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WV Code § 36-8-12 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-12. Public Sale of Abandoned Property

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the administrator, within three years after the receipt of abandoned property, shall sell it to the highest bidder at public sale at a location in the state which in the judgment of the administrator affords the most favorable market for the property. The administrator may decline the highest bid and reoffer the property for sale if the administrator considers the bid to be insufficient. The administrator need not offer the property for sale if the administrator considers that the probable cost of sale will exceed the proceeds of the sale. A sale held under this section must be preceded by a single publication of notice, at least three weeks before sale, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the property is to be sold.(b) Securities listed on an established stock exchange must be sold at prices prevailing on the exchange at the time of sale. Other securities may be sold over the counter at prices prevailing at the time of sale or by any reasonable method selected by the administrator. If securities are sold by the administrator before the expiration of three years after their delivery to the administrator, a person making a claim under this article before the end of the three-year period is entitled to the proceeds of the sale of the securities less any deduction for expenses of sale. A person making a claim under this article after the expiration of the three-year period is entitled to receive the securities delivered to the administrator by the holder, if they still remain in the custody of the administrator, or the net proceeds received from sale, and is not entitled to receive any appreciation in the value of the property occurring after delivery to the administrator, except in a case of intentional misconduct or malfeasance by the administrator.(c) A purchaser of property at a sale conducted by the administrator pursuant to this article takes the property free of all claims of the owner or previous holder and of all persons claiming through or under them. The administrator shall execute all documents necessary to complete the transfer of ownership.
WV Code § 36-8-14 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-14. Claim of Another State to Recover Property

(a) After property has been paid or delivered to the administrator under this article, another state may recover the property if:(1) The property was paid or delivered to the custody of this state because the records of the holder did not reflect a last known location of the apparent owner within the borders of the other state and the other state establishes that the apparent owner or other person entitled to the property was last known to be located within the borders of that state and under the laws of that state the property has escheated or become subject to a claim of abandonment by that state;(2) The property was paid or delivered to the custody of this state because the laws of the other state did not provide for the escheat or custodial taking of the property, and under the laws of that state subsequently enacted the property has escheated or become subject to a claim of abandonment by that state;(3) The records of the holder were erroneous in that they did not accurately identify the owner of the property and the last known location of the owner within the borders of another state and under the laws of that state the property has escheated or become subject to a claim of abandonment by that state;(4) The property was subjected to custody by this state under subdivision (6), section four of this article and under the laws of the state of domicile of the holder the property has escheated or become subject to a claim of abandonment by that state; or(5) The property is a sum payable on a traveler's check, money order or similar instrument that was purchased in the other state and delivered into the custody of this state under subdivision (7), section four of this article, and under the laws of the other state the property has escheated or become subject to a claim of abandonment by that state.(b) A claim of another state to recover escheated or abandoned property must be presented in a form prescribed by the administrator, who shall decide the claim within ninety days after it is presented. The administrator shall allow the claim upon determining that the other state is entitled to the abandoned property under subsection (a) of this section.(c) The administrator shall require another state, before recovering property under this section, to agree to indemnify this state and its officers and employees against any liability on a claim to the property.
WV Code § 36-8-15 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-15. Filing Claim With Administrator; Handling of Claims by Administrator

(a) A person, excluding another state, claiming property paid or delivered to the administrator may file a claim on a form prescribed by the administrator and verified by the claimant.(b) Within ninety days after a claim is filed, the administrator shall allow or deny the claim and give written notice of the decision to the claimant. If the claim is denied, the administrator shall inform the claimant of the reasons for the denial and specify what additional evidence is required before the claim will be allowed. The claimant may then file a new claim with the administrator or maintain an action under section sixteen of this article.(c) Within thirty days after a claim is allowed, the property or the net proceeds of a sale of the property must be delivered or paid by the administrator to the claimant.
WV Code § 36-8-16 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-16. Action to Establish Claim

