Up-to-date News Regarding Unclaimed Property and Corporate Compliance

In a new regular feature, Barganier will be profiling unclaimed property audits that went awry. These audits provide insight into the auditor's methods and motives, as well as stress the importance of ongoing compliance.

What happens when a Delaware Voluntary Disclosure Agreement (“VDA”) goes bad? In the case of Computer Associates, Inc. (“CA”), the VDA is terminated and Delaware opens a full blown audit. CA had an initial VDA estimate of $685,000 in 2005. When CA and Delaware finally settled under litigation in February 2010, CA paid $17,650,000 to the state.

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal had an article titled "States, Companies Don't Excel At Giving Back Unclaimed Money" that described the dismal record of both states and holders of returning unclaimed property to the owners. But what efforts do states take to return the property once it is in their coffers?

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), of which Saipan is the largest island and has the largest population, has a new unclaimed property law which provides for the escheat of dormant bank accounts and other financial institution accounts and funds. The new law only applies to financial institutions and not general corporations.

The new law does not follow the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. If your bank does business in Saipan or elsewhere in the CNMI, it is important to carefully review the statute to maintain full compliance.

In today's modern world of technology and communication, publishing legal notices in newspapers seems outdated and unnecessary. Other than lawyers, few, if any, people read legal notices in the back section of usually a small "general" circulation newspaper. An Arizona bill would do away with the requirement to publish the legal notices in a newspaper.