Or. Admin. Code § 170-145-0015

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 10, October 1, 2024

Section 170-145-0015 - Holder's Due Diligence Requirements

(1) A Holder must report all Property presumed abandoned under Oregon law to the Treasurer.

(2) When the value of the Property being reported is more than $100.00 for an individual owner, the Holder must comply with section (3) of this rule.

(3) More than 60 days prior to reporting Property presumed abandoned under OAR 170-145-0015, each Holder must:

(a) If the Holder believes it has a valid contact for an Owner (e.g., mailing address, email, phone number),exercise Due Diligence to locate an Owner of the Property or account when the Property or account has been Inactive for the length of time required under ORS 98.302 to 98.436 and 98.992; and

(b) In Due Diligence communication, notify the Owner of:

(A) The type of Property being held;

(B) The process for claiming the Property from the Holder; and

(C) That if the Owner fails to claim the Property, the Holder will report the Property or account to the Treasurer as unclaimed Property.

(c) If the Holder's records indicate the Holder has invalid contact information for an Owner prior to the Property or account reaching the Inactive length of time required under ORS 98.302 to 98.436 and 98.992:

(A) The Holder may look for a better contact and attempt to locate Owner; or

(B) Report Property as unclaimed without additional Due Diligence.

(4) A Holder must clearly demonstrate that it complied with the requirements of this rule by:

(a) Verifying that the Holder has not had any Positive Owner Contact related to:

(A) The subject Property or account; and

(B) Any other Property or account belonging to the Owner (e.g., the trust department of a Financial Institution should contact other departments of the institution);

(b) If the Holder is a credit union or the property is a Security, verify that the Owner has not participated in voting during a regularly scheduled meeting, proxy vote, or other method accepted for voting; and

(c) If the Holder is unable to locate the Owner:

(A) Verifying that the Owner is not a current employee of the Holder;

(B) Verifying the mailing address, email address, or telephone number of record is correct (e.g., correctly spelled, not missing zip code, digits, or characters,etc.); and

(C) Verifying the Owner is not a well-known individual or organization (e.g., Department of Treasury, IRS).

(5) If a Holder is holding any Property presumed abandoned under ORS 98.322, the Holder must clearly demonstrate that it complied with the following requirements:

(a) Holder must send the initial Notice to the Owner by the primary method it uses to communicate with the Owner, either email or standard mail.

(A) If the Holder believes the Owner's email address is not valid, then the Holder must send Notice by standard mail.

(B) If the Holder primarily communicates by standard mail and has a valid email address, Notice may also be sent by electronic mail, at the discretion of the Holder.

(b) If the initial notice is returned or is undeliverable or the Holder has received no response in 30 days after giving the notice, then the Holder must send an additional notice by first class mail to the Owner's last known address.

(6) A Holder must retain the records or documentation of its compliance with the requirements of this rule for three years and make the records or documentation available for inspection when requested by the Treasurer.

Or. Admin. Code § 170-145-0015

OST 2-2021, adopt filed 06/29/2021, effective 7/1/2021; OST 3-2023, temporary amend filed 12/29/2023, effective 1/1/2024 through 6/23/2024; OST 3-2024, amend filed 06/03/2024, effective 6/10/2024

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 178.050, ORS 98.422 & ORS 98.352

Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 98.352