Topic: Unclaimed Property
-
Is there a list of preferred vendors from the Illinois Treasurer for filing reports under the new Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA)?
—
by
The Treasurer’s office has advised us that they do not have a list of “preferred vendors.” They did provide some general guidance, outlined below: All of the major CPA firms provide unclaimed property reporting services, usually within their state and local tax divisions. The Treasurer’s office reported that all of these firms had been doing…
-
Under the Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA), we are sending out a form when certificates of deposit (CD) accounts renew to satisfy the requirement to have a consent “in a record on file with the holder to renewal at or about the time of the renewal.” Should we send this consent form to CDs with a longer maturity period than the three-year presumed abandonment period? If the CD owner dies, should we consider the date of death as the last contact date?
—
by
No, in our view it is not necessary to obtain written consent for an automatic renewal immediately before the initial maturity date of a CD (although this may be a good practice). Even if no consent for renewal is obtained at or about the time of a CD’s automatic renewal, the presumption of abandonment and…
-
The new Illinois unclaimed property law requires us to conduct a five-year lookback for our first report. When is that report due? Are we to review accounts with no activity in the five years before January 1, 2018, and file a report without turning over the property?
—
by
The Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA) imposes a five-year lookback period for the initial report that must be filed under the new law. This initial report is due on November 1, 2018. The initial report must include “all items of property that would have been presumed abandoned during the 5-year period preceding…
-
Under the new Illinois unclaimed property law, what is the time period covered by each annual report? Under the old law, we reported accounts as of June 30 of each year.
—
by
The Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA) requires that annual reports of unclaimed property “cover the 12 months preceding July 1 of that year.” In other words, the period covered for annual reports filed under the new law is the same as the period covered for annual reports filed under the previous law.…
-
Can you confirm that safe deposit boxes are subject to a five-year dormancy period under the new Illinois unclaimed property law, rather than the three-year dormancy period applied to most other types of property?
—
by
Yes, the Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA) treats tangible property as abandoned five years after the expiration of the lease or rental period for the box. 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…
-
For certificate of deposit (CD) accounts that automatically renew, if we have other active accounts with the same ownership and address, do we still need to obtain the customer’s acknowledgment of each renewal?
—
by
No, the new Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA) does not require a bank to obtain written acknowledgments from CD owners for each CD renewal. Even in the absence of such written acknowledgements, CDs will not become unclaimed if there are other qualifying indications of interest in the CDs. The Illinois RUUPA would…
-
The new Illinois unclaimed property law provides that the “presentment of a check or other instrument of payment of a dividend, interest payment, or other distribution” is an indication of interest in an account. My understanding is that if an account pays interest or dividends by check, and the apparent owner negotiates that check, that activity counts as an indication of interest. But if we credit interest and dividends for an account automatically with no other activity or contact from the apparent owner (such as an online banking login or oral inquiry), there is no indication of interest. Is that right?
—
by
Yes, we agree with your interpretation of the Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA). An indication of interest includes the “presentment of a check or other instrument of payment” for distributions of interest and dividends. But if the apparent owner has not presented a check or other instrument to deposit a distribution of…
-
The new Illinois unclaimed property law references a dormancy charge and an escheat fee. We begin charging a monthly dormancy fee when a checking account is inactive for 365 days, but we do not charge an escheat fee when reporting and remitting an account to the state. Is our dormancy fee considered an escheat fee?
—
by
No, we do not believe that your bank’s dormancy fee would be treated as an escheat fee under the Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA). The Illinois RUUPA defines an escheat fee as one “imposed solely by virtue of property being reported as presumed abandoned.” Because your bank’s dormancy fees are not charged…
-
Under the new Illinois unclaimed property law, we understand that no notice is required for property valued at less than $50 (or less than $1,000 for securities). Is there a de minimis amount for accounts that must be sent to the Treasurer?
—
by
No, the Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA) does not have a de minimis threshold for remitting property to the Illinois Treasurer. While you do not need to send a notice to the apparent owner for property valued at less than $50, you still must submit such property to the State Treasurer per…
-
Under the new Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA), are cashier’s checks subject to a different presumed abandonment period than money orders?
—
by
Yes, the Illinois RUUPA establishes different presumed abandonment periods for money orders and cashier’s checks. Money orders are subject to a longer, seven-year presumed abandonment period, while cashier’s checks are subject to a shorter, three-year period. The law defines “money order” as “a payment order for a specified amount of money” and refers to cashier’s…