October 2025 │ Legislation & Regulation Update
The Unclaimed Property Legislative Alert
Summary of Legislation — Week Ending October 17, 2025
CALIFORNIA: Enacted SB 822 which (1) adds definition for “Digital financial asset” and “Private key”; (2) provides for a three (3) year abandonment period from the date written or electronic communication is returned or date of the last exercise of an act of ownership interest if owner does not receive written or electronic communication or if the holder does not have the means of systematically tracking or monitoring the non-delivery of communications; (3) defines “exercise of an act of ownership interest” as: (a) conducting a transaction regarding the digital asset, (b) electronically accessing the digital asset account, (c) conducting any activity with respect to another digital asset account or other property owned by the owner with the same holder, or (d) taking any other action that reasonably demonstrates that the owner knows the property exists; (4) clarifies that the last known address of owner is either: (a) the address used to deliver first-class United States mail or (b) any description, code, or other indication of location that identifies the state even if not sufficient for first-class USPS mail; (5) clarifies that if there is a conflict regarding the last known address, the address used to deliver first-class United States mail shall supersede; (6) provides for due diligence to be sent via certified mail, return receipt requested or electronically as applicable and outlines due diligence notice requirements; (7) requires a holder of any partial key to attempt to obtain the minimum number of keys required to transfer digital financial assets within 60 days of reporting; (8) requires holders of virtual currency to transfer the virtual currency in the same type and amount of virtual currency to the Controller’s custodian or as may be designated by regulation; (9) requires the holder, in instances where only a partial key exists, to maintain the digital financial asset until the additional keys required to transfer are obtained; (10) allows the Controller to convert digital financial assets no sooner than 18 months, but no later than 20 months, after the date of reporting and requires the owner to receive either the net proceeds of the sale if converted or the digital financial asset if still in the Controller’s custody; and (11) allows the Controller to select more than one custodian for the custody of digital financial assets and outlines the criteria to be considered when selecting a custodian.
Summary of Regulations — Week Ending October 10, 2025
ILLINOIS: Proposed regulations which (1) provides a definition for “Finder”; (2) outlines notification for tax deferred accounts; (3) requires newspaper notice to be published twice a year and clarifies notice requirements; (4) clarifies to whom notice should be given when property is believed to belong to a State agency; (5) reduces the age requirement of original check from 14 years to 7 years for purposes of the indemnification form requirement for two-party checks; (6) outlines the requirements for valid finder agreements; (7) requires finder agreement to explicitly provide for payment by administrator to finder; (8) requires claimant to provide administrator with an unredacted signed copy of finder agreement; (9) renders finder agreements void if entered into within 24 months of payment or delivery of property to the administrator; (10) prohibits future assignments of obligations that did not exist at the time of execution of finder agreement; (11) limits finders fees to 10% of the amount collected; (12) allows an owner or the administrator to assert the finder agreement void on grounds other than excessive fees; (13) requires finders to be licensed and outlines the requirements for obtaining and maintaining license; (14) provides licensing requirements for CPA firms as applicable; and (15) allows the assessment of penalties by the administrator not to exceed $10,000 for violations of the finders licensing provisions.
Summary of Legislation — Week Ending October 3, 2025
CALIFORNIA: Enacted SB 22 which (1) raises the value of gift certificates redeemable for cash to $15 except for gift certificates donated to a nonprofit or charitable organization as provided by law; (2) expands the definition of “gift certificate” to include electronic gift cards; and (3) provides updated conditions related to the sale of gift certificates beginning April 2026.
OHIO: Introduced HB 480 which (1) amends the definition of “Unclaimed funds” to include a value of twenty-five (25) dollars or more for moneys and to include virtual currency; (2) exempts from “Unclaimed funds” (a) money in a personal allowance account of a Medicaid recipient who has died and where there is no identifiable heir, and (b) money in a demand or savings account at a bank and when the only activity is one or more recurring electronic debit or credit transfers other than fees charged by holder or automatic reinvestment of dividends or interests; (3) changes “Mortgage funds” to mean the housing development fund; (4) adds the Ohio subdivision’s fund to the definition of “Income-bearing account”; (5) adds definitions for “Virtual currency”, “Game-related digital content”, “Gift card”, and “Loyalty card”; (6) removes the $25 wage sum threshold; (7) adds electronic or digital communication for purposes of abandonment trigger; (8) requires a new consent for automatic reinvestment or renewal within every five (5) years for certificate of deposits; (9) provides for a five (5) year abandonment period for virtual currency; (10) requires that virtual currency be liquidated prior to reporting and limits recourse against the holder and director as a result of liquidation; (11) allows notice prior to reporting to be sent to a digital or electronic address provided it is sent with “read receipt” requested for unclaimed funds with a value of $50 or more but less than $1,000; (12) adds the receiving of a “read receipt” of electronic mail, text, or fax as a verification of last known address; (13) amends the retention of holder records to 10 years beyond the filing of holder report; (14) limits the commencement of action or proceeding by director to 10 years after a holder files report and tolls the limitation period if no report is filed or if a report is fraudulent; (15) allows for voluntary reporting for property valued at less than $25; (16) updates the requirements for holder payments of unclaimed funds to director including certificates of deposits and provides a mechanism for the investment of unclaimed funds; (17) provides that securities and other intangible property may be converted to cash at the discretion of the director; (18) updates the annual notice requirements of the director; (19) allows an individual appointed as administrator of an estate or retained by an heir to make claim for property of estate; (20) allows director to liquidate any property after reasonable attempts to return property and limits recourse against the holder or director as a result of liquidation; (21) requires the director to establish a method of online reporting and claiming within two (2) years of passage of legislation; (22) eliminates monetary penalties for failure to report and redefines fines; (23) updates finder registration requirements; (24) allows director to obtain owners address information from other states or subdivisions and to enter into data sharing agreements; (25) provides a mechanism for director to make payments 210 days after the death of an owner where value of property is not more than $1,000 and the claimant is a surviving spouse, child, or parent; and (26) requires the director to create an expedited claims process for property valued in the aggregate of less than $1,000.
With The Unclaimed Property Legislative Alert Summary of Legislation and Regulation, you receive an overview of the latest information on unclaimed property legislative updates, regulatory changes, and statutory amendments across the United States and Canada. The publicly available information contained herein has been compiled by Kelmar Associates, LLC and does not constitute legal advice or analysis of any kind. The summary information is generally compiled on a weekly basis, as applicable, and is shared on Kelmar's website each month. For more information, please refer to each state unclaimed property bill.