IBA Compliance Connection

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When cashier’s checks must be remitted to the state as unclaimed property, should the funds be remitted in the name of the remitter or payee?

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We believe that cashier’s checks presumed abandoned may be reported to the Illinois Treasurer with the name of the payee, or in the name of both the payee and the remitter (also referred to as the purchaser).

The Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA) requires that reports of property presumed abandoned must include the name and other identifying information of the “apparent owner” of the property. “Apparent owner” is defined as “a person whose name appears on the records of a holder as the owner of property held, issued, or owing by the holder.” An “owner” is a person with a legal, beneficial or equitable interest in property, including a payee on an instrument. But the term “owner” also could include the holder of a cashier’s check or money order that has not yet been delivered to the payee.

We have spoken with an attorney at the Illinois Treasurer’s office about identifying the apparent owner of cashier’s checks, and their experience has been that most financial institutions report cashier’s checks with both the payee’s name and the purchaser’s name listed as owners (although the attorney acknowledged that this is not required). Consequently, we believe it would be acceptable to report cashier’s checks in the name of the payee or the remitter (purchaser), or both.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

  • Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-402(a) (“The report required under Section 15-401 must: . . . (4) except for a traveler’s check, money order, or similar instrument, contain the name, if known, last-known address, if known, and Social Security number or taxpayer identification number, if known or readily ascertainable, of the apparent owner of property with a value of $5 or more.”)
  • Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-102(3) (“‘Apparent owner’ means a person whose name appears on the records of a holder as the owner of property held, issued, or owing by the holder.”)
  • Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-102(21) (“‘Owner’, unless the context otherwise requires, means a person that has a legal, beneficial, or equitable interest in property subject to this Act or the person’s legal representative when acting on behalf of the owner. The term includes: . . . (C) a creditor, claimant, or payee, for other property; . . .”)