Unclaimed property examinations and new types of regulatory inquiries will pose major challenges for US companies in 2024. Not only are states pushing ahead with more examinations, but many states are using new techniques to...more
Many organizations have recently received a notice from the Delaware Department of Finance Office of Unclaimed Property requesting a sworn verification of the completeness and accuracy of their unclaimed property reporting....more
All nine Supreme Court Justices sided with a group of 30 states in a dispute with Delaware over hundreds of millions of dollars of unclaimed checks issued by MoneyGram, a money transfer company. The Court held that the...more
The US Supreme Court heard arguments on October 3, 2022 on an unclaimed property case for the first time since the early 1990s. The case, Delaware v. Pennsylvania, is a state-versus-state dispute between Delaware and...more
Many US companies will face the threat of increased unclaimed property exposure in 2021 as states and private litigants ramp up audits, litigation and legislative changes designed to increase payments to states. Although...more
Unclaimed property audits and compliance issues will continue to be a challenge for companies in a wide range of industries. States view escheat as an important source of revenue, and contingent fee auditors will do their...more
1/29/2020
/ Abandoned Property ,
Audits ,
Capital Estimation Tool ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Due Process ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement ,
Escheat ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Look-Back Measurement Period ,
Pending Litigation ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
SECURE Act ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unclaimed Property ,
Voluntary Disclosure
A wave of new unclaimed property statutes and rules is changing whether and when businesses should escheat gift, payroll, loyalty, and other stored-value cards. Ten states have adopted new statutes or rules in this area over...more
8/25/2019
/ Amended Legislation ,
Audits ,
Customer-Loyalty Programs ,
Escheat ,
Gift-Cards ,
New Legislation ,
Payroll Cards ,
Retailers ,
State and Local Government ,
Unclaimed Property ,
Uniform Law Commission (ULC)
After four-plus years of litigation in a long-running dispute over unredeemed gift cards, a jury returned a verdict against Overstock.com, finding that the company violated the Delaware False Claims Act (FCA) by not reporting...more
The payment of a traditional individual retirement account or annuity (IRA) over to a state unclaimed property fund will now be subject to federal tax withholding and reporting, according to Rev. Rul. 2018-17 released by the...more
As promoters of cryptocurrencies and digital-asset exchanges face intense scrutiny from tax, securities and other financial services regulators, they will soon have to contend with unclaimed property (or escheat) laws in the...more
Legislation requiring the life insurance industry to conduct searches of the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File (DMF) and set the trigger for the escheatment dormancy period at the date of an insured’s death...more
Onerous unclaimed property audits and vexing compliance issues will continue to challenge companies in a wide range of industries in 2018. Even with the robust economy, new federal tax provisions will push states to view...more
The 2016 Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (2016 Act) was adopted unanimously by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) in a 49-0 vote at its 2016 summer meeting. The adoption of the revised model law is a significant step forward for...more
8/12/2016
/ Audits ,
B2B Transactions ,
Contingency Fees ,
De Minimus Quantity Exemption ,
Death Benefits ,
Escheat ,
Life Insurance ,
Securities ,
State Treasurers ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unclaimed Gift Cards ,
Unclaimed Property ,
Uniform Law Commission (ULC)
The latest salvo in an ongoing battle against Delaware was fired on June 9, when 21 states, led by Texas and Arkansas, filed a motion in the U.S. Supreme Court to force Delaware to return to the States between $150 million...more
In a decision with potentially broad implications, a California Superior Court has held that merchandise credits not redeemable for cash are not subject to California's Unclaimed Property Law (UPL). The court also held that...more
There’s never a dull moment in Delaware when it comes to unclaimed property. The latest salvo comes by way of a lawsuit filed by the Delaware Department of Finance against Blackhawk Engagement Solutions (DE), Inc. (formerly...more
Proposed revisions to the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act were under debate this past week in Washington, DC as the Uniform Law Commission (ULC or Commission) Committee to Revise the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Drafting...more
10/16/2015
/ B2B Transactions ,
Death Master Files ,
Due Diligence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Escheat ,
Gift-Cards ,
Life Insurance ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Unclaimed Property ,
Uniform Law Commission (ULC) ,
Video Games