A person aggrieved by a decision of the administrator or whose claim has not been acted upon within ninety days after its filing may maintain an original action to establish the claim in the circuit court of Kanawha County, naming the administrator as a defendant. If the aggrieved person establishes the claim in an action against the administrator, the court may award the claimant reasonable attorney's fees.
WV Code § 36-8-17 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-17. Election to Take Payment or Delivery

(a) The administrator may decline to receive property reported under this article which the administrator considers to have a value less than the expenses of notice and sale.(b) A holder, with the written consent of the administrator and upon conditions and terms prescribed by the administrator, may report and deliver property before the property is presumed abandoned. Property so delivered must be held by the administrator and is not presumed abandoned until it otherwise would be presumed abandoned under this article.
WV Code § 36-8-18 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-18. Destruction or Disposition of Property Having No

substantial commercial value; immunity fromliability.If the administrator determines after investigation that property delivered under this article has no substantial commercial value, the administrator may destroy or otherwise dispose of the property at any time. An action or proceeding may not be maintained against the state or any officer or against the holder for or on account of an act of the administrator under this section, except for intentional misconduct or malfeasance.
WV Code § 36-8-19 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-19. Periods of Limitation

(a) The expiration, before or after the effective date of this article, of a period of limitation on the owner's right to receive or recover property, whether specified by contract, statute or court order, does not preclude the property from being presumed abandoned or affect a duty to file a report or to pay or deliver or transfer property to the administrator as required by this article.(b) An action or proceeding may not be maintained by the administrator to enforce this article in regard to the reporting, delivery or payment of property more than ten years after the holder specifically identified the property in a report filed with the administrator or gave express notice to the administrator of a dispute regarding the property. In the absence of such a report or other express notice, the period of limitation is tolled. The period of limitation is also tolled by the filing of a report that is fraudulent.
WV Code § 36-8-21 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-21. Retention of Records

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, a holder required to file a report under section seven of this article shall maintain the records containing the information required to be included in the report for ten years after the holder files the report, unless a shorter period is provided by rule of the administrator.(b) A business association or financial organization that sells, issues or provides to others for sale or issue in this state, traveler's checks, money orders or similar instruments other than third-party bank checks, on which the business association or financial organization is directly liable, shall maintain a record of the instruments while they remain outstanding, indicating the state and date of issue, for three years after the holder files the report.
WV Code § 36-8-22 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-22. Enforcement

The administrator may maintain an action in this or another state to enforce this article. The court may award reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party.
WV Code § 36-8-23 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-23. Interstate Agreements and Cooperation; Joint and Reciprocal Actions With Other States

(a) The administrator may enter into an agreement with another state to exchange information relating to abandoned property or its possible existence. The agreement may permit the other state, or another person acting on behalf of a state, to examine records as authorized in section twenty of this article. The administrator by rule may require the reporting of information needed to enable compliance with an agreement made under this section and prescribe the form.(b) The administrator may join with another state to seek enforcement of this article against any person who is or may be holding property reportable under this article.(c) At the request of another state, the administrator's attorney may maintain an action on behalf of the other state to enforce, in this state, the unclaimed property laws of the other state against a holder of property subject to escheat or a claim of abandonment by the other state, if the other state has agreed to pay expenses incurred by the Attorney General in maintaining the action.(d) The administrator may request that the Attorney General of another state or another attorney commence an action in the other state on behalf of the administrator. The administrator may retain any other attorney to commence an action in this state on behalf of the administrator. This state shall pay all expenses, including attorney's fees, in maintaining an action under this subsection. With the administrator's approval, the expenses and attorney's fees may be paid from money received under this article. The administrator may agree to pay expenses and attorney's fees based, in whole or in part, on a percentage of the value of any property recovered in the action. Any expenses or attorney's fees paid under this subsection may not be deducted from the amount that is subject to the claim by the owner under this article.
WV Code § 36-8-24 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-24. Interest and Penalties

