ALL AGENCIES, DEPARTMENTS, AND DISTRICTS GOVERNED
BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
EFFECTIVE: 1/1/89
Revised : 1/99
_________________________________
David E. Sundstrom, Auditor-Controller
1.
POLICY
Each head of a County agency, department, and/or
district is responsible for money deposited in his/her
trust fund(s) or otherwise in his/her custody. Accordingly,
he/she must file by the following March 1 with the
Treasurer-Tax Collector a report as of December
31 of each year of all such monies which have been
held unclaimed for three or more years.
1.1
Purpose
To establish a policy and related procedures
for reporting monies held by departments/
agencies/ districts which have been unclaimed
for three or more years, for identifying which
of such monies can be escheated to the County,
and for transferring such escheated monies
to the County General Fund.
1.2
Authority
State of California Government Code Sections
50050 through 50056.
1.3
Definitions
1.3.1
Escheatment
The term "escheatment" generally
means the legal transfer to a government
entity of property that has not been
claimed by the legal owners. As used
in Policy and Procedure Number 18, "escheatment"
is the legal transfer to the County
of unclaimed money as defined in Paragraph
1.3.2.
1.3.2
Unclaimed Money
Unclaimed money consists of funds
which are not the property of the County
but remain in the County treasury or
in the custody of a County officer for
three or more years without a claim
being filed by the legal owner(s), except
in the following situations:
The apparent legal owners of the
money and their address, phone number,
or other evidence of their whereabouts
are known.
The money is held in deposit pending
decision in a court case.
The money is covered by a special
legal restriction of law, or is
subject to a claim by another governmental
agency. The money is to be retained
beyond three years because of the
provisions of Probate Code Section
7663. See Section 2.2 of this procedure.
The amount of an individual item
is under $15 or the depositor’s
name is unknown. Such items can
be transferred after one year, without
publication. See Section 2.3.3 of
this procedure.
1.3.3
Trust Fund
A trust fund is a fund used to hold
assets for individuals, private organizations,
or other governmental units.
1.3.4
Liability/Deposit Accounts; Trust
Fund Accounts
Liability/deposit accounts are general
ledger accounts 9100 through 9160.
9100 Condemnation Deposits - Trust Funds
9110 Customer Deposits
9120 Development Deposits
9130 Refundable Deposits
9140 Uncleared Specific Donations
9150 Liability for Earned Credits
9160 Liability for Relinquished Credits
Trust fund account balances are recorded
in account 9200.
9200 Balance – Trust Funds
1.3.5
Officer
"Officer of the County,"
as defined in Government Code Section
29320, includes any elective or appointive
officer of a county, superior court,
or judicial district, and any person
in charge of any office, department,
service, or institution of the county,
or a division or branch thereof and
as enumerated in Section 24000 of the
Government Code.
2.
PROCEDURE
2.1
Request by Agencies/Departments/Districts:
By the end of each January, the Treasurer-Tax
Collector shall distribute the Schedule
of Accounts form and instructions to all
affected departments/agencies/districts. Agencies/departments/districts
shall complete a copy of the Schedule of Accounts
form as required. (See sample form at end
of these procedures.) The completed form shall
be submitted to the Treasurer-Tax Collector
by March 1.
2.2
Notification of Known Apparent Owners of
Unclaimed Money
Agencies/departments/districts must make
a reasonable effort to locate and notify owners
of unclaimed money included on the Schedule
of Accounts form. Before preparing this form
the agency/department/district must notify
apparent owners of unclaimed money held three
or more years. If addresses of apparent owners
are known, notification must be in writing,
sent by certified mail, with return receipt
requested. Any phone calls made to apparent
owners must be documented to provide a record
that adequate notification was made.
