California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP), Sections 1500 – 1582, and the California Code of Regulations, Administrative Code, Title 2, Division 2, Chapter 2, Subchapter 8, Articles 1 – 5, contain the statutes and regulations governing the administration of the Unclaimed Property Law in relation to abandoned property.

Abandoned properties include bonds, certified checks, checking accounts, credit balances, debentures, dividend and interest payments, drafts, mutual funds, pension funds, savings accounts, stocks, wages, and many other assets.

Probated Estates of Deceased Persons

Under the requirements of the Probate Code and the CCP, Section 1300 et seq., estates of deceased persons are remitted to the SCO. Unlike abandoned property, which is kept in perpetuity, the estates of deceased people are escheat and are no longer available for claiming after a certain length of time.

Judicial Escheat-Estates with Named Heirs 

Judicial escheat applies to estates worth $1,000 or more that have specified heirs.

After holding estates of deceased persons’ assets for five years, the SCO sends a list of the estates to the Attorney General’s Office. In the counties where the estates were probated, the Attorney General publishes the names of the decedents and their named heirs in a general circulation newspaper. Following the publishing of the names, the Attorney General consults with the SCO to determine any estates against whom a legitimate claim has been made. The Attorney General secures a permanent escheat court order if there has been no claim activity on an estate. The estate is permanently escheated by operation of law five years after the court order, and all future claims are blocked. For a period of ten years after the estate is remitted to the SCO, estate properties worth $1,000 or more with named heirs are subject to claim.

Administrative Escheat-Estates with Named Heirs

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Administrative escheat applies to estates under $1,000 with identified heirs.

The SCO issues a legal notice in a general circulation newspaper in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento five years after receiving the estate property. A list of estates subject to permanent escheat, including identified heirs, is also on display in the State Controller’s offices in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and also the California State Library-Sutro in San Francisco. These estates are permanently escheated by operation of law five years from the newspaper publishing date, and all subsequent claims are blocked. As a result, estate holdings worth less than $1,000 with specified heirs are available to claim for ten years after the estate is remitted to the SCO.

Estates with No Named Heirs

Regardless of when the SCO acquires the inheritance, estates with no specified heirs permanently escheat five years from the date of probate. By operation of law, permanent escheat occurs.

As a result, estate properties with no identified heirs remain open to claim for a period of five years after the estate is probated.

Exception to Judicial and Administrative Escheat


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Infants and people who are mentally unstable can file a claim for their properties for properties that have been permanently escheated, but only when certain conditions are met.

Infants must have been born before the end of the permanent escheat period and be under the age of 19 at the time the claim is made for payment.

People who are mentally ill must register their claims within one year following the end of their disability.

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