As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
§ 1501.Definitions
Title 10. Unclaimed Property · Chapter 7. Unclaimed Property Law · Article 1. Short Title; Definitions; Application · Last amended 2026 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1501 defines the core vocabulary this chapter relies on, including apparent owner, holder, owner, banking and financial organization, business association, life insurance corporation, digital financial asset, private key, and employee benefit plan distribution.
Full Text of § 1501
(a) "Apparent owner" means the person who appears from the records of the holder to be entitled to property held by the holder.
(b) "Banking organization" means any national or state bank, trust company, banking company, land bank, savings bank, safe-deposit company, private banker, or any similar organization.
(c) "Business association" means any private corporation, joint stock company, business trust, partnership, or any association for business purposes of two or more individuals, whether or not for profit, including, but not by way of limitation, a banking organization, financial organization, life insurance corporation, and utility.
(d) "Digital financial asset" has the same meaning as in subdivision (g) of Section 3102 of the Financial Code.
(e) "Employee benefit plan distribution" means any money, life insurance, endowment or annuity policy or proceeds thereof, securities or other intangible property, or any tangible property, distributable to a participant, former participant, or the beneficiary or estate or heirs of a participant or former participant or beneficiary, from a trust or custodial fund established under a plan to provide health and welfare, pension, vacation, severance, retirement benefit, death benefit, stock purchase, profit sharing, employee savings, supplemental unemployment insurance benefits or similar benefits, or which is established under a plan by a business association functioning as or in conjunction with a labor union that receives for distribution residuals on behalf of employees working under collective-bargaining agreements.
(f) "Financial organization" means any federal or state savings and loan association, building and loan association, credit union, investment company, or any similar organization.
(g) "Holder" means any person in possession of property subject to this chapter belonging to another, or who is trustee in case of a trust, or is indebted to another on an obligation subject to this chapter.
(h) "Life insurance corporation" means any association or corporation transacting the business of insurance on the lives of persons or insurance appertaining thereto, including, but not by way of limitation, endowments, and annuities.
(i) "Owner" means a depositor in case of a deposit, a beneficiary in case of a trust, or creditor, claimant, or payee in case of other choses in action, or any person having a legal or equitable interest in property subject to this chapter, or their legal representative.
(j) "Person" means any individual, business association, government or governmental subdivision or agency, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity, whether that person is acting in their own right or in a representative or fiduciary capacity.
(k) "Private key" means a unique element of cryptographic data used for signing transactions on a blockchain that is known to the owner of the element.
(l) "Residuals" means payments pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement of additional compensation for domestic and foreign uses of recorded materials.
Plain-English Summary
A statute this detailed needs its terms nailed down before anything else, and Section 1501 does that work. It separates the “apparent owner,” the person the holder's own records point to, from the “owner,” the person who holds the legal or equitable interest, a distinction that matters because a holder's records are not always accurate or current. It also draws the line between the “holder,” whoever possesses the property or owes the debt, and the business associations, banking organizations, financial organizations, and life insurance corporations whose property this chapter reaches.
“Business association” is defined broadly enough to sweep in corporations, partnerships, joint stock companies, and business trusts of every kind, including banks, savings institutions, and insurers. Two newer terms, “digital financial asset” and “private key,” tie this chapter to the cryptocurrency and blockchain terminology used in the Financial Code, reflecting how the law has grown to cover property forms that did not exist when this chapter was first written. “Employee benefit plan distribution” gets its own detailed definition because pension, health, and welfare plan payouts follow a different escheat rule than ordinary property, one this batch covers in Section 1521.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an “owner” and an “apparent owner” under this chapter?
The “owner” is whoever holds the legal or equitable interest in the property. The “apparent owner” is the person the holder's own records show as entitled to it, which is not always the same person.
Who counts as a “holder” under Section 1501?
Anyone in possession of property covered by this chapter that belongs to someone else, anyone acting as trustee of such property, and anyone indebted to another person on an obligation this chapter covers.
Does “business association” include banks and insurance companies?
Yes. The definition names banking organizations, financial organizations, and life insurance corporations as examples of business associations, along with ordinary corporations, partnerships, and business trusts.
What is a “digital financial asset” for purposes of this chapter?
Section 1501 borrows the definition already used in the Financial Code, tying this chapter's coverage of digital assets to that separate statute's terminology.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2025 ch 660 (SB 822),s 2, eff. 1/1/2026. Amended by Stats. 1990, Ch. 450, Sec. 2. Effective July 31, 1990.
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
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