Trends in the unclaimed property compliance space

Unclaimed property compliance can be complex, especially when jurisdictional reporting requirements have been consistently changing in recent years. To help companies get a better understanding of the evolving compliance landscape, outlined below are many of the notable trends that our team has seen relating to unclaimed property compliance, as well as a few we would like to see in the future.

States adopting RUUPA

The Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act of 2016 (RUUPA) was created by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) to increase uniformity in unclaimed property laws among the states. In addition to RUUPA, the ULC created and modified earlier versions of the act in 1954, 1966, and 1995 ( Acts). The result?

• 10 jurisdictions have their own, non-uniform unclaimed property laws
• Six jurisdictions have adopted versions of the 1954 and 1966 Acts
• 11 jurisdictions have adopted versions of the 1981 Act
• 13 jurisdictions have adopted versions of the 1995 Act
• 13 jurisdictions have adopted versions of the RUUPA

In addition to U.S. jurisdictions adopting various versions of ULC model acts, most do not adopt the model Act as written. Key provisions are often modified, including dormancy periods and triggers, owner notification requirements, reporting requirements and others. In some cases, a jurisdiction will completely replace their prior statutes and may not always be aware of some of the changes that they have enacted, which creates further reporting difficulties for companies looking for state guidance regarding new provisions.

Finally, some jurisdictions adopt a “transitional provision,” which has the effect of retroactively applying the new law to older reporting periods. Issues of fairness aside, these provisions often have the effect of requiring a company to report property going back as much as 10 report years for items that were exempt in prior years.

Electronic compliance processes

One of the more burdensome aspects of compliance with unclaimed property reporting requirements is sending U.S. mail First Class letters to the owners of property that is presumed abandoned within a set time-period prior to the reporting deadline. This process is known as due diligence, and most states have a dollar threshold (typically between $50 to $100) below which a company does not have to mail a letter. Overall, the introduction of electronic due diligence is a positive step, but may be of limited benefit to companies, as there can be difficulties in putting it into practice, including: