Following the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in the MoneyGram case, Delaware and a coalition of 30 states have settled. Our Unclaimed Property Team examines the impact of the settlement on future litigation over escheated...more
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
California is taking applications for its new voluntary compliance program for unclaimed property holders. Our Unclaimed Property Team sheds light on the program’s knowns and unknowns....more
Our Unclaimed Property Team analyzes how the Nevada Treasury Office’s interpretation of the state’s new unclaimed property law will create chaos and disruption for holders in the already-busy fall filing cycle....more
The U. S. Supreme Court has redirected escheatment of certain unclaimed funds from states that were previously presumed properly to claim the funds. In this decision, instead of escheating all of the unclaimed funds arising...more
Delaware has maintained a nearly 60-year death-grip on its lucrative funding source of abandoned and unclaimed property. Another finger on that grip was loosened by Delaware’s recent loss at the U.S. Supreme Court when...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
On February 28, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Delaware v. Pennsylvania, No. 145, Orig., holding that certain instruments offered by MoneyGram are similar to money orders and are therefore covered...more
The Supreme Court decided two cases today, and though neither of them presents the sort of widely consequential matter that, say, the President’s student loan forgiveness plan that was argued this morning does, each has...more
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued two decisions: Bittner v. United States, No. 21-1195: This case concerns the Bank Secrecy Act’s requirement that certain individuals file an annual report about their...more
Our Unclaimed Property Team examines how the new SECURE Act’s changes to an IRA’s required minimum distribution (RMD) age affect holders of IRA assets, especially in states that aren’t aligned with federal law....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
The COVID-19 pandemic caused many nonprofits to postpone or cancel conferences, conventions, trade shows, and other events. This has often meant working with nonprofit organization members and attendees to coordinate...more
Our Unclaimed Property Team reviews Delaware SB 281, which would grant additional power to the State Escheator. This bill: Attempts to clarify Delaware’s unclaimed property laws....more
Cryptocurrencies are quickly becoming part of the financial mainstream, with institutional and retail investors alike adding them to their portfolios in record numbers. State legislatures are trying to keep up with this...more
In a recent post, I discussed three situations in which a debtor in bankruptcy might find itself dispossessed of assets that appeared to be property of the bankruptcy estate. This article expands on that general idea and...more
In an action brought under the original jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court, 30 states disputed Delaware’s entitlement to escheat the unclaimed proceeds of certain “Official Checks” issued by MoneyGram. A Special Master...more
Nearly sixty years ago, Justice Hugo Black wrote that the Bankruptcy Act of 1898 “simply does not authorize a trustee to distribute other people’s property among a bankrupt’s creditors.” Pearlman v. Reliance Ins. Co., 371...more
In today’s COVID-era, more retailers are offering innovative solutions for customers to shop with minimal brick-and-mortar browsing time. Options to place an order online and pick up your items in the store are extremely...more
What in the world is unclaimed property and escheat? And why are tax people dealing with it? Matt Hunsaker gives a basic high-level overview of the world of unclaimed property....more
Our Unclaimed Property Team examines a pair of fast-tracked Delaware bills that would reform a swath of the state’s escheat laws in response to ongoing litigation and other disputes over audits and voluntary disclosure...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
In a decision addressing issues of first impression concerning Delaware’s use of subpoenas to enforce unclaimed property laws, the Delaware Court of Chancery has quashed the state’s subpoena in its entirety, holding that...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