HB 2193 — Providing a specific escheat of US savings bonds

(10) “Money order” includes an express money order and a personal money order, on which the remitter is the purchaser.

The term does not include a bank money order or any other instrument sold by a financial organization if the seller has obtained the name and address of the payee.

(11) “Owner” means a person who has a legal or equitable interest in property subject to this article or the person’s legal representative.

The term includes a depositor in the case of a deposit, a beneficiary in the case of a trust other than a deposit in trust, and a creditor, claimant or payee in the case of other property.

(12) “Person” means an individual, business association, financial organization, estate, trust, government, governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.

(13) “Property” means tangible personal property described in section three of this article or a fixed and certain interest in intangible personal property that is held, issued or owed in the course of a holder’s business, or by a government, governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality, and all income or increments therefrom.

The term includes property that is referred to as or evidenced by:

(i) Money, a check, draft, warrant for payment issued by the State of West Virginia, deposit, interest or dividend;

(ii) Credit balance, customer’s overpayment, gift certificate, security deposit, refund, credit memorandum, unpaid wage, unused ticket, mineral proceeds or unidentified remittance;

(iii) Stock or other evidence of ownership of an interest in a business association or financial organization;

(iv) A bond, debenture, note or other evidence of indebtedness;

(v) Money deposited to redeem stocks, bonds, coupons or other securities or to make distributions;

(vi) An amount due and payable under the terms of an annuity or insurance policy, including policies providing life insurance, property and casualty insurance, workers’ compensation insurance or health and disability insurance;

and (vii) An amount distributable from a trust or custodial fund established under a plan to provide health, welfare, pension, vacation, severance, retirement, death, stock purchase, profit sharing, employee savings, supplemental unemployment insurance or similar benefits.

(14) “Record” means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

(15) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(16) “United States savings bond” means property, tangible or intangible, in the form of a savings bond issued by the United States Treasury whether in paper form, electronic or paperless form, along with the proceeds thereof.

(16) (17) “Utility” means a person who owns or operates for public use any plant, equipment, real property, franchise or license for the transmission of communications or the production, storage, transmission, sale, delivery or furnishing of electricity, water, steam or gas as defined in §24-1-2 of this code.

§36-8-2a.

Escheat of United States savings bonds.

(a) Notwithstanding any other section of this article or any other section of this code to the contrary, United States savings bonds held or owing in the state by any person, or issued, or owed, in the course of a holder’s business, or by a state or other government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality and all proceeds thereof, shall be presumed abandoned in the state if:

(1) The last known address of the owner of the United States savings bond is in West Virginia;

and (2) The United States savings bond has remained unclaimed and unredeemed for five years after final maturity.

(b) United States savings bonds which are presumed abandoned and unclaimed under §36-8-2a(a) of this code, including bonds in the possession of the administrator, and those lost, stolen or destroyed bonds registered to persons with last known addresses in the state, shall escheat to the State of West Virginia one year after such bonds are presumed abandoned, and all property rights and legal title to, and ownership of, the United States savings bonds or proceeds from the bonds, including all rights, powers and privileges of survivorship of any owner, co-owner, or beneficiary, shall vest solely in the State of West Virginia according to the procedure set forth in §36-8-2a(d) through (g), inclusive, of this code.

(c) After the one year prescribed in §36-8-2a(b) of this code, if no claim has been filed in accordance with the provisions of §36-8-2a(g) of this code for such United States savings bonds, the administrator may commence a civil action in the circuit court of Kanawha County, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, for a determination that such United States savings bonds shall escheat to the State of West Virginia.

(d) The administrator shall make service by publication of the civil action in accordance with Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 4(e).

(e) If no person files a claim or appears at the hearing to substantiate a claim, or where the court determines that a claimant is not entitled to the property claimed by such claimant, then the court, if satisfied by evidence that the administrator has substantially complied with the laws of the State of West Virginia, shall enter a judgment that the subject United States savings bonds, including bonds in the possession of the administrator and those lost, stolen or destroyed bonds registered to persons with last known addresses in the state, have escheated to the State of West Virginia, and all property rights and legal title to and ownership of such United States savings bonds or proceeds from such bonds, including all rights, powers and privileges of survivorship of any owner, co-owner or beneficiary, shall vest in the State of West Virginia.

(f) The administrator shall redeem such United States savings bonds escheated to the State of West Virginia and when the proceeds which have escheated have been recovered by the administrator, it shall first pay all costs incident to the collection and recovery of such proceeds from the redemption of the United States savings bonds and shall thereafter promptly deposit the remaining balance of such proceeds into the Unclaimed Property Fund pursuant to §36-8-13 of this code or into a separate account selected by the administrator to be distributed in accordance with law.

  NOTE:  Adopted Rejected

The purpose of this bill is to provide a specific escheat of United States savings bonds.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

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