Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 960 CMR - OFFICE OF THE STATE TREASURER AND RECEIVER GENERAL › Title 960 CMR 4.00 - Procedures For The Administration Of Abandoned Property › Section 4.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
Unless otherwise enumerated below, all definitions associated
				with
				960 CMR 4.00 shall be the
				definitions outlined in M.G.L. c. 200A.
Activity
: Action taken by an owner
				with respect to his or her property which indicates that the owner intends for
				the property not to be presumed abandoned. Examples of owner activity include,
				but are not limited to: an owner-initiated deposit or withdrawal or posting of
				interest on a piece of property, such as a savings or checking account;
				notification to a holder of change of owner address; payment of an installment
				loan, such as a mortgage, equity loan or automobile loan; payment of a safe
				deposit box rental fee; and any action, such as written correspondence, e-mail
				message, fax, telephone call or person-to-person conversation between an owner
				and a holder or his/her representative, which can be documented so as to
				indicate an owner's interest in his or her property not being presumed
				abandoned.
Administrator/trix
: A person appointed
				by a court to settle the estate of a person for whom no last will and testament
				has been admitted to a probate court of competent jurisdiction.
Agent
: A person or entity that
				conducts an abandoned property examination/audit on behalf of the
				Treasurer.
Aggregate Property
: Intangible
				property with a value of less than $100.00 which has been sent to the State
				Treasury by a holder in a "lump sum" pursuant to M.G.L. c. 200A, §
				7(b)(3), or property with a value of $100.00 or greater for which a holder does
				not have the name or address of the owner in its records.
AP-1 Form
: A form prescribed by the
				Treasurer for the annual reporting of abandoned property.
Assistant Treasurer
: The Assistant
				Treasurer for Abandoned Property.
Book Entry Shares
: Electronic form of
				holding shares between a depository and a participant.
Burial Account
: An account opened for
				the purpose of paying the final expenses associated with a funeral. In most
				cases, burial accounts are pre-paid and are held in custody by a funeral
				director.
Claimant
: A person(s) or legal entity
				legally entitled to claim abandoned property held in custody by the Abandoned
				Property Division. A claimant may be an original owner or the court- appointed
				representative of an original owner or his/her estate.
Commercial Customer
: Any person who
				maintains a current, multiple transaction, commercial relationship with a
				vendor in the conduct of the person's business within Massachusetts or through
				a vendor conducting business in Massachusetts. No individual purchasing goods
				or services in his/her capacity as a consumer at retail shall be considered a
				commercial customer.
Conservator
: A person who is
				court-appointed to legally hold, manage and safeguard the value of another
				person's property.
Credit Balances
: Outstanding balances
				that are recorded as current accounts receivable or accounts payable of a
				holder. The balance must have been generated in the normal and ordinary course
				of business between the holder and a then current commercial customer.
Director
: The Director of Auditing in
				the Abandoned Property Division.
Division
: The Abandoned Property
				Division.
Dormancy Period
: The period of time
				during which an owner of property takes no action with respect to his or her
				property, after which the property is presumed abandoned and must be remitted
				to the Division unless claimed beforehand.
Due Diligence
: Written notice sent by
				a holder after the appropriate dormancy period has elapsed that informs the
				owner that his/her property will be turned over to the State Treasury as
				abandoned property unless the owner contacts the holder.
Executor/trix
: A person named in a
				will to administer and carry out the last will and testament of a deceased
				person.
False or Fraudulent Return
: A report
				issued to the Division and signed by an authorized representative of a holder
				which contains information known by the authorized representative or other
				officer involved in the preparation of the report to be false, fraudulent or
				insufficient as it applies to any material matter contained in the
				report.
Guardian
: A person who has legal
				responsibility for the care and well-being of another person who is either a
				minor or incompetent to manage their own affairs.
Heirfinder
: A person or entity that,
				for a fee, assists a property owner in making a claim for abandoned property ,
				or locates the owner of property on behalf of a holder.
Holder
: The entity that has custody of
				abandoned property until it is claimed by the owner of the property or
				transferred to the Division in accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. c.
				200A.
Holder Certification
: A written
				statement from an abandoned property holder certifying that the holder has
				reported certain abandoned property to the State Treasury.
Insufficient Return
: a report issued
				to the Division and signed by an authorized representative of a holder that is
				subsequently determined by a review of the Division, its agent, or
				representative to have under reported the value of the abandoned property by
				50% or more of what is ultimately determined to be owed within any individual
				abandoned property reporting code.
Intangible Property
: Money, money
				orders, checks, drafts, deposits, interest, dividends, income and bonds; credit
				balances, customer overpayments, gift certificates, security deposits, refunds,
				credit memos, unpaid wages, unused airline tickets, mineral proceeds and
				unidentified remittances; stocks and other intangible ownership interests in
				business associations; money deposited to redeem stocks, bonds, coupons and
				other securities, or to make distributions; amounts due and payable under the
				terms of an annuity or insurance policy; amounts distributed from a trust or
				custodial fund established under a plan to provide any health, pension,
				vacation, severance, retirement, death, stock purchase, profit sharing,
				employee savings, supplemental unemployment insurance, or similar benefit, as
				defined in M.G.L. c. 200A, § 1.
