(a)        There shall be delivered annually in an electronic format to the Administrative Office of the Courts to be distributed to the clerk of superior court of each county a list prepared by the Treasurer of escheated and abandoned property reported to the Treasurer. The list shall contain all of the following:

(1)        The names, if known, in alphabetical order of surname, and last known addresses, if any, of apparent owners of escheated and abandoned property as of June 30 of that year.

(2)        The names and addresses of the holders of the abandoned property.

(3)        A statement that claim and proof of legal entitlement to escheated or abandoned property shall be presented by the owner to the Treasurer, which statement shall set forth where further information may be obtained.

The Treasurer shall send the list to the Administrative Office of the Courts as soon as possible after June 30 of each year but no later than July 31, and the Administrative Office of the Courts shall distribute the list to each clerk of superior court as soon as possible after receiving it but no later than August 31.

(b)        At the time the lists are distributed to the clerks of superior court, but no later than August 31 of each year, the Treasurer shall cause to be published once each week for two consecutive weeks, in at least two newspapers having general circulation in this State, a notice stating the nature of the lists and that the lists are available for inspection at the offices of the respective clerks of superior court, together with any other information the Treasurer deems appropriate to appear in the notice.

(c)        The Treasurer is not required to include in any list any item of a value, as determined by the Treasurer, in the Treasurer’s discretion, of less than fifty dollars ($50.00), unless the Treasurer deems inclusion of items of lesser amounts to be in the public interest.

(d)       The clerks of superior court shall make the lists available for public inspection.

(e)        The lists prepared by the Treasurer shall include only escheated and abandoned property reported for the current reporting date and are not required to be cumulative lists of escheated and abandoned property previously reported.

(f)        Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 132 of the N.C. Gen. Stat., any supporting data, including aging reports, or lists of apparent owners of unclaimed property held by a clerk of superior court or any other office of State or local government may be confidential but shall be disclosed to the Treasurer in accordance with the reporting of escheated and abandoned property. The supporting data and lists of apparent owners of escheated and abandoned property held by the Treasurer may be confidential until 12 months after the list to the clerks of superior court required by subsection (b) of this section has been distributed. This subsection shall not apply to owners of reported property making inquiries about their property to the Escheat Fund. ?(1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1311, s. 1; 1981, c. 531, ss. 9-13; 1983, c. 204, ss. 4-7; 1985, c. 215, s. 4; 1987, c. 163, ss. 4, 5; 1999-460, s. 6; 2009-312, s. 1; 2010-97, s. 10.)

Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 116B-62

  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • 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
  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3