§ 34-24-121 — 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

Wyoming § 34-24-121

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 34: Property, Conveyances and Security Transactions
• Ch. 24: UNIFORM UNCLAIMED PROPERTY ACT

Text

(a) Upon the payment or delivery of property to the
administrator, the state assumes custody and responsibility for
the safekeeping of the property. A person who pays or delivers
property to the administrator 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 thereafter may
arise or be made in respect to the property. The person who pays
or delivers in this manner shall not thereafter be liable for
interest.
(b) A holder who has paid money to the administrator
pursuant to this act 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 was entitled thereto, the
administrator shall promptly reimburse the holder for the
payment without imposing any fee or other charge. If
reimbursement is sought for a 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 shall be reimbursed for payment made
under this subsection even if the payment was made to a person
whose claim was barred under W.S. 34-24-130(a).
(c) A holder who has delivered property (including a
certificate of any interest in a business association) other
than money to the administrator pursuant to this act may reclaim
the property if still in the possession of the administrator,
without paying any fee or other charge, upon filing proof that
the owner has claimed the property from the holder.
(d) 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.
(e) If the holder pays or delivers property to the
administrator 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 administrator, upon written notice of
the claim, shall defend the holder against the claim and
indemnify the holder against any liability on the claim.
(f) For the purposes of this section, "good faith" means
that:
(i) Payment or delivery was made in a reasonable
attempt to comply with this act;
(ii) 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 that person, that the property was abandoned for the
purposes of this act; and
(iii) 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.
(g) Property removed from a safe deposit box or other
safekeeping repository is received by the administrator subject
to the holder's right under this subsection 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,
storage, or any other charges that are reasonable and related.