Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1155 – State Escheator’s options as to custody
(a) The State Escheator may decline to take custody of property reported under § 1142 of this title if the State Escheator determines 1 of the following:
(1) The property has a value less than the estimated expenses of notice and sale of the property.
(2) Taking custody of the property would be unlawful.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1155
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Holder: means any person having possession, custody, or control of the property of another person and includes a post office, a depository, a bailee, a trustee, a receiver or other liquidating officer, a fiduciary, a governmental department, institution or agency, a municipal corporation and the fiscal officers thereof, a public utility, service corporation, and every other legal entity incorporated or created under the laws of this State or doing business in this State. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
- Owner: means a person, or the person's legal representative when acting on behalf of the person, that has a legal, beneficial, or equitable interest in property subject to this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
- Property: means tangible property described in § 1134 of this title or a fixed and certain interest in intangible property held, issued, or owed in the course of a holder's business or by a government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
- 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. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
- State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
- State Escheator: means the person responsible for the administration and enforcement of this chapter, as established by § 1102 of this title and § 363 of Title 30. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
(b) A holder may pay or deliver property to the State Escheator before the property is presumed abandoned under this chapter if the holder does all of the following:
(1) Sends the owner of the property the notice required by § 1148 of this title and conforming to § 1149 of this title.
(2) Provides to the State Escheator evidence of the holder’s compliance with paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
(3) Includes with the payment or delivery a report regarding the property conforming to § 1142 of this title.
(4) First obtains the State Escheator’s consent in a record to accept payment or delivery.
(c) A holder’s request for the State Escheator’s consent under paragraph (b)(4) of this section must be in a record. If the State Escheator fails to respond to the request not later than 90 days after receipt of the request, the State Escheator is deemed to consent to the payment or delivery of the property and the payment or delivery is considered to have been made in good faith, as defined in § 1153(d) of this title.
(d) On payment or delivery of property under subsection (b) of this section, the property is presumed abandoned.