IBA Compliance Connection

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We have abandoned safe deposit box contents stored in our vault from the 1970s. The contents are mainly sentimental items (birth certificates, a will, receipt for a jewelry purchase, an infant’s hospital bracelet) stored in manila envelopes and identified by only the customer’s last name and box number. Do we need to escheat these items to the state even though there is no known monetary value and the only identifying information is a last name? If we don’t escheat them, do we have to continue holding these items or can we dispose of them?

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Yes, we believe that these items must be reported and remitted to the State Treasurer under the Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (RUUPA).

The Illinois RUUPA requires that tangible property held in a safe deposit box is presumed abandoned if unclaimed five years after the expiration of the lease or rental period for the box. We believe this requirement applies even to items of property with little or minimal monetary value.

Additionally, the Illinois RUUPA and its administrative rules do not provide a de minimis threshold for reporting or remitting unclaimed property to the State Treasurer. There is an exception to the requirement to send due diligence notices for property valued at less than $50 (or less than $1,000 for securities). Additionally, your bank generally may report property valued at less than $5 in the aggregate — without providing the apparent owner’s name, address or other identifying information. However, you still must report and deliver all unclaimed property to the State Treasurer, regardless of its monetary value.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

  • Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-205 (“Tangible property held in a safe-deposit box are presumed abandoned if the property remains unclaimed by the apparent owner 5 years after the expiration of the lease or rental period for the box.”)
  • Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-402(a) (“The report required under Section 15-401 must: . . . (6) for property held in or removed from a safe-deposit box, indicate the location of the property, where it may be inspected by the administrator, and any amounts owed to the holder under Section 15-606; . . .”)
  • Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-603(a) (“Except as otherwise provided in this Section, on filing a report under Section 15-401, the holder shall pay or deliver to the administrator the property described in the report.”)
  • Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-501(a) (“The holder of property presumed abandoned shall send to the apparent owner notice by first-class United States mail that complies with Section 15-502 in a format acceptable to the administrator not more than one year nor less than 60 days before filing the report under Section 15-401 if: . . . (2) the value of the property is $50 or more.”)
  • Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-501(c) (“ . . . the holder of securities presumed abandoned . . . shall send to the apparent owner notice by certified United States mail . . . if: . . . (2) the value of the property is $1,000 or more.”)
  • Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-402(b) (“A report under Section 15-401 may include in the aggregate items valued under $5 each. If the report includes items in the aggregate valued under $5 each, the administrator may not require the holder to provide the name and address of an apparent owner of an item unless the information is necessary to verify or process a claim in progress by the apparent owner.”)