Utah Admin. Code R966-1-13 - Deceased Owner

(1) Subject to the owner interest provisions of Section 67-4a-201 of the Act, a deceased owner cannot indicate interest in his or her property.

(a) Apparent owner interest shall include the activity of beneficiaries and estate executors or other persons who have a legal or equitable right to ownership or custody of the property when the apparent owner as listed in the records of the holder is deceased.

(b) Thus, while a deceased apparent owner can no longer indicate interest in their own property, the new owner or his/her agent(s) may indicate interest in the property and, thus, prevent abandonment.

(2) If the apparent owner as listed in the records of the holder is deceased and the abandonment period for the owner's property shall be set in accordance with Section 67-4a-201.

(3) A holder who fails to report, pay, or deliver property within the time prescribed by the Act shall not be required to pay interest or be subject to penalties if the failure to report, pay, or deliver the property was caused solely by the lack of knowledge of the death that established a shorter period of abandonment under the Act.

(4) The Act does not impose a new or separate duty on a holder to determine whether an apparent owner is deceased. However, the Act does not relieve a holder of any duty imposed by another law, whether state or federal, that may impose such a duty.

(5) Sections 67-4a-202 and 67-4a-206 of the Act both provide that when a holder, in the ordinary course of its business, receives notice or an indication of the death of an apparent owner, the holder shall attempt not later than 90 days after receipt of the notice or indication to confirm whether the apparent owner is deceased.

(a) These provisions are not intended to require a holder to independently confirm the death of the apparent owner when the holder reasonably believes that the apparent owner is deceased.

(b) Instead, these provisions establish a 90-day deadline for a holder to conduct any independent investigation or search to confirm the death of the apparent owner.

(c) Thus, by way of example and not of limitation, if a holder learns that an apparent owner is listed on the Social Security Administration's Death Master File (DMF) and the holder is satisfied that the presumption of death from such a match is correct, then the holder does not need to independently confirm the death of the apparent owner.

Notes

Utah Admin. Code R966-1-13

Adopted by Utah State Bulletin Number 2020-05, effective 1/22/2020