A husband and wife opened twelve-month, single ownership, automatically renewing certificates of deposit (CDs) at our bank in November 2013. The husband and wife passed away in May and June of 2019. The couple owned a business, and these CDs were pledged as collateral on a loan, but the loan has had no activity on it. The executor has not done anything with these CDs and has not contacted us at all since the couple died. Would the CDs be considered dormant in 2023 and need to be turned over as unclaimed property?

Jul 1, 2022

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We believe that the CDs should have been reported as unclaimed property in 2021, since neither the executor nor any beneficiaries have indicated interest in the CDs after your customers died.

Generally, an automatically renewable time deposit is presumed abandoned under the Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA) if it is unclaimed by the owner “3 years after the date of last indication of interest in the property . . . following the completion of the initial term of the time deposit and one automatic renewal term of the time deposit.” However, when the owner has died, their property is presumed abandoned two years from the date of the owner’s last indication of interest. For property with a deceased owner, the owner includes beneficiaries, estate executors, and anyone else with a legal, beneficial, or equitable interest in the property.

In this case, it appears that the last indication of interest in the CDs was when the estate executor contacted your bank shortly after the owners’ deaths in May and June of 2019. Consequently, we believe the two-year abandonment period would have run its course by May and June of 2021. Since financial institutions are required to file reports “before November 1 of each year” covering “the 12 months preceding July 1 of that year,” we believe these CDs should have been reported and remitted to the State Treasurer with your November 2021 report.

The Illinois State Treasurer’s Reporting Property FAQs provide that if a property holder omitted some items that should have been reported on the current year report, they may submit a supplemental report including only the properties missing from their original report.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-201 (“Subject to Section 15-210, the following property is presumed abandoned if it is unclaimed by the apparent owner during the period specified below: . . . (6) financial organization deposits as follows: . . . (iv) an automatically renewable time deposit for which the owner consented to the automatic renewal in a record on file with the holder, 3 years after the date of last indication of interest in the property by the apparent owner, following the completion of the initial term of the time deposit and one automatic renewal term of the time deposit.”)

Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-201 (“Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 15-201, and subject to Section 15-210, a deceased owner cannot indicate interest in his or her property. If the owner is deceased and the abandonment period for the owner’s property specified in this Section 15-201 is greater than 2 years, then the property, other than an amount owed by an insurance company on a life or endowment insurance policy or an annuity contract that has matured or terminated, shall instead be presumed abandoned 2 years from the date of the owner’s last indication of interest in the property.”)

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:

(A) a depositor, for a deposit;

(B) a beneficiary, for a trust other than a deposit in trust;

(C) a creditor, claimant, or payee, for other property; and

(D) the lawful bearer of a record that may be used to obtain money, a reward, or a thing of value.”)

Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-403(a) (“Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) and subject to subsection (c), the report under Section 15-401 must be filed before November 1 of each year and cover the 12 months preceding July 1 of that year. Business associations which must report under this subsection (a) include financial organizations and insurance companies other than life insurance companies; all other business associations must file under subsection (b).”)

Illinois RUUPA Administrative Rules, 74 Ill. Adm. Code 760.290(a), Deceased Owner (“Subject to the owner interest provisions of Section 15-210 of the Act, a deceased owner cannot indicate interest in his or her property.

1) Apparent owner interest shall include the activity of beneficiaries and estate executors or other persons who have a legal or equitable right to ownership or custody of the property when the apparent owner as listed in the records of the holder is deceased.

2) Thus, while a deceased apparent owner can no longer indicate interest in their own property, the new owner or his/her agent(s) may indicate interest in the property and, thus, prevent abandonment.”)

Illinois RUUPA Administrative Rules, 74 Ill. Adm. Code 760.300(e)(3), Apparent Owner Interest (“If an apparent owner is deceased, apparent owner interest shall include, but is not limited to, activity of beneficiaries and estate executors or other persons who have a legal or equitable right to ownership or custody of the property.”)

Illinois State Treasurer, Reporting Property FAQs (“I forgot some items and should have reported them on the current year report. How do I correct this? You may submit a supplemental report that contains only the properties that were not part of the original report. Please do not duplicate earlier reported properties.”)