Code of the District of Columbia

§ 41–152.01. When property is presumed abandoned.

Subject to § 41-152.10, the following property is presumed abandoned if it is unclaimed by the apparent owner during the period specified below:

(1) A traveler's check, 15 years after issuance;

(2) A money order, 7 years after issuance;

(3) A state or municipal bond, bearer bond, or original-issue-discount bond, 3 years after the earliest of the date the bond matures or is called or the obligation to pay the principal of the bond arises;

(4) A debt of a business association, 3 years after the obligation to pay arises;

(5) A payroll card or demand, savings, or time deposit, including a deposit that is automatically renewable, 3 years after the maturity of the deposit, except a deposit that is automatically renewable is deemed matured on its initial date of maturity unless the apparent owner consented in a record on file with the holder to renewal at or about the time of the renewal;

(6) Money or a credit owed to a customer as a result of a retail business transaction, 3 years after the obligation arose;

(7) An amount owed by an insurance company on a life or endowment insurance policy or an annuity contract that has matured or terminated, 3 years after the obligation to pay arose under the terms of the policy or contract or, if a policy or contract for which an amount is owed on proof of death has not matured by proof of the death of the insured or annuitant, as follows:

(A) With respect to an amount owed on a life or endowment insurance policy, 3 years after the earlier of the date:

(i) The insurance company has knowledge of the death of the insured; or

(ii) The insured has attained, or would have attained if living, the limiting age under the mortality table on which the reserve for the policy is based; and

(B) With respect to an amount owed on an annuity contract, 3 years after the date the insurance company has knowledge of the death of the annuitant.

(8) Property distributable by a business association in the course of dissolution, one year after the property becomes distributable;

(9) Property held by a court, including property received as proceeds of a class action, one year after the property becomes distributable;

(10) Property held by a government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, including municipal bond interest and unredeemed principal under the administration of a paying agent or indenture trustee, one year after the property becomes distributable;

(11) Wages, commissions, bonuses, or reimbursements to which an employee is entitled, or other compensation for personal services, other than amounts held in a payroll card, one year after the amount becomes payable;

(12) A deposit or refund owed to a subscriber by a utility, one year after the deposit or refund becomes payable; and

(13) Property not specified in this section or §§ 41-152.02 through § 41-152.08, the earlier of 3 years after the owner first has a right to demand the property and 3 years after the obligation to pay or distribute the property arises.