The period to claim money for deposits recorded
pursuant to Probate Code Section 7663 can
be extended beyond three years. Section 7663
deposits are recorded by the Public Administrator
for estates without beneficiaries. The County
can release such deposits to a blood relative
of the deceased or a blood relative of the
deceased’s predeceased spouse. For infants
or persons of unsound mind, the period to
claim money is extended until one year from
the date on which his or her disability ceases.
If the apparent owners state that they are
unwilling or unable to claim the money, the
money can then be listed as escheated on the
Schedule of Accounts form. If the apparent
owners wish to submit a claim for the money,
normal department/agency payment procedures
for the particular type of claim involved
should be followed. If the money is not disbursed
before December 31, it should be listed in
the "Other Money Three or More Years
Old" section of the Schedule of Accounts.
2.3
Preparation of Schedule of Accounts Form
2.3.1
General Instructions
Complete the original Schedule
of Accounts form and make one copy.
Submit the form by March 1 as follows:
Original to Treasurer-Tax Collector
One copy to department/agency file
Submit a separate form for each trust
fund and/or each individual liability/deposit
account. Complete each section of the
form as described in the following paragraphs.
2.3.2
Unclaimed Money Three (3) or More
Years Old - Escheat
In this section of the form, list
unclaimed money held for three or more
years for which the apparent owners
have been properly notified and are
unwilling or unable to claim the money.
Do not list in this section money held
on deposit pending decision in a court
case, money covered by a special legal
restriction or law, or money subject
to a claim by another governmental agency.
Some unclaimed money may represent restitution
collected on behalf of victims by the
Probation Department. A mark should
be placed in the "Victim Restitution"
column to denote such funds.
2.3.3
Unclaimed Money - Less than $15 or
Name of Depositor Unknown, and One (1)
or More Years Old - Escheat
In this section of the form, list
unclaimed money held for one or more
years for which the individual items
are less than fifteen ($15) dollars
or for which the depositor’s name
is unknown. Do not list in this section
money held on deposit pending decision
in a court case, money covered by a
special legal restriction or law, or
money subject to a claim by another
governmental agency.
Some unclaimed money may represent restitution
collected on behalf of victims by the
Probation Department. A mark should
be placed in the "Victim Restitution"
column to denote such funds.
2.3.4
Other Money Three (3) or More Years
Old - Do Not Escheat
In this section of the form, list
all other money held for three or more
years, claimed or unclaimed, which is
not listed in the escheated money section.
Do not list in this section money held
on deposit pending decision in a court
case, money covered by a special legal
restriction or law, or money subject
to a claim by another governmental agency.
2.3.5
Total of All Other Money in Fund
In this section of the form, post
the total of all other money in the
trust fund or the liability/deposit
account.
2.3.6
Grand Total
The "Grand Total" must equal
the total trust fund balance as of December
31, or the total of the liability/deposit
account as of December 31.
2.3.7
Signatures
The preparer of the form signs on
the "Prepared By" line. The
department/agency/district head signs
on the "Trust Officer" line.
By his or her signature, the department/
agency/ district head authorizes the
Auditor-Controller, after action has
been taken by the Treasurer-Tax Collector
and the Board of Supervisors as described
in Paragraphs 2.4 and 2.5, to transfer
escheated money to the General Fund.
The department/agency/district head
also certifies that proper notice has
been given to all known and apparent
legal and beneficial owners of unclaimed
money to be escheated whose whereabouts
are known.
2.4
Escheated Money: Less Than $15 or Name of
Depositor Unknown
Upon receipt of the Schedule of Accounts
forms from the departments/ agencies/districts,
the Treasurer-Tax Collector shall compile
a list of escheated money for amounts of less
than $15 or any amounts where the depositors’
names are unknown from the Schedule of Accounts
forms. The Treasurer-Tax Collector then shall
request the Board of Supervisors to issue
a resolution escheating such money and directing
the Auditor-Controller to transfer it to the
County General Fund. Upon receipt of a certified
copy of the Board Resolution, The Auditor-Controller
shall transfer the escheated money to the
General Fund.
