The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 27 : Property

Chapter 018 : Unclaimed Property

Subchapter 009 : CLAIM TO RECOVER PROPERTY FROM ADMINISTRATOR

• § 1555. Allowance of claim for property

  (a) Not later than 30 days after a claim is allowed under subsection 1554(b) of this title, the Administrator shall pay or deliver to the owner the property or pay to the owner the net proceeds of a sale of the property, together with income or gain to which the owner is entitled under section 1517 of this title. On request of the owner, the Administrator may sell or liquidate a security and pay the net proceeds to the owner, even if the security had been held by the Administrator for less than three years or the Administrator has not complied with the notice requirements under section 1532 of this title.

  (b) Property held under this chapter by the Administrator is subject to a claim for the payment of an enforceable debt the owner owes in this State for:

  (1) child-support arrearages, including child-support collection costs and child-support arrearages that are combined with maintenance;

  (2) a civil or criminal fine or penalty, court costs, a surcharge, or restitution imposed by a final order of an administrative agency or a final court judgment; or

  (3) state taxes, penalties, and interest that have been determined to be delinquent or as to which notice has been recorded with the appropriate authority.

  (c) Before delivery or payment to an owner under subsection (a) of this section of property or payment to the owner of net proceeds of a sale of the property, the Administrator first shall apply the property or net proceeds to a debt under subsection (b) of this section the Administrator determines is owed by the owner. The Administrator shall pay the amount to the appropriate State agency and the State agency notify the owner of the payment.

  (d) The Administrator may make periodic inquiries of State agencies in the absence of a claim filed under section 1553 of this title to determine whether an apparent owner included in the unclaimed property records of this State have enforceable debts described in subsection (b) of this section. The Administrator first shall apply the property or net proceeds of a sale of property held by the Administrator to a debt under subsection (b) of this section of an apparent owner that appears in the records of the Administrator and deliver the amount to the appropriate State agency. The Administrator shall notify the apparent owner of the payment. (Added 2019, No. 93 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2021.)