§ 1542.Claim of Another State

California isn't always the state with the best claim to property that escheats here, and Section 1542 gives another state a way to recover it after the fact. Another state can recover property already paid or delivered to the Controller in four situations: when the property escheated here only because no address appeared on the holder's records but the owner's actual last known address was in that other state and its own laws would have escheated the property there; when the holder's records do show a last known address in that other state; when a travelers check or money order escheated here but was purchased in that other state; or when life insurance funds escheated here under a presumption but the person entitled to them had a last known address in that other state, in each case only if that state's own laws would treat the property as escheated to it.

The recovering state presents its claim in writing to the Controller, who has 180 days to consider it, may hold a hearing and take evidence, and allows the claim upon finding the other state is entitled to the property. The section also clarifies that the first two grounds, tied to address information on the holder's records, don't apply to the travelers-check or life-insurance grounds, which run instead on where the instrument was purchased or where the insured person was last known to reside.