Whenever any claim is made or petition filed by the representative of an estate or other person, under the provisions of this chapter, or under any other provision of law, to recover money or other property deposited in the State Treasury or held by the State or any officer thereof to the credit, or in the name, of any account in the Unclaimed Property Fund, no recovery will be allowed unless it affirmatively appears that there are heirs or legatees who will receive such money or other property or creditors of the deceased owner of the claim whose claims are valid and are not barred, and whose claims were in existence prior to the death of such deceased owner of the claim. Where only creditors exist, and there are no heirs or legatees, said claims shall be allowed only to the extent necessary to pay such claims and the reasonable costs of administration of the estate, including court costs, administrator's fees and attorney's fees. This section shall apply to all claims which are pending at the time that this section goes into effect as well as to claims arising hereafter.
§ 1354.Recovery On Claim Made Or Petition Filed By Representative of Estate
Title 10. Unclaimed Property · Chapter 3. Payment of Claims · Article 3. Claims · Enacted 1708 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1354 bars recovery on a claim or petition to recover estate-related unclaimed property unless it affirmatively appears there are heirs or legatees who will receive it, or valid, unbarred creditors whose claims predate the owner's death -- and where only such creditors exist, limits recovery to their claims plus reasonable administration costs.
Full Text of § 1354
Plain-English Summary
This section adds a substantive screen on top of the procedural claims mechanisms in Sections 1352 and 1353. Even when a representative of an estate, or some other person, files a proper claim or petition under this chapter or any other law to recover money or property deposited in the State Treasury or held by the state to the credit of an Unclaimed Property Fund account, that alone is not enough.
Recovery is barred unless it affirmatively appears that there are actual heirs or legatees who will receive the property, or creditors of the deceased owner whose claims are valid, not barred, and already existed before the owner died. If only creditors fit that description -- no heirs or legatees are in the picture -- the claim is allowed only up to what is needed to pay those creditors' claims and the reasonable costs of administering the estate, including court costs, an administrator's fees, and attorney's fees. And this rule is not limited to future cases: it applies to every claim already pending when the section took effect, as well as to claims arising afterward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an estate representative recover unclaimed property just by filing a proper claim?
No -- recovery is barred unless it affirmatively appears there are heirs or legatees who will receive the property, or valid, unbarred creditors whose claims predate the owner's death.
What if only creditors exist, with no heirs or legatees?
Recovery is limited to what is needed to pay those creditors' claims and the reasonable costs of administering the estate, including court costs, administrator's fees, and attorney's fees.
Does this limitation apply to claims that were already pending?
Yes -- the section applies both to claims pending when it took effect and to claims arising afterward.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1951, Ch. 1708.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: heirs creditors required recovery unclaimed estate propertylimit on recovery creditors only claim