§ 1 Definitions
§ 1A Intangible personal property; presumption of abandonment
§ 2 Property; presumption of abandonment
§ 3 Property on deposit; presumption of abandonment
§ 3A Automatically renewable abandonment periods
§ 4 Property deposited as security; presumption of abandonment
§ 5 Dividends, stock, bonds, etc.; presumption of abandonment
§ 5A Insurance proceeds; presumption of abandonment
§ 5B Dividends, etc. of business associations; presumption of abandonment
§ 5C Employee benefit trust distributions; presumption of abandonment
§ 5D Gift certificates; validity; expiration; redemption
§ 6 Money paid into court; presumption of abandonment
§ 6A Property distributable upon dissolution or liquidation; presumption of abandonment
§ 6B Traveler’s checks and other written instruments; presumption of abandonment
§ 6C Traveler’s checks and other written instruments; records; penalty
§ 6D Property payable in course of demutualization; presumption of abandonment
§ 6E Mineral proceeds; abandonment
§ 7 Report; form; contents
§ 7A Notice to property owner at last known address
§ 7B Property owner’s last known address; record
§ 8 Notice of certain unclaimed property; publication; form
§ 8A Delivery or payment of abandoned property to state treasurer
§ 8B Recovery of property by another state
§ 9 Property surrendered to treasurer; liquidation; funds
§ 9A Disposition of abandoned funds by city or town; notice of period during which funds may be claimed; city treasurer authorized to hear claims; appeal; disbursement
§ 10 Property surrendered to treasurer; claims; hearings; appeals
§ 10A Dividends, interest, etc.; credit to owner’s account
§ 11 Actions by or in another state to reclaim property; costs; information
§ 12 Treasurer; examination of books and records; reporting violations; penalty; costs; interest; limitation period for examinations; appeal of audit findings; written petition for review
§ 13 Agreements to recover property
§ 13A Rules and regulations
§ 13B Extensions for filing reports of abandoned property
§ 14 Construction
§ 15 Insufficient funds; payment of expenses incurred in anticipation of revenues to be received during fiscal year
§ 15A Delivery or payment of abandoned property as release and discharge
§ 15B Duplicate certificates of ownership; holders of interests under Sec. 5B
§ 15C Charges and cessation of interest on abandoned property
§ 15D Good faith delivery to treasurer; defense and indemnification by commonwealth
§ 16 Inconsistent provisions; repeal
§ 17 Severability

Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws > Chapter 200A - Disposition of Unclaimed Property

  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Bequest: Property gifted by will.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. Source: OCC
  • 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.
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.