Joint Account
: An account payable on
				request to one or more of two or more parties, whether or not mention is made
				of any right of survivorship.
Joint Tenant, or With Right of Survivorship
				(WROS)
: An original owner who holds property jointly with another
				original owner(s). When one tenant dies, the entire tenancy remains to the
				surviving tenant(s).
Legal Representative of the Owner
: A
				person, other than the original owner, claiming property on behalf of the
				original owner as an executor/trix or administrator/trix of an estate, as a
				conservator or guardian, or an authorized agent appointed in accordance with a
				properly-executed power of attorney.
Lessee
: The person or persons in whose
				name or names a safe deposit box stands on the books of a bank or credit union,
				as the term is used in
				960 CMR
				4.05.
Merchandise Credit
: A credit
				established for the benefit of a customer emanating from the return of
				merchandise previously delivered to the customer. This does not include credits
				emanating from the return of goods by any retail customer.
Negative Report
: An abandoned property
				report filed by a holder in which the holder affirms that it has no property to
				report to the Division.
Normal and Ordinary Course of Business
: The current and ongoing sale of goods or services to the general public
				and/or to others as part of a vendor's overall business purpose and activity,
				as well as the purchase of goods and services from a vendor supporting a
				customer's overall business purpose and activity.
Notarized Signature
: Signature of a
				claimant witnessed by a person who is an official Notary Public (appointed by
				the property appointing authority in a given state) attesting to the validity
				of the signature of a person who appears before him/her.
Original Document
: The actual written
				document issued by an authority or government entity legally empowered to issue
				documents, such as a court, city or town clerk, attorney or any official keeper
				of records, or any other agreement or understanding legally executed between
				two or more parties, or any document which is considered an original document
				pursuant to
				P.L.
				106-229, the Electronic Signatures in Global and
				National Commerce act (known as "E-SIGN").
Original Owner
: A person (or persons)
				listed in the UPS System as the rightful owner, as reported from the records of
				the holder of the property.
Owner
: A person or entity having a
				legal or equitable claim to abandoned property.
Power of Attorney
: A legal document in
				which a person gives another person authority to act for him/herself.
Reciprocity Agreement
: An agreement
				between states in which property held in the name of out-of state owners is
				collected and exchanged.
Surety Bond
: Indemnity coverage for
				the State purchased by an owner before a duplicate security or check is issued
				to replace one that has been lost. The indemnification guarantees payment if
				the original security or check is produced at a later date for redemption or
				payment, by a person other than the original claimant, as a valid claim to the
				property previously paid by the Division.
Tangible Property
: The contents of
				safe deposit boxes, which are turned over to the Division as abandoned property
				by a bank pursuant to M.G.L. c. 158, § 17, or by a credit union pursuant
				to M.G.L. c. 171, § 75, or any other tangible property transferred to the
				Division as abandoned property in accordance with the terms of M.G.L. c.
				200A.
Tenant in Common
: An original owner
				who owns an undivided interest in a piece of property. When the owner dies,
				his/her interest passes to his/her estate.
True Attested/Certified Copy
: Copy of
				an original document that is issued by a court or other government entity and
				displays a raised seal and/or original signature of the issuing authority
				certifying that the copy is a true copy of the original.
Trust
: A legal arrangement whereby
				control of an account or property is transferred to a person or organization
				(trustee) for the benefit of another person (beneficiary).
UGMA (Uniform Gift to Minors Act)
				Account
: An account opened for the benefit of a minor under the
				age of 21. Abandoned property from such accounts can only be paid to the
				appointed trustee in the name of the minor until the minor reaches the age of
				21. When a minor beneficiary of a UGMA account reaches the age of 21, any
				abandoned property held for his/her benefit as a UGMA account shall become
				his/her sole property. A transfer made in accordance with the Uniform Gift to
				Minors Act will be treated as a transfer made in accordance with the Uniform
				Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA), as codified in M.G.L. c. 201A, except insofar
				as the application would impair constitutionally vested rights or extend the
				duration of a custodianship in existence as of January 30, 1987.
Undeliverable Shares
: Securities
				returned by the U.S. Post Office (known as RPO) or any other certified private
				carrier as undeliverable.
Underlying Shares
: Original shares of
				stock which have been issued by a business association, corporation, banking or
				financial organization, are not in the possession of the issuer and presumably
				are in the possession of the owner.
UPS System
: The abandoned property
				records-keeping system maintained by the Division.
UTMA (Uniform Transfers to Minors)
				Account
: An account opened for the benefit of a minor under the
				age of 21. Abandoned property from such accounts can only be paid to the
				appointed trustee in the name of the minor until the minor reaches the age of
				21, as codified in M.G.L. c. 201A. When a minor beneficiary of a UTMA account
				reaches the age of 21, any abandoned property held for his/her benefit as a
				UTMA account shall become his/her sole property.
Vendor
: Any person or entity that
				sells goods or services in the ordinary course of business.