State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Wisconsin > 177 > 177.20

177.20

177.20 Custody by state; holder relieved from liability; reimbursement of holder paying claim; reclaiming for owner; defense of holder; payment of safe deposit box or repository charges.

177.20(1)

(1) Upon the payment or delivery of property to the administrator, this state assumes custody and responsibility for the safekeeping of the property. Any person who pays or delivers property to the administrator in good faith is relieved of all liability for any claim which exists or which may arise or be made with respect to the property.

177.20(2)

(2) A holder who has paid money to the administrator under this chapter may make payment to any person who appears to the holder to be entitled to payment. Upon receiving proof of the payment and proof that the payee was entitled to payment, the administrator shall immediately reimburse the holder without imposing a fee or other charge. If reimbursement is sought for a payment made on a negotiable instrument, including a travelers check or money order, the holder shall be reimbursed 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 shall be reimbursed for payment made under this subsection even if the payment was made to a person whose claim was barred under s. 177.29 (1).

177.20(3)

(3) A holder who has delivered property, including a certificate of any interest in a business association, but not including money, to the administrator under this chapter may reclaim the property if it is still in the possession of the administrator, without payment of a fee or other charge, upon filing proof that the owner has claimed the property from the holder.

177.20(4)

(4) The administrator may accept the holder's affidavit as sufficient proof of the facts that entitle the holder to recover money and property under this section.

177.20(5)

(5) If the holder pays or delivers property to the administrator in good faith and thereafter another person claims the property from the holder or if another state claims the money or property under its laws relating to escheat or abandoned or unclaimed property, the administrator, upon written notice of the claim, shall defend the holder against the claim and indemnify the holder against any liability on the claim.

177.20(6)

(6) For the purposes of this section, "good faith" means that all of the following exist:

177.20(6)(a)

(a) Payment or delivery was made in a reasonable attempt to comply with this chapter.

177.20(6)(b)

(b) The person delivering the property was not a fiduciary then in breach of trust with respect to the property and that the person had a reasonable basis for believing, based on the facts then known to that person, that the property was abandoned for the purposes of this chapter.

177.20(6)(c)

(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.

177.20(7)

(7) Property removed from a safe deposit box or other safekeeping repository is received by the administrator subject to the holder's right to be reimbursed for the actual cost of the opening and to any valid lien or contract providing for the holder to be reimbursed for unpaid rent or storage charges and subject to any 3rd-party lien. The administrator shall reimburse the holder from the proceeds remaining after deducting the administrator's selling cost.

177.20 - ANNOT.

History: 1983 a. 408; 2005 a. 253.