Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

New Law Starts

Arkansas has a new unclaimed property act and Gus Wingfield, State Auditor, wants to get the word out. The new act, which became law July 31, is Act 850 of 1999, entitled 'The Unclaimed Property Act.'

"I want all who do business in this state, their accountants and their attorneys, to know about the new law and I want all who are obligated under the law to comply," Wingfield said.

"The new law provides stiff penalties and interest for holders of unclaimed property who do not report and remit," Wingfield added, "but today I am announcing an amnesty period through October 31, 2000, so holders can get in compliance with the new law and avoid the penalty or interest.

"I expect all holders in the state to report and remit unclaimed property under the new law when they file their report due November 1, 2000," Wingfield said. "This new law is designed to get owner names and money into the custody of the state quicker so we have a better chance of locating the rightful owner through our Great Arkansas Treasure Hunt," he said.

Wingfield said new holder report forms will be available from his office in about 90 days.

Wingfield said under the new law holders are required to turn over outstanding cash items and stock after five years or less depending on the type. The old law required them to hold all abandoned items for seven years.

"Our cash holder collections for fiscal year 1999 were $4,173,675.43 and we returned cash of $1,236,878.63 to 3,437 owners or about 30% of cash funds collected. In addition, we paid stock claims valued at $1,464,781, Wingfield said.

"Even though we have doubled our return percentages since I took office in 1995, we still need to do better," the auditor said. "Under the old law, owner information was at least seven and often 10 years old when we got it. We expect our return percentages to increase dramatically under the new law."

The new law is modeled after the 1995 Uniform Unclaimed Property Act and was sponsored by the Arkansas Bar Association.

"The Bar Association has provided my office with an excellent piece of legislation that will benefit all the people of Arkansas," Wingfield added.

Anyone wanting additional information about reporting unclaimed property may call the Auditor of State at 501-682-6030.