Title 12, Decedents’ Estates and Fiduciary Relations

§ 1163A. Escheat of certain abandoned state agency moneys [For application of this section, see 84 Del. Laws, c. 368, § 17]. Property presumed abandoned where the State Escheator reasonably believes the owner is an agency of the State or a discretely presented component unit incl…

§ 1164. State Escheator to retain records of property. The State Escheator shall record and retain the holder report filed under § 1142 of this title and the information contained in the report for at least 10 years after the report was filed.81 Del. Laws, c. 1, § 2;

§ 1165. Claim for property by person claiming to be owner. (a) Any person claiming an interest in any property paid or delivered to the State Escheator under this chapter may file a claim with the State Escheator for the property or for the proceeds from the sale of the property.…

§ 1166. When State Escheator must honor claim for property [For application of this section, see 83 Del. Laws, c. 59, § 25; and 83 Del. Laws, c. 346, § 12]. (a) The State Escheator shall pay or deliver property to a claimant under § 1165 of this title if the State Escheator recei…

§ 1167. Claims and rights of appeal [For application of this section, see 83 Del. Laws, c. 59, § 25; and 83 Del. Laws, c. 346, § 12]. (a) The State Escheator shall possess full and complete authority to determine all claims filed under § 1165 of this title and shall immediately s…

§ 1168. Payment by State Escheator. Any claim which is allowed by, or ordered to be paid by, the State Escheator pursuant to § 1165 of this title, together with such costs and disbursements as may be allowed by the Court of Chancery or the Tax Appeal Board, must be paid out of th…

§ 1169. Allowance of claim for property. (a) On request of the owner, the State Escheator may sell or liquidate a security and pay the net proceeds to the owner. (b) At the discretion of the State Escheator, property of an owner is subject to a claim for payment of an enforceable…

§ 1170. Request for report of property; compliance reviews. (a) If a person does or does not file a report required by § 1142 of this title, the State Escheator may require the person to file a verified report in a form prescribed by the State Escheator. The verified report must …

§ 1171. Examination to determine compliance with chapter [For application of this section, see 84 Del. Laws, c. 368, § 16]. The State Escheator, at reasonable times and on reasonable notice, may do any of the following: (1) Examine the records of a person or the records in the po…

§ 1172. Rules and procedures for conducting an examination [For application of this section, see 83 Del. Laws, c. 59, § 25; 84 Del. Laws, c. 368, § 16]. (a) Effective July 1, 2015, and subject to subsection (d) of this section, the State Escheator shall not initiate any new exami…

§ 1173. Voluntary property reporting outreach program [For application of this section, see 84 Del. Laws, c. 368, § 16]. (a) Notwithstanding Chapter 23 of Title 29 and in compliance with the provisions of this title, the Secretary of State may resolve and compromise claims for pr…

§ 1174. Records obtained in examination or voluntary disclosure. All of the following apply to records obtained and records, including work papers, compiled by the State Escheator or the Secretary of State in the course of conducting an examination under § 1171 of this title or a…

§ 1175. Evidence of debt or undischarged obligation. (a) A record showing an unpaid debt or undischarged obligation is prima facie evidence of an obligation. In claiming property from a holder, the State Escheator’s burden of proof as to the existence and amount of the property a…

§ 1176. Failure of person examined to retain records. (a) If a person subject to examination under § 1171 of this title does not retain the records required by § 1145 of this title, the State Escheator may determine the amount of property due using a reasonable method of estimati…

§ 1177. Report to person whose records were examined [For application of this section, see 83 Del. Laws, c. 59, § 25]. At the conclusion of an examination under § 1171 of this title, the State Escheator shall provide to a person whose records were examined a complete and unredact…

§ 1178. State Escheator’s contract with another to conduct compliance review and examination and limit on future employment. (a) The State Escheator may contract with a person to conduct compliance reviews and examinations in accordance with this chapter but no such person shall …

§ 1179. Judicial review procedure; Court of Chancery jurisdiction [For application of this section, see 83 Del. Laws, c. 59, § 25]. (a) If, after examining any report required by this chapter and filed by or on behalf of a holder or after the conclusion of an examination of a hol…

§ 1180. Judicial action to enforce liability. (a) If any person refuses to pay or deliver property, including penalty or interest on the property, to the State Escheator as required by this chapter, the State Escheator may bring an action to enforce such payment or delivery in th…

§ 1181. Interstate agreement and cooperation. (a) Subject to subsection (b) of this section, the State Escheator may do both of the following: (1) Exchange information with another state relating to property presumed abandoned or relating to the possible existence of property pre…

§ 1182. Action involving another state. (a) The State Escheator may join other states to examine and seek enforcement of this chapter against any person believed to be holding property reportable under this chapter. (b) On request of another state, the Attorney General may commen…

§ 1183. Interest and penalties. (a) Interest at 0.5% per month on outstanding unpaid amounts accrues from the date the amounts or property were due under this chapter until paid. Interest due in accordance with this subsection may not exceed 50% of the amount required to be paid.…

§ 1184. Other civil penalties. If a holder enters into a contract or other arrangement for the purpose of evading an obligation under this chapter or otherwise wilfully fails to perform a duty imposed on the holder under this chapter, the State Escheator may require the holder to…

