CHAPTER 329
FORMERLY SENATE
BILL NO. 264
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 11, TITLE 12 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE ESCHEAT OF POSTAL SAVINGS SYSTEM ACCOUNTS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:
Section 1. Amend Chapter 11, Title 12 of the Delaware Code, by adding thereto a new subchapter to be known and designated as Subchapter IV, which new Subchapter shall read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER IV.
ESCHEAT OF POSTAL SAVINGS SYSTEM ACCOUNTS
§ 1195. Declaration of escheat
All Postal Savings System Accounts created by the deposits of persons whose last known addresses are in this State which have not been claimed by the persons entitled thereto before June 1, 1971 are presumed to have been abandoned by their owners and are declared to escheat and become the property of the State of Delaware.
§ 1196. Obtaining information on accounts
The Secretary of State shall request from the Bureau of Accounts of the United States Treasury Department records providing the following information:
1. The names of depositors at the post offices of this State whose accounts are unclaimed;
2. The last known addresses of such persons, as shown by the records of the Post Office Department; and
3. The balance remaining in each account, as shown by the records of the Post Office Department.
The Secretary of State shall agree to return to the Bureau of Accounts, promptly, all account cards showing last addresses in another state.
§ 1197. Proceeding to adjudicate escheat
The Secretary of State may bring proceedings in the U.S. District Court to escheat unclaimed Postal Savings System accounts held by the United States Treasury Department. A single proceeding may be used to escheat as many accounts as may be available for escheat at one time.
§ 1198. Notice
The Secretary of State shall notify depositors whose accounts are to be escheated, as follows:
1. A letter advising that a Postal Savings System account in the name of the addressee is about to be escheated and setting forth the procedure by which a deposit may be claimed, shall be mailed by first-class mail to the named depositor at the last address shown on the account records for each account to be escheated having an unpaid principal balance of more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
2. General notice of intention to escheat Postal Savings System accounts shall be published once in each of three successive weeks in one or more newspapers which combine to provide general circulation throughout the State of Delaware.
3. Special notice of intention to escheat the unclaimed Postal Savings System accounts originally deposited in each post office must be published once in each of three successive weeks in a newspaper published in the county in which the post office is located. Such notice must list the names of the owners of each unclaimed account to be escheated if the account has a principal balance of three dollars ($3.00) or more.
§ 1199. Collection and deposit of funds
The Secretary of State shall present a copy of each final judgment of escheat to the United States Treasury Department for payment of the principal due and the interest computed under
regulations of the United States Treasury Department. The payment received shall be deposited in the General Fund in the State Treasury.
This State shall indemnify the United States for any losses suffered as a result of the escheat of unclaimed Postal Savings System accounts. The burden of the indemnification falls upon the fund into which the proceeds of the escheated accounts have been paid.
Approved January 24, 1972.