(a) A holder who fails to report, pay or deliver property within the time prescribed by this article shall pay to the administrator interest at the annual rate of twelve percent on the property or value thereof from the date the property should have been reported, paid or delivered.(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section, a holder who fails to report, pay or deliver property within the time prescribed by this article, or fails to perform other duties imposed by this article, shall pay to the administrator, in addition to interest as provided in subsection (a) of this section, a civil penalty of $200 for each day the report, payment or delivery is withheld, or the duty is not performed, up to a maximum of $500.(c) A holder who willfully fails to report, pay or deliver property within the time prescribed by this article, or willfully fails to perform other duties imposed by this article, shall pay to the administrator, in addition to interest as provided in subsection (a) of this section, a civil penalty of $1,000 for each day the report, payment or delivery is withheld, or the duty is not performed, up to a maximum of $25,000, plus twenty-five percent of the value of any property that should have been but was not reported.(d) A holder who makes a fraudulent report shall pay to the administrator, in addition to interest as provided in subsection (a) of this section, a civil penalty of $1,000 for each day from the date a report under this article was due, up to a maximum of $25,000, plus twenty-five percent of the value of any property that should have been but was not reported.(e) The administrator for good cause may waive, in whole or in part, interest under subsection (a) of this section and penalties under subsections (b) and (c) of this section, and shall waive penalties if the holder acted in good faith and without negligence.
WV Code § 36-8-25 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-25. Records of Abandoned Property

Records of abandoned property kept by the administrator are available for inspection and copying only by an owner of such property as to the particular property he or she owns, or by his or her personal representative, next of kin, attorney at law or such person entitled to inherit from the owner conducting a legal audit thereof. These records are exempt from the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-b of this code.
WV Code § 36-8-26 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-26. Foreign Transactions

This article does not apply to property held, due and owing in a foreign country and arising out of a foreign transaction.
WV Code § 36-8-27 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-27. Transitional Provisions

(a) An initial report filed under this article for property that was not required to be reported before the effective date of this article but which is subject to this article must include all items of property that would have been presumed abandoned during the ten-year period next preceding the effective date of this article as if this article had been in effect during that period.(b) This article does not relieve a holder of a duty that arose before the effective date of this article to report, pay or deliver property. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), section nineteen of this article, a holder who did not comply with the law in effect before the effective date of this article is subject to the applicable provisions for enforcement and penalties which then existed, which are continued in effect for the purpose of this section.
WV Code § 36-8-28 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-28. Rules

On or before July 1, 1997, the administrator shall promulgate emergency legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of section fifteen, article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The administrator shall propose legislative rules for promulgation in accordance with the requirements of the Secretary of State and the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to otherwise effectuate the purposes of this article.
WV Code § 36-8-29 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-29. Uniformity of Application and Construction

This article shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this article among states enacting it.
WV Code § 36-8-30 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-30. Short Title

This article may be cited as the "Uniform Unclaimed Property Act".
WV Code § 36-8-31 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-31. Severability Clause

If any provision of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this article which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this article are severable.
WV Code § 36-8-32 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8. Uniform Unclaimed Property Act|§36-8-32. Effective Date

This article shall take effect on July 1, 1997.
WV Code § 36-8A-1 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8A. Unclaimed Stolen Property Held by Law-Enforcement Agencies|§36-8A-1. Definitions