§ 1185. Waiver of interest and penalty [For application of this section, see 83 Del. Laws, c. 59, § 25]. (a) The State Escheator may, for good cause, waive, in whole or in part, interest and penalties under § 1183 or § 1184 of this title, subject to the following requirements: (1…

§ 1186. When agreement to locate property enforceable. An agreement by an owner and a person, a purpose of which is to locate, deliver, recover, or assist in the location, delivery, or recovery of property held by the State Escheator, is enforceable only if the agreement meets al…

§ 1187. When agreement to locate property unenforceable. (a) Subject to subsection (b) of this section, an agreement under § 1186 of this title is void and unenforceable if it is entered into during the period beginning on the date the property was distributable to the owner and …

§ 1188. Right of owner’s agent to recover property held by State Escheator. (a) An owner that contracts with a person to locate, deliver, recover, or assist in the location, delivery, or recovery of property of the owner that is held by the State Escheator may appoint or designat…

§ 1189. Confidentiality of records. (a) Except in accordance with proper judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for any officer or employee of the Department of Finance or the Department of State or for any other officer, employee, or contractor of t…

§ 1190. Severability. If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to …

§ 1191. Whistleblower provisions. (a) Any whistleblower wishing to provide information regarding a holder’s noncompliance with the reporting requirements of § 1142 of this title shall provide such information in writing to both the State Escheator and to the Attorney General Frau…

§ 1220. Declaration of escheat. All postal savings system accounts created by the deposits of persons whose last known addresses are in this State which have not been claimed by the persons entitled thereto before June 1, 1971, are presumed to have been abandoned by their owners …

§ 1221. Obtaining information on accounts. The Secretary of State shall request from the Bureau of Accounts of the United States Treasury Department records providing the following information: (1) The names of depositors at the post offices of this State whose accounts are uncla…

§ 1222. Proceeding to adjudicate escheat. The Secretary of State may bring proceedings in the United States District Court to escheat unclaimed postal savings system accounts held by the United States Treasury Department. A single proceeding may be used to escheat as many account…

§ 1223. Notice. The Secretary of State shall notify depositors whose accounts are to be escheated, as follows: (1) A letter advising that a postal savings system account in the name of the addressee is about to be escheated and setting forth the procedure by which a deposit may b…

§ 1224. Collection and deposit of funds; indemnification of United States. (a) The Secretary of State shall present a copy of each final judgment of escheat to the United States Treasury Department for payment of the principal due and the interest computed under regulations of th…

§ 1301. Production of will; liability. (a) Any person, having the custody or possession of any instrument of writing purporting to be a last will and testament and intended to take effect upon the death of the testator therein named, shall produce and deliver the same to the Regi…

§ 1302. Proving will. (a) A will shall be proved before the Register of Wills of the county in which the testator was domiciled at the time of death. If the testator was not domiciled in this State, it may be proved before the Register of any county in this State wherein there ar…

§ 1303. Notice and subpoena to persons interested. Proof of a will may be taken without notice to persons interested, unless such a person requests it by petition filed with the Court of Chancery. Upon receiving such petition, the Court shall, and in any case it may, appoint a ti…

§ 1304. Unavailability of witnesses. (a) In case any attesting and subscribing witness to a will, at the time the will is presented for probate, is dead, is serving in the armed forces of the United States or is a merchant sailor, or is mentally or physically incapable of testify…

§ 1305. Self-proved will. An attested will may at the time of its execution or at any subsequent date be made self-proved, by the acknowledgment thereof by the testator and the affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws …

§ 1306. Choice of law as to execution and proving of wills. (a) A written will signed by the testator, or by some person subscribing the testator’s name in the testator’s presence and at the testator’s express direction, is valid provided that: (1) It is executed in compliance wi…

§ 1307. Will of nondomiciliary; admission, recording and evidence. (a) The written will of a testator who died domiciled outside this State, but who owned real estate or personal property located in this State, may be admitted to probate and recorded in this State. If such will h…

§ 1308. Caveat against allowance of instrument as will; procedure. (a) A caveat against the allowance of an instrument as a will shall be received by the Court of Chancery at any time prior to the entry of an order of probate. The caveat having been received, the Court shall appo…

§ 1309. Review of proof of will; procedure. (a) Any person interested who shall not voluntarily appear at the time of taking the proof of a will, or be served with citation or notice as provided in § 1303 of this title, shall, at any time within 6 months after the entry of the or…

§ 1310. Formal testacy proceedings; contested cases; testimony of attesting witnesses. If the will is self-proved, compliance with signature requirements for execution is conclusively presumed and other requirements of execution are presumed subject to rebuttal without the testim…

§ 1311. Pre-mortem will validation [For application of this section, see 80 Del. Laws, c. 153, § 5]. (a) No proceedings under § 1308 or § 1309 of this title may be commenced following the death of a testator, who resided in Delaware at the time of death, with respect to a will wh…

§ 1312. Limitation on action contesting validity of exercise of power of appointment [For application of this section, see 80 Del. Laws, c. 153, § 5]. (a) A judicial proceeding to contest whether an exercise of a power of appointment by any written instrument other than a will, u…