2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 03 - Landlord-Tenant, Domestic Relations, Probate › Chapter 098 - Lost, Unclaimed or Abandoned Property; Vehicle Towing › Section 98.322 - Unclaimed securities or distributions.

(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Distribution" means any dividend, profit distribution, interest, payment on principal, stock dividend, stock distribution, unexchanged share or other sum or thing of value owed under a security to the owner by a holder.
(b) "Notice" means communication sent to an owner informing the owner of the existence of a security or distribution and seeking to confirm the owner’s interest in the security or distribution.
(c) "Security" means any stock, equity security, certificate of ownership or other intangible equity ownership interest in a business association, bond or debenture, other than debt of a government entity, or in general, any similar interest or instrument, certificated or uncertificated, evidenced in the records of the holder, or any intangible interest held by a securities intermediary for another person.
(2) A security or distribution is presumed abandoned on the earliest of the following dates:
(a) Three years after the date of the owner’s last communication to the holder indicating the owner’s interest in the property;
(b) Three years after the date of the death of the owner, as evidenced by:
(A) Notice to the holder of the owner’s death by an administrator, beneficiary, relative or trustee, or by a personal representative or other legal representative of the owner’s estate;
(B) Receipt by the holder of a copy of the death certificate of the owner;
(C) Confirmation by the holder of the owner’s death through other means; or
(D) Other evidence from which the holder may reasonably conclude that the owner is deceased; or
(c) One year after the date that the holder receives notice under paragraph (b) of this subsection if the notice is received two or more years after the owner’s death and the holder lacked knowledge of the owner’s death during that period of two or more years.
(3) Notwithstanding the notice requirements under ORS 98.352 (5), the holder of a security or distribution presumed abandoned under subsection (2) of this section, before filing the report under ORS 98.352 with respect to a security or distribution, shall provide notice to the owner as follows:
(a) If the holder customarily communicates with the owner by electronic mail:
(A) By initial electronic mail; or
(B) If the holder believes that the owner’s electronic mail address in the holder’s records is not valid, by written notice sent by first class mail to the owner’s last-known address.
(b) If the holder does not customarily communicate with the owner by electronic mail:
(A) By initial written notice sent by first class mail to the owner’s last-known address; and
(B) If the holder has the owner’s electronic mail address and believes it to be valid, also by electronic mail, at the discretion of the holder.
(c) If the initial notice provided under paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection is returned to the holder as undeliverable or the holder has received no response for 30 days after giving the notice, by additional written notice sent by first class mail to the owner’s last-known address.
(4) The holder of a security or distribution presumed abandoned under subsection (2) of this section shall complete the notification requirements described in subsection (3) of this section at least 60 days before reporting the security or distribution under ORS 98.352.
(5) If owner-generated activity occurs with respect to a security or distribution after the initial notice is provided under subsection (3) of this section and before the submission of the report under ORS 98.352, including a response to a holder’s notice, the security or distribution is no longer presumed abandoned.
(6) When a security is presumed abandoned under this section, any unclaimed distribution arising under the security, whether before, on or after the presumption of abandonment, is also presumed abandoned.
(7) This section does not apply to property held by a fiduciary subject to ORS 98.332. [1957 c.670 §7; 1983 c.716 §3; 1985 c.408 §1; 2007 c.539 §4; 2023 c.238 §1]