Topic: Unclaimed Property
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What Illinois law covers charging fees on dormant accounts?
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The Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (RUUPA) allows dormancy charges or escheat fees that are charged pursuant to a “valid contract [that] authorizes imposition of the charge for the apparent owner’s failure to claim property within a specified time.” Additionally, the account agreement must specify the time in which a dormancy fee will be…
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Do you know if the recent amendments to the Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (RUUPA) changed how we should handle dormant accounts?
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The Illinois RUUPA was recently amended by Public Act 102-288, signed into law on August 6, 2021. To summarize, the Public Act: Amends the definition of virtual currency, sets the presumed abandonment period for virtual currency as five years, and explains how virtual currency should be delivered to the Treasurer if abandoned. Shortens the presumed…
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Since you advised that a bank can open a certificate of deposit as a minor account solely in the name of the minor, what is the difference between doing that and opening an Illinois Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA) account?
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An Illinois UTMA account is a custodial account that allows funds to be set aside for a minor while restricting the minor’s use of the funds. Conversely, a minor account functions like an ordinary account opened for an adult, since the Illinois Banking Act provides that such accounts are binding on the minor as if…
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Can we send the due diligence letter required under the Illinois Revised Unclaimed Property Act (RUUPA) to the remitter of an abandoned cashier’s check instead of the payee since the payee is not our client and we do not have their contact information? Also, can we place a stop on the cashier’s check if the remitter signs an indemnity bond and reimburse them for the check instead of having it escheat?
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We believe that sending a due diligence letter to the remitter of an abandoned cashier’s check would fulfill the Illinois RUUPA’s notice requirement if the cashier’s check has not yet been delivered to the payee. Under the Illinois RUUPA, holders of abandoned property must send due diligence letters as notice to the property’s apparent owner…
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We have a customer who has a “hold mail” request on all of his accounts with our bank. The customer’s accounts are escheatable in 2021. We would normally send him a due diligence letter regarding the accounts, but we are unsure of whether the hold mail request takes precedence over the due diligence obligation, or vice-versa.
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We believe that your institution is required to send notice to account holders concerning any accounts presumed abandoned under the Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA), regardless of any agreements you may have with them involving holding mail. Under the Illinois RUUPA, holders of abandoned property must send notice to the property’s apparent…
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For property held in an Illinois Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (Illinois UTMA) account, how can we determine whether the presumed abandonment period under the Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA) will be measured from the date the minor turns eighteen or twenty-one?
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Whether the presumed abandonment period for an Illinois UTMA account will be measured from the date on which the minor turns eighteen or twenty-one depends on the way in which the account was funded. The Illinois RUUPA states that property held in an Illinois UTMA account is presumed abandoned three years after the date on…
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We offer two savings accounts that function in the same way; one is an Illinois Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) account and the other is a minor savings account. If we mistakenly opened an Illinois UTMA account as a minor account, or vice versa, should we provide new disclosures before correcting the account names in our system? Also, would the escheatment rules for savings accounts apply, or the escheatment rules for UTMA accounts, when the title of the account doesn’t accurately describe the account — for example, if the title on an account reads “as Custodian Under ILUTMA,” but the ownership was incorrectly listed as “joint”?
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We recommend providing new account disclosures when changing an account name to add or remove a reference to the Illinois UTMA. A reference to the Illinois UTMA in an account name implies that the account is a custodial account subject to the Illinois UTMA’s requirements for custodians, rather than a savings account that is owned…
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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…
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Regarding the unclaimed property rules for certificates of deposit (CDs), if we have not had contact with a customer for over three years, but the CD does not mature until next year or later, should it be escheated to the state?
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No, a CD should not be reported as unclaimed property until three years of inactivity have passed since the initial date of maturity for the CD. Under the Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA), a CD is considered abandoned “3 years after its initial date of maturity” or the date of the last…
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We have certificates of deposit (CDs) and demand deposit accounts (DDAs) that are considered “college saver accounts.” When would these accounts be considered abandoned and need to be transmitted to the state?
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Under the Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA), CDs and DDAs would be presumed abandoned three years after the later of the account’s maturity or the last indication of interest in the property by its apparent owner. The fact that accounts are characterized as “college saver accounts” does not affect the presumed abandonment…