§ 1563.Sale of Escheated Property

Escheated property doesn't sit with the Controller forever; eventually most of it gets converted into cash for the eventual claimant's benefit, and Section 1563 lays out how that sale happens. General property gets sold to the highest bidder at public sale in whatever city offers the most favorable market, or through electronic media if that's more cost-effective, but not until 18 months after the report's filing deadline, and only after a single newspaper notice at least a week beforehand. The Controller can reject an inadequate bid and try again, and doesn't have to attempt a sale at all if the likely cost would exceed the property's value.

Securities and digital financial assets follow their own schedule, sold or converted no sooner than 18 months and no later than 20 months after the report was filed, with securities sold at prevailing exchange or over-the-counter prices and digital assets converted to fiat currency by whatever method the Controller finds advisable. A claimant with a valid claim gets the actual securities or digital assets if the Controller still holds them, or the net sale proceeds if they've already been converted. The section carves out an exemption for military awards, decorations, and related historical items, which the Controller can instead hold in trust at the California State Military Museum and Resource Center rather than selling, with the museum bearing the storage and maintenance costs, while a claimant can still pursue the property through the Article 4 claims process. Whoever buys property at a Controller sale takes clear title, free of any competing claim.