                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

FILING CLAIM TO PROPERTY OR PROCEEDS OF SALE OF SUCH PROPERTY (§ 55.1-2532)

A. Any person claiming an interest in any property delivered to the Commonwealth
under this chapter may file a claim to such property or to the proceeds from the
sale of such property on a form prescribed by the administrator. The
administrator shall also be authorized to make payments pursuant to this chapter
without having received a claim, provided that (i) the property is cash
property, (ii) the apparent owner is a natural person and is the sole owner of
such property, (iii) the identity of such apparent owner has been verified by
the administrator, and (iv) the amount to be paid does not exceed $5,000.

B. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person claiming an interest
in any property delivered to the Commonwealth under this chapter for a reported
owner who is deceased shall submit evidence of the claimant&#8217;s entitlement
to payment together with a form prescribed by the administrator. In order of
preference, such evidence may include (i) a certificate of qualification as the
executor or an order of appointment as the administrator or personal
representative of the decedent&#8217;s estate under the laws of the state of the
decedent&#8217;s domicile; (ii) if applicable, an affidavit authorizing the
claimant to be the designated successor under the Virginia Small Estate Act
(&#xA7; 64.2-600 et seq.), or its equivalent under the laws of the state of the
decedent&#8217;s domicile that names the claimant as the designated successor;
or (iii) the order of distribution or the final accounting for a closed estate
that reflects payment due in whole or in part to the claimant. When, in the
absence of any such evidence, (a) the death of the reported owner occurred at
least one year prior to filing the claim and (b) the amount claimed is $25,000
or less, exclusive of any interest owed pursuant to subsection C of &#xA7;
55.1-2533, the administrator may allow the claimant to submit an affidavit
stating the claimant&#8217;s entitlement to payment in the absence of sufficient
documentation, and the administrator may approve the claim in his discretion,
returning or paying all or the appropriate share of the deceased owner&#8217;s
property to the claimant. The administrator may pay or deliver all of the
deceased owner&#8217;s property to a claimant who submits the prescribed
affidavit evidencing his agreement to receive and distribute the property to the
other rightful heirs or beneficiaries and acknowledging his assumption of
liability to those beneficiaries or heirs for failure to do so.

C. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when paying or delivering
unclaimed property under subsection B to a claimant who is not authorized to
represent the decedent&#8217;s estate as the personal representative or the
designated successor or the equivalent, the administrator is discharged and
released to the same extent as if the administrator dealt with the authorized
representative or designated successor for the decedent&#8217;s estate. The
administrator shall deny any subsequent claim to the same property. Any person
subsequently claiming an equal or superior right to the deceased owner&#8217;s
property whose claim is denied by the administrator for this reason may seek
redress from the claimant to whom payment was made.

D. The administrator shall develop and make available a plain English
explanation of a person&#8217;s right to make a claim, in accordance with the
provisions of this section, for property delivered to the Commonwealth in cases
where the reported owner of the property is deceased. The administrator shall
also post such document on the Department of the Treasury&#8217;s website.

HISTORY: 1960, c. 330, § 55-210.20; 2016, cc. 350, 529; 2019, c. 712; 2025, cc.
6, 20.