Chapter 177

177.0210(2)(b) (b) An oral communication by the apparent owner to the holder or agent of the holder concerning the property or the account in which the property is held, if the holder or the holder’s agent contemporaneously makes and preserves a record of the fact of the apparent owner’s communication.

177.0210(2)(c) (c) Presentment of a check or other instrument of payment of a dividend, interest, or other distribution, or evidence of receipt of a distribution made by electronic or similar means, with respect to an account, underlying security, or interest in a business association.

177.0210(2)(d) (d) Activity directed by an apparent owner in the account in which the property is held, including accessing the account or information concerning the account, or a direction by the apparent owner to increase, decrease, or otherwise change the amount or type of property held in the account.

177.0210(2)(e) (e) Any of the following activities concerning property or an account held at a financial organization:

177.0210(2)(e)1. 1. A deposit into or withdrawal from an account previously authorized by the apparent owner, other than an automatic reinvestment of dividends or interest.

177.0210(2)(e)2. 2. A deposit into or withdrawal from any other account the apparent owner has with the financial organization if the mailing address for the apparent owner in the financial organization’s books and records is the same for both the inactive account and the active account.

177.0210(2)(e)3. 3. A payment by the apparent owner on any amount due on a loan with the financial organization if the mailing address for the apparent owner in the financial organization’s books and records is the same for both the inactive account and the loan account.

177.0210(2)(e)4. 4. Communication in writing from the apparent owner to the financial organization about an account or another relationship with the financial organization.

177.0210(2)(e)5. 5. Any correspondence in writing from the financial organization to the apparent owner, such as the mailing of a statement, report of interest paid or credited, or other written advice relating to a deposit, if the correspondence is not returned to the financial organization for nondelivery and if the financial organization maintains a record of all such returned correspondence.

177.0210(2)(f) (f) Subject to sub. (5), payment of a premium on an insurance policy.

177.0210(2)(g) (g) Any other action by the apparent owner that reasonably demonstrates to the holder that the apparent owner knows that the property exists.

177.0210(3) (3) An action by an agent or other representative of an apparent owner, other than the holder acting as the apparent owner’s agent, is presumed to be an action on behalf of the apparent owner.

177.0210(4) (4) A communication with an apparent owner by a person other than the holder or the holder’s representative is not an indication of interest in the property by the apparent owner unless a record of the communication evidences the apparent owner’s knowledge of a right to the property.

177.0210(5) (5) If an insured person dies or the insured or beneficiary of an insurance policy otherwise becomes entitled to the proceeds before depletion of the cash surrender value of the policy by operation of an automatic-premium-loan provision or other nonforfeiture provision contained in the policy, the operation does not prevent the policy from maturing or terminating for purposes of this chapter.

177.0210 History History: 2021 a. 87; 2023 a. 138.

177.0211 177.0211 Knowledge of death of insured or annuitant.

177.0211(1) (1) In this section, “death master file” means the federal social security administration death master file or other database or service that is at least as comprehensive as the federal social security administration death master file for determining that a person has reportedly died.

177.0211(2) (2) With respect to a life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract for which an amount is owed on proof of death, but which has not matured by proof of death of the insured or annuitant, the insurance company has knowledge of the death of an insured or annuitant when any of the following occurs:

177.0211(2)(a) (a) The insurance company receives a death certificate or court order determining that the insured or annuitant has died.

177.0211(2)(b) (b) The insurance company or other person validates the death of the insured or annuitant by its performance of due diligence, as required under ch. 632 or other law, to maintain contact with the insured or annuitant to determine whether the insured or annuitant has died.

177.0211(2)(c) (c) The insurance company compares for any purpose a death master file with the names of some or all of the company’s insureds or annuitants, finds a match that provides notice that the insured or annuitant has died, and validates the death.

177.0211(2)(d) (d) The insurance company receives notice of the death of the insured or annuitant from a beneficiary, policy owner, relative, or trustee or from the personal or legal representative of the insured’s or annuitant’s estate, and the company validates the death.

177.0211(3) (3) The following applies to validating the death of the insured or annuitant under this section:

177.0211(3)(a) (a) A death master file match occurs if the criteria for an exact or partial match is satisfied as provided by a law of this state other than this chapter or by a rule promulgated or policy adopted by the office of the commissioner of insurance.

177.0211(3)(b) (b) A death master file match does not constitute proof of death for the purpose of submission to an insurance company of a claim by a beneficiary, annuitant, or owner of the policy or contract for an amount due under an insurance policy or annuity contract.

177.0211(3)(c) (c) The death master file match or validation of the insured’s or annuitant’s death does not alter the requirements for a beneficiary, annuitant, or owner of the policy or contract to make a claim to receive proceeds under the terms of the policy or contract.

177.0211(3)(d) (d) If no provision in a law of this state or a rule promulgated or policy adopted by the office of the commissioner of insurance establishes a time for validation of a death of an insured or annuitant, the insurance company shall make a good faith effort using other available records and information to validate the death, and document the effort taken for such validation, not later than 90 days after the insurance company has notice of the death.

