Del. Code 12, § 1144 : Decedents' Estates And Fiduciary Relations — Escheats — Abandoned Or Unclaimed Property — Assumption of liability by the State; return of property erroneously paid to the State Escheator

  • Date:

Current through 2016 Legislative Session, Act 399

(a) The care and custody, subject only to the duty of conversion prescribed in § 1143 of this title, of all abandoned property paid to the State Escheator is assumed for the benefit of those entitled to receive the same and the State shall hold itself responsible for the payment of all claims established thereto pursuant to law, less any lawful deductions, which cannot be paid from the General Fund.
(b) Any person, court, copartnership, unincorporated association or corporation making a payment of abandoned property to the State Escheator shall immediately and thereafter be relieved and held harmless from any or all liability for the property so paid and no action shall be maintained against them or it for:
(1) The recovery of abandoned property paid to the State Escheator pursuant to this subchapter or for interest thereon subsequent to the date of the report of such abandoned property to the State Escheator pursuant to this subchapter; and
(2) Damages alleged to have resulted from any such payment.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve any person, court, copartnership, unincorporated association or corporation from liability for:
(1) Any property not paid to the State Escheator;
(2) Damages for negligence or the mishandling of funds or property prior to the time such funds or property are paid to the State Escheator.
(d) Whenever it appears to the satisfaction of the State Escheator that because of some mistake of fact, error in calculation or erroneous interpretation of a statute any person has paid or delivered to the State Escheator, pursuant to any provision of this subchapter, any moneys or other property not required by this subchapter to be so paid or delivered, the Escheator shall have power, during the 6 years immediately succeeding such erroneous payment or delivery, to refund or redeliver such moneys or other property to such person; provided that such moneys or property shall not have been paid or delivered to a claimant or otherwise disposed of in accordance with this subchapter. Any such cash refund shall be paid from the General Fund without the deduction of any service charge. The State Escheator shall not be liable for any interest or other charge for the money or property so refunded or redelivered.
(e) Whenever, because of some mistake of fact, error in calculation or erroneous interpretation of a statute, any person pays or delivers to the State Escheator any moneys or other property not required by this subchapter to be so paid or delivered, such moneys or other property shall, for the purposes of this subchapter, be deemed to be abandoned property, unless and until refunded or redelivered by the State Escheator to the person who paid or delivered the same.
Del. C. § 1144
12 Del. C. 1953, § 1144; 50 Del. Laws, c. 507, § 1; 60 Del. Laws, c. 598, § 6; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1.;
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