2.5
Escheated Money: $15 or More
2.5.1
Public Notice
Upon receipt of the Schedule of Accounts
forms from the departments/agencies/districts,
the Treasurer-Tax Collector shall issue
a notice listing all escheated money
amounts of $15 or more, to be published
once a week for two successive weeks
in a local newspaper with a countywide
circulation and distribution. The notice
shall state the amount of money, the
name of the depositor, the fund in which
it is held, and that the money will
become property of the County of Orange
on a designated date not less than forty-five
days nor more than sixty days after
the first publication of the notice.
2.5.2
Removal of Item from List
2.5.2.1
Procedure for Party of Interest
to File Claim for Unclaimed Money.
Upon or prior to publication,
a party of interest may file a
claim with the Treasurer-Tax Collector
which must include the claimant’s
name, address, amount of claim,
the grounds on which the claim
is founded, and any other information
that may be required by the Treasurer-Tax
Collector. The claim shall be
filed before the date the unclaimed
money becomes the property of
the local agency as provided under
Section 50051. Pursuant to Section
50056, the Treasurer-Tax Collector
may delegate the responsibility
for accepting or rejecting the
claim and releasing the money
to the department/agency/district
that submitted the Schedule of
Accounts form to which the claim
applies.
The department/agency/district
shall accept or reject that claim.
If rejected, the department/agency/district
shall notify the Treasurer-Tax
Collector that the claim will
not be honored. If accepted and
notwithstanding the provisions
of Section 50052, the department/agency/district
may release, to the depositor
of the unclaimed money or their
heir, beneficiary, or duly appointed
representative, unclaimed money
if claimed prior to the date the
money becomes the property of
the local agency upon submitting
proof satisfactory to the department/agency/district.
The department/ agency/district
consequently can direct the Auditor-Controller
to issue a check for the amount
of the accepted claim by way of
a properly signed authorized claim.
The department/ agency/district
shall notify the Treasurer-Tax
Collector that the amount of the
claim should be removed from the
monies to be escheated.
2.5.2.2
Court Action Upon Rejection
of Claim by Treasurer-Tax Collector
If the claim is rejected by
the Treasurer-Tax Collector, the
party who submitted the claim
may file a verified complaint
seeking to recover all, or a designated
part, of the money in a court
of competent jurisdiction within
the county in which the notice
is published, and serves a copy
of the complaint and the summons
issued thereon upon the Treasurer-Tax
Collector. The copy of the complaint
and summons shall be served within
30 days of receiving notice that
the claim was rejected. The Treasurer-Tax
Collector shall withhold the release
of the portion of unclaimed money
for which a court action has been
filed as provided in this section
until a decision is rendered by
the court.
2.5.2.3
County Officer Request to Remove
Item from List
If an officer or head of a department/agency/district
uncovers a restriction applicable
to an item or the published notice
of escheated money, he or she
must send a written request to
the Treasurer-Tax Collector to
remove it from the list of money
to be escheated.
2.5.3
Board of Supervisors’ Actions
After the date designated in the public
notice has passed, the County Treasurer-Tax
Collector shall request the Board of
Supervisors to issue a Resolution escheating
the money as listed and directing the
Auditor-Controller to transfer it to
the appropriate fund. In the case of
money collected on behalf of victims
and so identified by the Probation Department
according to Section 2.3.2 or 2.3.3,
above, the Auditor-Controller shall
be directed to transfer the money to
the Victim Restitution Fund. All other
money shall be transferred to the County
General Fund.
2.5.4
Transfer to General Fund or Victim
Restitution Fund
Upon receipt of a certified copy of
the Board Resolution, the Auditor-Controller
shall transfer the escheated money to
the County General Fund or to the Victim
Restitution Fund. Copies of the journal
voucher transferring the escheated money
to the General Fund or to the Victim
Restitution Fund shall be sent to all
affected departments/ agencies/districts
by the Auditor-Controller.
Legal