Alston & Bird Tax Blog

Delaware

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

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

Pushing Beyond the Limit: Examining the Scope of Subpoenas Issued During Unclaimed Property Audits

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A Delaware court quashed a subpoena aimed at an unclaimed property holder, but the victory may be short-lived. Our Unclaimed Property Team explores the latest court decision addressing a subpoena for records dating back to the 1990s. The subpoena asked for every check issued from 27 accounts over 20 years, including cleared and voided checks and checks issued to payees in other statesThe court found the subpoena too expansive and unreasonableThe third-party auditor’s incentives and motives were called into question Read the full advisory here. [...]Read more