177.0211(4) (4) This chapter does not affect the determination of the extent to which an insurance company before November 7, 2021, had knowledge of the death of an insured or annuitant or was required to conduct a death master file comparison to determine whether amounts owed by the company on a life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract were presumed abandoned or unclaimed.

177.0211 History History: 2021 a. 87; 2021 a. 240 s. 30.

177.0212 177.0212 Deposit account for proceeds of insurance policy or annuity contract. If proceeds payable under a life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract are deposited into an account with check or draft writing privileges for the beneficiary of the policy or contract and, under a supplementary contract not involving annuity benefits other than death benefits, the proceeds are retained by the insurance company or the financial organization where the account is held and the policy or contract includes the assets in the account, the assets in the account are subject to the same presumption of abandonment that is applied to the underlying policy or contract.

177.0212 History History: 2021 a. 87.

177.0213 177.0213 Property held by agents and fiduciaries.

177.0213(1) (1) Property and any income or increment derived from it held in a fiduciary capacity for the benefit of another person is presumed abandoned unless the owner, within 5 years after it has become payable or distributable, has increased or decreased the principal, accepted payment of principal or income, or otherwise indicated an interest as provided in s. 177.0210.

177.0213(2) (2) Funds in an individual retirement account or a retirement plan for self-employed individuals or similar account or plan established pursuant to the U.S. internal revenue code are not payable or distributable within the meaning of sub. (1) unless, under the terms of the account or plan, distribution of all or part of the funds would then be mandatory.

177.0213(3) (3) For the purpose of this section, a person who holds property as an agent for a business association is deemed to hold the property in a fiduciary capacity for that business association alone, unless the agreement between the holder and the business association provides otherwise.

177.0213(4) (4) For the purposes of this section, a person who is deemed to hold property in a fiduciary capacity for a business association alone is the holder of the property only insofar as the interest of the business association in the property is concerned, and the business association is the holder of the property insofar as the interest of any other person in the property is concerned.

177.0213 History History: 1983 a. 408; 2021 a. 87 s. 133; Stats. 2021 s. 177.0213.

177.0214 177.0214 Distributions by certain insurance company activities.

177.0214(1) (1) Subject to s. 177.0210, property distributable in the course of a demutualization of an insurance company is presumed abandoned.

177.0214(2) (2) Subject to s. 177.0210, property distributable in the course of the dissolution of the Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan under 2013 Wisconsin Act 20, section 9122 (1L), and 2013 Wisconsin Act 116, section 32 (1) (b), is presumed abandoned.

177.0214 History History: 2021 a. 87.

177.0215 177.0215 Refunds held by business associations. Except to the extent otherwise ordered by the court or administrative agency, any sum that a business association has been ordered to refund by a court or administrative agency which has remained unclaimed by the owner for more than one year after it became payable in accordance with the final determination or order providing for the refund, regardless of whether the final determination or order requires any person entitled to a refund to make a claim for it, is presumed abandoned.

177.0215 History History: 1983 a. 408; 2021 a. 87 s. 113; Stats. 2021 s. 177.0215.

subch. III of ch. 177 SUBCHAPTER III

TAKING CUSTODY OF PROPERTY
PRESUMED ABANDONED

177.0301 177.0301 Address of apparent owner to establish priority.

177.0301(1) (1) The last-known address of an apparent owner is any description, code, or other indication of the location of the apparent owner that identifies the state, even if the description, code, or indication of location is not sufficient to direct the delivery of 1st class mail to the apparent owner.

177.0301(2) (2) If the zip code associated with the apparent owner is for a post office located in this state, this state is deemed to be the state of the last-known address of the apparent owner unless other records associated with the apparent owner specifically identify the physical address of the apparent owner to be in another state.

177.0301(3) (3) If the address under sub. (2) is in another state, the other state is deemed to be the state of the last-known address of the apparent owner.

177.0301(4) (4) The address of the apparent owner of a life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract or its proceeds is presumed to be the address of the insured or annuitant if a person other than the insured or annuitant is entitled to the amount owed under the policy or contract and the address of the other person is not known by the insurance company and cannot be determined under s. 177.0302.

177.0301 History History: 2021 a. 87.

177.0302 177.0302 Address of apparent owner in this state. Unless otherwise provided in this chapter or by another law of this state, if property is presumed abandoned, the property is subject to reporting to and custody of this state whether located in this state, another state, or a foreign country if any of the following applies:

177.0302(1) (1) The last-known address of the apparent owner in the records of the holder is in this state.

177.0302(2) (2) The records of the holder do not reflect the identity or last-known address of the apparent owner, but the administrator has determined that the last-known address of the apparent owner is in this state.

177.0302(3) (3) The records of the holder do not reflect the identity of the apparent owner, but the records of the holder do reflect that the last-known address of the apparent owner is in this state.

177.0302 History History: 2021 a. 87.

177.0303 177.0303 If records show multiple addresses of apparent owner.

177.0303(1) (1) Except as provided in sub. (2), if records of a holder reflect multiple addresses for an apparent owner and this state is the state of the most recently recorded address, the property is subject to reporting to and custody of this state and the administrator may take custody of property presumed abandoned, whether located in this state or another state.

