Iowa Code § 556.11 — IA Code / Title XIV / Chapter 556 / Section 556.11
Report of abandoned property.
Status: in_force

(1) Every person holding funds or other property, tangible or intangible, presumed abandoned under this chapter shall report to the state treasurer with respect to the property as hereinafter provided.

(2) The report shall be verified and shall include:

(2) (a) Except with respect to traveler’s checks, money orders, cashier’s checks, official checks, or similar instruments, the name, if known, and last known address, if any, of each person appearing from the records of the holder to be the owner of any property of the value of fifty dollars or more presumed abandoned under this chapter.

(2) (b) In case of unclaimed funds of life insurance corporations, the full name of the insured or annuitant and the insured’s or annuitant’s last known address according to the life insurance corporation’s records.

(2) (c) The nature and identifying number, if any, or description of the property and the amount appearing from the records to be due, except that items of value under fifty dollars each may be reported in aggregate.

(2) (d) The date when the property became payable, demandable, or returnable, and the date of the last transaction with the owner with respect to the property.

(2) (e) Other information which the state treasurer prescribes by rule as necessary for the administration of this chapter.

(3) If the person holding property presumed abandoned is a successor to other persons who previously held the property for the owner, or if the holder has changed names while holding the property, the holder shall file with the holder’s report all prior known names and addresses of each holder of the property.

(4) The report shall be filed annually before November 1 for the fiscal year ending on the preceding June 30. However, the report of unclaimed demutualization proceeds as provided in section 556.3A shall be made before May 1 for the preceding calendar year. The treasurer of state may postpone the reporting date upon written request by any person required to file a report.

(5) If the holder of property presumed abandoned under this chapter knows the whereabouts of the owner and if the owner’s claim has not been barred by the statute of limitations, the holder shall, before filing the annual report, communicate with the owner and take necessary steps to prevent abandonment from being presumed. The holder shall exercise due diligence to ascertain the whereabouts of the owner. A holder is not required to make a due diligence mailing to owners whose property has an aggregate value of less than fifty dollars. The treasurer of state may charge a holder that fails to timely exercise due diligence, as required in this subsection, five dollars for each name and address account reported if thirty-five percent or more of the accounts are claimed within the twenty-four months immediately following the filing of the holder report.

(6) Verification, if made by a partnership, shall be executed by a partner; if made by an unincorporated association or private corporation, by an officer; and if made by a public corporation, by its chief fiscal officer.

(7) The initial report filed under this chapter shall include all items of property that would have been presumed abandoned if this chapter had been in effect during the ten-year period preceding its effective date.

(8) (a) A holder required to file a report under this section shall maintain its records containing the information required to be included in the report until the holder files the report and for four years after the date of filing, unless a shorter time is provided in paragraph “b” or by rule of the treasurer of state.

(8) (b) A business association that sells, issues, or provides to others for sale or issue in this state, traveler’s checks, money orders, or similar written instruments other than third-party bank checks, on which the business association is directly liable, shall maintain a record of the instruments while they remain outstanding, indicating the state and date of issue, for four years after the date of filing.

(9) Other than the notice to owners required by subsection 5, published notice required by section 556.12, subsection 1, and other discretionary means employed by the treasurer of state for notifying owners of the existence of abandoned property, all information provided in reports shall be confidential, unless written consent from the person entitled to the property is obtained by the treasurer of state, and may be disclosed only to governmental agencies for the purposes of returning abandoned property to its owners or to those individuals who appear to be the owner of the property or otherwise have a valid claim to the property.

(10) All agreements to pay compensation to recover or assist in the recovery of property reported under this section, made within twenty-four months after the date payment or delivery is made under section 556.13, are unenforceable. However, such agreements made after twenty-four months from the date of payment or delivery are valid if the fee or compensation agreed upon is not more than fifteen percent of the recoverable property, the agreement is in writing and signed by the owner, and the writing discloses the nature and value of the property and the name and address of the person in possession. A person shall not attempt to collect or collect a fee or compensation for discovering property presumed abandoned under this chapter unless the person is licensed as a private investigation business pursuant to chapter 80A. This section does not prevent an owner from asserting, at any time, that an agreement to locate property is based upon excessive or unjust consideration. This section does not apply to an owner who has a bona fide fee contract with a practicing attorney and counselor as described in chapter 602, article 10.

[C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §556.11]84 Acts, ch 1295, §14, 26; 89 Acts, ch 287, §5; 95 Acts, ch 34, §3; 2000 Acts, ch 1191, §1; 2003 Acts, ch 46, §3, 5; 2003 Acts, ch 64, §1 – 4; 2003 Acts, 1st Ex, ch 2, §40, 209