Alston & Bird Tax Blog

Unclaimed Property Advisory

Litigate, Legislate and Repeat: The Delaware Escheat Law Spin Cycle

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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. Codifies practices the State Escheator implemented after the enactment of 2021’s SB 104. Has the potential to trigger additional holder and owner litigation. Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more

California Dreaming of a Voluntary Compliance Program

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Our Unclaimed Property Team reviews California AB 2280, which would allow the State Controller’s Office to establish a new California Voluntary Compliance Program. The proposed VCP would be available only to certain holders To qualify for the interest waiver, a holder would be required to participate in an educational training program and meet other requirements The controller would be authorized to reinstate interest for any holder that does not comply with reporting and payment requirements Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more

Look Before You PEEP – Delaware OUP Rejects Bid to Address Issues with Program and Agreement

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Where there’s a carrot, there’s usually a stick. Our Unclaimed Property Team analyzes Delaware’s new permanent expedited examination program and finds potential issues that could be more than a holder may have bargained for. What will be found in a Request to Expedite Completion of Unclaimed Property Examination?Delaware’s Office of Unclaimed Property fails to clarify or offer guidanceThe deadline for filing a request is September 30 Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more

Supreme Court–Appointed Special Master Applies Place-of-Purchase Jurisdictional Rule to MoneyGram’s Unclaimed “Official Checks”

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Our Unclaimed Property Team reviews the report of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Special Master parsing the definitions of “money orders” and “similar instruments” and how those words decide if certain unclaimed property falls under federal common law or the federal Disposition of Abandoned Money Orders and Traveler’s Checks Act. The report is a master class in statutory constructionThe Special Master analyzed MoneyGram “official checks” to determine those meet three statutory conditions for an instrument to constitute a “similar instrument”This analytical framework may have broader [...]Read more

Bracing for the Next Wave of Delaware Unclaimed Property Reform: Review of SB 103 and SB 104

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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 agreements. Defining, reporting, and liquidating virtual currencyAdopting a permanent expedited audit programRescheduling statutes of limitation, audit periods, and dormancy periods Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more