Chapter 01. Abandoned Property Regulations
Regulation .01 Abandoned Funds.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Repealed.
B.
Repealed.
C.
Effective June 1, 2003, for reporting periods ending on or after June 30, 2003, any checking, savings, share, negotiable order of withdrawal, automatic transfer, share draft, electronic terminal account, or other similar type of account held by a banking or financial organization is presumed abandoned after 3 years, if the depositor or shareholder has not actively deposited, withdrawn, or otherwise indicated an interest in the funds or deposit as evidenced by memorandum or correspondence from the depositor on file with the banking or financial organization.
D.
Effect of Automatic Deposits and Withdrawals on Presumption of Abandonment.
(1)
A depositor or shareholder shall be deemed to have actively deposited or withdrawn funds from an account covered by this regulation, thereby overcoming the presumption of abandonment described in §C of this regulation, if:
(a)
The depositor or shareholder authorized and established an automatic deposit or withdrawal;
(b)
The authorization has not been cancelled, revoked, rescinded, or otherwise terminated; and
(c)
Funds are deposited or withdrawn automatically based on the depositor or shareholder’s effective authorization.
(2)
A depositor or shareholder may not be deemed to have actively deposited or withdrawn funds from an account covered by this regulation if:
(a)
The bank or financial organization automatically deposits interest or dividends earned on the account; or
(b)
The bank or financial organization automatically withdraws a service charge.
Regulation .02 Service Charges.LinkCopy Citation
A.
A service charge of any type may not be made by a holder of any property presumed abandoned under Commercial Law Article, Title 17, during the period of time giving rise to presumption of abandonment unless the holder complies with the requirements set forth in Commercial Law Article, §17-308.1.
B.
Except in those instances in which a service charge is properly made pursuant to §17-308.1, a holder shall report, pursuant to §17-310, the full amount appearing on the face of every instrument presumed abandoned. By way of illustration but not of limitation, instruments subject to these provisions include certificates of deposit, drafts, traveler's checks, and money orders.
C.
Repealed.
D.
Repealed.
E.
Effective June 30, 2003, for purposes of Commercial Law Article, §17-308.1, Annotated Code of Maryland, an account shall be considered dormant or inactive, if, with respect to that account, the owner has for a period of 1 year, taken none of the actions set forth in Commercial Law Article, §17-301, Annotated Code of Maryland. When a service charge is permitted, the maximum amount of the charge shall be $10 per year for an account that does not exceed $50 and $20 per year for an account that exceeds $50.
Regulation .03 Liability for Interest.LinkCopy Citation
A holder may not cease payment or accrual of any benefits, including dividends or interest on property, under this title, unless the holder complies with the requirements as set forth in Commercial Law Article, §17-308.1.
Regulation .04 Prohibited Agreements.LinkCopy Citation
Contractual agreements are not permitted which tend to circumvent the intention of the Maryland General Assembly and provide any holder subject to this Article with a windfall or private escheat practice. The total reported shall be the amount the owner would have received had the property not been abandoned.
Regulation .05 Voluntary Reporting.LinkCopy Citation
Since the Maryland law is purely custodial, any holder of unclaimed property may voluntarily report funds before the statutory due dates and be relieved of all accountability and responsibility upon delivery of the unclaimed property to this office.
Regulation .06 Retirement Accounts.LinkCopy Citation
The period of abandonment for accounts established pursuant to 26 U.S.C. §401(a), et seq. (commonly known as Self-Employed Retirement, or Keogh, Plans) and 26 U.S.C. §408(a), et seq. (commonly known as Individual Retirement Accounts or IRA's) may not begin until such time as distribution of all or part of the property constituting the respective account shall be, under the terms of the retirement plan, mandatory.
Regulation .07 Automatically Renewable Certificates of Deposit.LinkCopy Citation
The period of abandonment for any property automatically renewable according to its terms that is subject to §§17-301 and 17-308 shall commence after the expiration of its initial term. If, at the time provided for delivery in §17-312, a penalty or forfeiture in payment of interest would result from the delivery of that property, the time for delivery shall be extended until such time as no penalty or forfeiture would result.
Chapter annotations
Authority: Commercial Law Article, §17-103, Annotated Code of Maryland
History: Effective date: October 17, 1974 (1:1 Md. R. 13)
History: Regulations .01—.05 amended effective October 1, 1975 (2:22 Md. R. 1369)
History: Regulation .06 adopted effective October 1, 1975 (2:22 Md. R. 1369)
History: Chapter revised effective January 7, 1982 (8:26 Md. R. 2104)
History: Regulation .01 amended effective September 30, 2002 (29:19 Md. R. 1523); September 19, 2022 (49:19 Md. R. 867)
History: Regulation .02 amended effective September 19, 2022 (49:19 Md. R. 867)
History: Regulation .02C amended effective September 30, 2002 (29:19 Md. R. 1523)
History: Regulation .02D adopted effective September 30, 2002 (29:19 Md. R. 1523)
History: Regulation .02E adopted effective September 30, 2002 (29:19 Md. R. 1523)
History: Regulation .02E amended effective September 1, 2003 (30:16 Md. R. 1073)
History: Annotation: COMAR 03.05.01.02 cited in Attorney General Opinion No. 81-035
History: (November 24, 1981)