← Back to workflows
Financial Services

Escheatment and Unclaimed Property Policy

Drafting escheatment and unclaimed property policies requires extensive research across multiple state jurisdictions, each with unique dormancy periods and reporting requirements. Compliance officers spend hours cross-referencing state laws, ensuring proper due diligence procedures, and maintaining documentation standards that satisfy regulatory audits.

Automation ROI

Time savings at a glance

Manual workflow40 hoursAverage time your team spends by hand
With CaseMark15 minutesDelivery time with CaseMark automation
EfficiencySave 41.3x time with CaseMark

The Problem

Creating compliant escheatment policies requires navigating 50+ different state laws with varying dormancy periods, due diligence requirements, and reporting deadlines. Financial institutions spend weeks researching jurisdictional requirements, drafting comprehensive procedures, and ensuring policies address all property types while remaining audit-ready. Manual policy development is time-consuming, error-prone, and struggles to keep pace with frequent legislative changes.

The CaseMark Solution

CaseMark automates escheatment policy creation by analyzing your organizational structure, jurisdictional footprint, and property types to generate comprehensive, multi-state compliant policies. Our AI incorporates current state law requirements, industry best practices, and audit preparedness protocols into a single authoritative document. Generate policies in 15 minutes that would traditionally require 40+ hours of legal and compliance research.

Key benefits

How CaseMark automations transform your workflow

Generate complete escheatment policies in under 10 minutes vs. 5+ hours manually

Ensure compliance with state-specific dormancy periods and reporting requirements

Standardize due diligence procedures and recordkeeping across all property types

Reduce regulatory risk with comprehensive, audit-ready documentation

Easily update policies as state laws change without starting from scratch

What you'll receive

Policy Overview and Purpose
Identification of Unclaimed Property
Dormancy Periods by Property Type
Due Diligence Procedures
Reporting and Remittance Requirements
Recordkeeping Standards

Document requirements

Required

  • Organizational Profile

Optional

  • Existing Compliance Policies
  • Historical Unclaimed Property Reports
  • Industry-Specific Guidelines
  • State Audit Correspondence

Perfect for

Chief Financial Officers managing multi-state compliance obligations
Compliance Officers responsible for regulatory policy development
General Counsel overseeing escheatment legal requirements
Treasury Managers handling unclaimed property reporting
Internal Auditors verifying escheat compliance procedures
Financial Services Executives at banks, insurance companies, and investment firms
Corporate Controllers preparing for state unclaimed property audits

Also useful for

This workflow is applicable across multiple practice areas and use cases

Corporate Finance85% relevant

Corporate finance teams must manage escheatment compliance for unclaimed dividends, stock distributions, and other financial instruments across multiple jurisdictions.

CFOs and treasury managers in corporate finance regularly handle unclaimed property obligations related to shareholder distributions, making standardized escheatment policies essential for multi-state compliance.

Securities firms must comply with escheatment requirements for unclaimed dividends, interest payments, redemption proceeds, and dormant brokerage accounts.

Investment firms, broker-dealers, and transfer agents face extensive unclaimed property obligations under state laws, requiring robust policies to manage dormancy periods and reporting for various security types.

During corporate dissolution, companies must properly identify and escheat all unclaimed property to appropriate state authorities before final wind-down.

Dissolution processes require comprehensive handling of unclaimed assets including final paychecks, vendor payments, and shareholder distributions, making escheatment policies critical for proper closure.

M&A due diligence requires reviewing target companies' escheatment compliance and unclaimed property liabilities, which can represent significant contingent liabilities.

Acquirers need to assess escheatment policy adequacy and potential state audit exposure as part of financial and regulatory due diligence, as unclaimed property liabilities can materially impact deal valuation.

Corporate governance frameworks must include escheatment policies as part of comprehensive compliance programs and board oversight responsibilities.

Boards and audit committees need standardized escheatment policies to fulfill fiduciary duties and ensure proper internal controls over unclaimed property identification and reporting.

Frequently asked questions

Q

How does CaseMark ensure the escheatment policy complies with all applicable state laws?

A

CaseMark's AI analyzes your organization's jurisdictional footprint and incorporates current statutory requirements from all relevant states. The system maintains an updated database of state-specific dormancy periods, due diligence thresholds, and reporting deadlines, automatically applying the correct requirements based on your property types and operational locations. The generated policy includes jurisdiction-specific matrices and procedures that reflect the most recent legislative changes.

Q

Can the policy be customized for specific industries like banking, insurance, or utilities?

A

Yes, CaseMark tailors the escheatment policy to your industry's unique requirements. The system incorporates industry-specific property types, regulatory considerations, and best practices relevant to financial services, insurance, utilities, retail, or other sectors. You can upload industry-specific guidelines or existing procedures, and the AI will integrate these requirements into the comprehensive policy framework.

Q

What if our organization discovers past non-compliance after implementing the policy?

A

The generated policy includes detailed voluntary disclosure and remediation procedures for addressing historical non-compliance. CaseMark provides guidance on evaluating voluntary disclosure options, preparing submissions to states, and negotiating agreements that may reduce look-back periods and penalties. The policy establishes clear protocols for engaging legal counsel, documenting remediation efforts, and implementing corrective measures to prevent future violations.

Q

How often should our escheatment policy be updated?

A

The policy includes provisions requiring annual review and updates to reflect legislative changes, operational modifications, and audit findings. CaseMark can help you regenerate updated policies as state laws change or your organization's operations evolve. We recommend reviewing the policy at least annually and whenever you expand into new jurisdictions, add new property types, or receive significant audit findings that suggest procedural enhancements.

Q

Does the policy address both tangible and intangible unclaimed property?

A

Yes, the comprehensive policy covers all categories of unclaimed property including intangible property like bank accounts, securities, uncashed checks, and customer credits, as well as tangible property such as safe deposit box contents. The policy provides specific identification, due diligence, and reporting procedures tailored to each property type, ensuring complete compliance across your entire property portfolio.