Title 10. Unclaimed Property · Chapter 7. Unclaimed Property Law · Article 2. Escheat of Unclaimed Personal Property · Last amended 2012 · Last verified July 29, 2026
(1) All tangible personal property located in this state and, subject to Section 1510, all intangible personal property, including intangible personal property maintained in a deposit or account, and the income or increment on such tangible or intangible property, held in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit of another person escheats to this state if for more than three years after it becomes payable or distributable, the owner has not done any of the following:
(A) Increased or decreased the principal.
(B) Accepted payment of principal or income.
(C) Corresponded in writing concerning the property.
(D) Otherwise indicated an interest in the property as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file with the fiduciary.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), tangible or intangible property, and the income or increment on the tangible or intangible property, held in a fiduciary capacity for another person shall not escheat to the state if the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) are satisfied.
(A) During the previous three years, the fiduciary took one of the following actions:
(i) Held another deposit or account for the benefit of the owner.
(ii) Maintained a deposit or account on behalf of the owner in an individual retirement account.
(iii) Held funds or other property under a retirement plan for a self-employed individual, or similar account or plan, established pursuant to the internal revenue laws of the United States or the laws of this state.
(B) During the previous three years, the owner has done any of the acts described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (1) with respect to the deposit, account, or plan described in subparagraph (A), and the fiduciary has communicated electronically or in writing with the owner at the address to which communications regarding that deposit, account, or plan are regularly sent, with regard to the deposit, account, or plan that would otherwise escheat under this subdivision. "Communications," for purposes of this subparagraph, includes account statements or statements required under the internal revenue laws of the United States.
(b) Funds in an individual retirement account or a retirement plan for self-employed individuals or similar account or plan established pursuant to the internal revenue laws of the United States or of this state are not payable or distributable within the meaning of subdivision (a) unless either of the following is true:
(1) Under the terms of the account or plan, distribution of all or part of the funds would then be mandatory.
(2) For an account or plan not subject to mandatory distribution requirement under the internal revenue laws of the United States or the laws of this state, the owner has attained 701/2 years of age.
(c) For the purpose of this section, when a person holds property as an agent for a business association, he or she is deemed to hold the property in a fiduciary capacity for the business association alone, unless the agreement between him or her and the business association clearly provides the contrary. For the purposes of this chapter, if a person holds property in a fiduciary capacity for a business association alone, he or she is the holder of the property only insofar as the interest of the business association in the property is concerned and the association is deemed to be the holder of the property insofar as the interest of any other person in the property is concerned.
Trustees, agents, and other fiduciaries hold property for someone else's benefit, and Section 1518 sets the escheat rule for that arrangement. Tangible personal property located in California, and, subject to Section 1510, intangible property including anything held in a deposit or account, along with the income it earns, escheats if the beneficial owner has gone more than three years since the property became payable or distributable without increasing or decreasing the principal, accepting a payment, corresponding about it in writing, or otherwise showing an interest documented in the fiduciary's own records.
The section carves out the same kind of related-account protection this chapter uses elsewhere. Property will not escheat if, during the preceding three years, the fiduciary held another account for the same owner, including an individual retirement account or a self-employed retirement plan, and the owner showed activity on that other account while the fiduciary communicated with the owner about it. The section also settles a definitional puzzle: when someone holds property as an agent for a business association, they are treated as holding it in a fiduciary capacity for that association alone, unless their own agreement says otherwise, and the association is deemed the holder as to anyone else's interest in the property.
Amended by Stats 2011 ch 305 (SB 495),s 5, eff. 1/1/2012.