For purposes of this article, unless a different meaning clearly appears in the context:(a) "Chief executive" means the Superintendent of the State Police; the chief natural resources police officer of the Division of Natural Resources; the sheriff of any West Virginia county; or the chief of any West Virginia municipal law-enforcement agency.(b) "Item" means any item of unclaimed stolen property or any group of similar items considered together for purposes of reporting, donation, sale or destruction under this article.(c) "Law-enforcement agency" means any duly authorized state, county or municipal organization of the State of West Virginia employing one or more persons whose responsibility is the enforcement of laws of the state or any county or municipality thereof: Provided, That neither the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority nor any state institution of higher education is a law-enforcement agency.(d) "Nonprofit organization" means: (i) Any nonprofit charitable organization; or (ii) any agency of the State of West Virginia the purpose of which is to provide health, recreational or educational services to citizens of the State of West Virginia.(e) "Stolen property" means any tangible personal property, including cash and coins, which is confiscated by or otherwise comes into the custody of a law-enforcement agency during the course of a criminal investigation or the performance of any other authorized law-enforcement activity, whether or not the property was or can be proven to have been stolen.(f) "Treasurer" means the State Treasurer or his or her authorized designee for purposes of the administration of this article.(g) "Unclaimed stolen property" is stolen property:(1) Which has been held by a law-enforcement agency for at least six months, during which time the rightful owner has not claimed it;(2) For which the chief executive determines that there is no reasonable likelihood of its being returned to its rightful owner; and(3) Which the chief executive determines to have no evidentiary value.
WV Code § 36-8A-2 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8A. Unclaimed Stolen Property Held by Law-Enforcement Agencies|§36-8A-2. Unclaimed Stolen Property Reports

(a) On or before September 1, of each year, each law-enforcement agency which has unclaimed stolen property in its possession shall file an unclaimed stolen property report with the Treasurer which identifies all unclaimed stolen property in its possession at the time the report is filed.(b) An unclaimed stolen property report shall include the following information with respect to all unclaimed stolen property in the possession of the law-enforcement agency filing it:(1) A description of each item, including a serial number, if applicable;(2) An estimated value for each item;(3) Whether any nonprofit organization has requested that any item be donated to it and whether any nonprofit organization might be considered to receive the item as a donation;(4) Whether the law-enforcement agency could use the item for any legitimate and authorized law enforcement or educational purpose;(5) The chief executive's recommendation for the disposition of each item; and(6) If any unclaimed stolen property in the law-enforcement agency's possession consists of firearms or ammunition, a description of the best efforts used by the chief executive to determine if the firearm has been lost by, stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained from an innocent owner prior to its disposition by public auction or as otherwise required by section five of this article.
WV Code § 36-8A-3 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8A. Unclaimed Stolen Property Held by Law-Enforcement Agencies|§36-8A-3. Treasurer's Response to Unclaimed Stolen Property Report

Within thirty days of the receipt of an unclaimed stolen property report, the Treasurer shall send a response to the law-enforcement agency submitting it. For each item identified in the unclaimed stolen property report, the Treasurer shall either require that it be delivered to the Treasurer, authorize the law-enforcement agency to sell it at a public sale, authorize the law-enforcement agency to donate it to a nonprofit organization, authorize the law-enforcement agency to use it for any legitimate and authorized law enforcement or educational purpose, or authorize the law-enforcement agency either to sell it at a public sale, to donate it to a nonprofit organization, or to use it for any legitimate and authorized law enforcement or educational purpose. However, the Treasurer may not authorize the law-enforcement agency to donate any firearms or ammunition. The sale of any firearms or ammunition by the law enforcement agency must be at a public sale to persons licensed as firearms collectors, dealers, importers or manufacturers under the provisions of 18 U. S. C. §§921 et seq. and authorized to receive firearms under the terms of their license. If the Treasurer determines that any item identified in an unclaimed stolen property report is of such value that it should be processed by the Treasurer's office, the Treasurer shall have the authority to require that the item be delivered to the Treasurer.
WV Code § 36-8A-6 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 36. Estates and Property|Article 8A. Unclaimed Stolen Property Held by Law-Enforcement Agencies|§36-8A-6. Deposit of Funds

(a) The treasurer shall promptly deposit in the General Revenue Fund of this state all proceeds of any public sale of unclaimed stolen property conducted by the treasurer under subsection (b), section four of this article.(b) Before making a deposit to the credit of the General Revenue Fund, the treasurer may deduct the expenses of the related public sale conducted by the treasurer.(c) The treasurer may deduct the accumulated expenses incurred in the destruction of unclaimed stolen firearms and ammunition under this article from any deposit made under subsection (a) of this section.