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Q: Each month we generate a report regarding accounts of members who passed away the prior month. We have an account of a deceased member that does not have any joint owner or payable-on-death beneficiary listed. I seem to remember that we used to send the funds from the account to the State of Maine and they would take care of the next of kin. Is that correct?
A: No. The legal concept you are referring to is called “escheatment.” Maine has adopted a version of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, which addresses all types of property, including bank accounts, that are considered abandoned. Once property is subject to a “presumption of abandonment” under the statute, then reports must be made to the State on annual basis along with such property paid or delivered to the State. The time periods as to when the presumption of abandonment arises are different and are tied to the type of property. In the case of accounts, it is 3 years of, essentially, inactivity. In your situation, just because there are no joint owners or POD beneficiaries on the account does not mean that the account is “abandoned” and that no one exists with rights to the funds. The deceased member/account owner may have left a will, with devisees becoming entitled to the funds; or if no will, then the heirs. If, after death, there is no activity on the account for a period of 3 years, then the presumption of abandonment arises, with concomitant obligations to report and pay over to the State per the statute.