2019 Iowa Code
Title XIV - PROPERTY
Chapter 556 - DISPOSITION OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY
Section 556.14 - Relief from liability by payment or delivery.
556.14 Relief from liability by payment or delivery.
1. Upon the payment or delivery of property to the treasurer of state, the state assumes custody and responsibility for the safekeeping of the property. A person who pays or delivers property to the treasurer of state in good faith is relieved of all liability to the extent of the value of the property paid or delivered for any claim then existing or which may arise or be made in respect to the property.
2. If the holder pays or delivers property to the treasurer of state in good faith and thereafter another person claims the property from the holder or another state claims the money or property under its laws relating to escheat or abandoned or unclaimed property, the treasurer of state, upon written notice of the claim, shall defend the holder against any liability on the claim.
3. The holder of an interest under section 556.5 shall deliver a duplicate certificate or other evidence of ownership if the holder does not issue certificates of ownership to the treasurer of state. Upon delivery of a duplicate certificate to the treasurer of state, the holder and any transfer agent, registrar, or other person acting for or on behalf of a holder in executing or delivering the duplicate certificate is relieved of all liability in accordance with subsections 1 and 2 to every person, including any person acquiring the original certificate or the duplicate of the certificate issued to the treasurer of state, for any losses or damages resulting to any person by the issuance and delivery to the treasurer of state of the duplicate certificate.
4. A holder who has paid money to the treasurer of state under this chapter may make payment to any person appearing to the holder to be entitled to payment and upon filing proof of payment and proof that the payee is entitled thereto, the treasurer of state shall reimburse the holder for the payment without imposing any fee or other charge. If reimbursement is sought for payment made on a negotiable instrument, including a traveler’s check or money order, the holder must be reimbursed under this subsection upon filing proof that the instrument was duly presented and that payment was made to a person who appeared to the holder to be entitled to payment. The holder must be reimbursed for payment made under this subsection even if the payment was made to a person whose claim was barred under section 556.16.
5. A holder who has delivered property including a certificate of any interest in a business association, other than money, to the treasurer of state may reclaim the property if the property is still in the possession of the treasurer of state without paying any fee or other charge, upon filing proof that the owner has claimed the property from the holder.
6. The treasurer of state may accept the holder’s affidavit as sufficient proof of the facts that entitle the holder to recover money and property under this section.
7. For purposes of this section, “good faith” means that:
a. Payment or delivery was made in a reasonable attempt to comply with this chapter.
b. The person delivering the property was not a fiduciary then in breach of trust in respect to the property and had a reasonable basis for believing, based on the facts then known to the person, that the property was abandoned for the purposes of this chapter.
c. There is no showing that the records pursuant to which the delivery was made did not meet reasonable commercial standards of practice in the industry.
[C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §556.14]
84 Acts, ch 1295, §17
Referred to in §524.1305, 524.1310, 556.13