177.0303(2) (2) If it appears from records of the holder that the most recently recorded address of the apparent owner under sub. (1) is a temporary address and this state is the state of the next most recently recorded address that is not a temporary address, the property is subject to reporting to and custody of this state and the administrator may take custody of the property presumed abandoned.

177.0303 History History: 2021 a. 87.

177.0304 177.0304 Holder domiciled in this state.

177.0304(1) (1) Except as provided in sub. (2) or s. 177.0302 or 177.0303, property presumed abandoned is subject to reporting to and custody of this state and the administrator may take custody of property presumed abandoned, whether located in this state, another state, or a foreign country, if the holder is domiciled in this state or is this state or a governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of this state and any of the following applies:

177.0304(1)(a) (a) Another state or foreign country is not entitled to the property because there is no last-known address of the apparent owner or other person entitled to the property in the records of the holder.

177.0304(1)(b) (b) The state or foreign country of the last-known address of the apparent owner or other person entitled to the property does not provide for custodial taking of the property.

177.0304(2) (2) Property is not subject to the custody of the administrator under sub. (1) if the property is specifically exempt from custodial taking under the laws of this state or the state or foreign country of the last-known address of the apparent owner.

177.0304(3) (3) If a holder’s state of domicile has changed since the time the property was presumed abandoned, the holder’s state of domicile for purposes of this section is deemed to be the state where the holder was domiciled at the time the property was presumed abandoned.

177.0304 History History: 2021 a. 87; 2021 a. 240 s. 30.

177.0305 177.0305 Custody if transaction took place in this state. Except as provided in s. 177.0302, 177.0303, or 177.0304, property presumed abandoned is subject to reporting to and custody of this state and the administrator may take custody of property presumed abandoned whether located in this state or another state if any of the following applies:

177.0305(1) (1) The transaction out of which the property arose took place in this state.

177.0305(2) (2) The holder is domiciled in a state that does not provide for the custodial taking of the property, except that if the property is specifically exempt from custodial taking under the law of the state of the holder’s domicile, the property is not subject to the custody of the administrator.

177.0305(3) (3) The last-known address of the apparent owner or other person entitled to the property is unknown or in a state that does not provide for the custodial taking of the property, except that if the property is specifically exempt from custodial taking under the law of the state of the last-known address, the property is not subject to the custody of the administrator.

177.0305 History History: 2021 a. 87; 2021 a. 240 s. 30.

177.0306 177.0306 Traveler’s check, money order, or similar instrument. Sums payable on a traveler’s check, money order, or similar instrument presumed abandoned are subject to reporting to and custody of this state and the administrator may take custody of such sums to the extent permitted under 12 USC 2501 to 2503.

177.0306 History History: 2021 a. 87; 2021 a. 240 s. 30.

177.0306 Annotation Under the federal Disposition of Abandoned Money Orders and Traveler’s Checks Act, 12 USC 2501 to 2503, the proceeds of a money order, traveler’s check, or other similar written instrument (other than a third-party bank check) escheat to the state of purchase upon abandonment, so long as purchase-location information is known and that state has enacted laws empowering it to take custody of those proceeds. When a financial product operates like a money order—in other words, when it is a prepaid written instrument used to transmit money to a named payee—and when it would also escheat inequitably solely to the state of incorporation of the company holding the funds under the common-law rules due to recordkeeping gaps, then it is sufficiently “similar” to a money order to fall presumptively within the Act. Delaware v. Pennsylvania, 598 U.S. ___, 143 S. Ct. 696, 215 L. Ed. 2d 24 (2023).

177.0307 177.0307 Virtual currency. Virtual currency presumed abandoned is subject to reporting to and custody of this state if the holder is able to convert virtual currency to U.S. currency by sale, exchange, or any other disposition. The holder shall convert the virtual currency to U.S. currency for delivery to the administrator.

177.0307 History History: 2021 a. 87; 2021 a. 240 s. 30.

177.0308 177.0308 Hazardous or dangerous items found in safe deposit box. Thirty days prior to delivery of any hazardous or dangerous items such as guns, chemicals, or explosives under s. 177.0205, the holder shall provide written notice to the administrator and deliver the hazardous or dangerous items as required by the administrator.

177.0308 History History: 2021 a. 87.

subch. IV of ch. 177 SUBCHAPTER IV

REPORT BY HOLDER

177.0401 177.0401 Report required by holder.

177.0401(1) (1) 

177.0401(1)(a) (a) A holder of property presumed abandoned and subject to the custody of the administrator shall report in a record to the administrator concerning the property.

177.0401(1)(b) (b) A holder shall report electronically in a format approved by the administrator, unless the administrator approves another method.

177.0401(2) (2) A holder may contract with a 3rd party to make the report required under sub. (1).

177.0401(3) (3) Regardless of whether a holder enters into a contract under sub. (2), the holder is responsible to the administrator for the complete, accurate, and timely reporting of property presumed abandoned and for paying or delivering the property described in the report to the administrator.

177.0401 History History: 2021 a. 87.

177.0402 177.0402 Content of report.