Joe Carr and Andres Marcellaro, tax partner and manager for the National Unclaimed Property Leader and State and Local Tax, respectively, have made available for download their article “Delaware Unclaimed Property Legislation Confirms Current Practice and Addresses Recent Court Decisions”, published on BDO USA. The abstract is as follows:
On June 30, 2021 Delaware Senate Bill 104 (SB 104) was signed into law by Governor John Carney, Jr. According to its synopsis, SB 104 “clarifies various aspects of the State’s procedures to operate its unclaimed property program, including promoting and determining holder compliance, processing owner claims, and preventing fraudulent claims.” The law is in part a reaction to the recent litigation involving Delaware, where courts have questioned the state’s use of contingent-fee based, third-party, multi-state auditors and addressed the limits of Delaware’s subpoena power.[1] While some provisions of SB 104 take effect on August 1, 2021 and only apply prospectively, other provisions became effective upon signature by the Governor and “apply retroactively to any claims, examinations, or litigation pending as of the effective date of this legislation.”
SB 104 makes numerous changes to Delaware’s unclaimed property program, ranging from simple technical corrections for consistent nomenclature to establishing a permanent expedited examination program. Below is an explanation of the material changes SB 104 makes to Delaware’s Unclaimed Property Law[2] and how it impacts the Department of Finance’s audit program and the Secretary of State’s voluntary disclosure program (VDA).
Posted by Marin Larkin, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal.
Wealth Strategies Journal 