Terms Used In Delaware Code > Title 12 > Chapter 11 - Escheats

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Audit Manager: means the Abandoned Property Audit Manager of the Delaware Department of Finance. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Banking organization: includes any organization, corporation, or association organized and existing under Chapter 7, 15, or 17 of Title 5 or the corresponding provisions of statutes in effect prior to February 12, 1953, or any bank or credit union created under the laws of the United States or any state. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Board: shall mean the Board of Pension Trustees established by § 8308 of Title 29. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801
• Board: shall mean the Violent Crimes Compensation Board, as established by this title. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 9102
• Board: means the Board of Trustees of the Delaware Institute of Veterinary Medical Education. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 8702
• Business association: means a for profit or nonprofit corporation, joint stock company, investment company, partnership, unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, business trust, trust company, land bank, safe deposit company, safekeeping depository, financial organization, insurance company, federally chartered entity, utility, sole proprietorship, or other business entity. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Child: means a person who has not reached the age of 18 years. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Commissioner: means the person appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate who serves as the Marijuana Commissioner for the State. See Delaware Code Title 4 Sec. 1302
• Compensation: shall mean all salary or wages, excluding overtime payments and special payments for extra duties, payable to a member for service. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Court: means the Court of Chancery. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 39A-101
• Credited service: shall mean , for any member:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801

• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Department of Elections conducting the election: means the Department of Elections in the county in which the office of the superintendent of a public school district is located and which is responsible for conducting elections in accordance with Chapters 10, 19, 20 and 21 of this title for that school district, except that public school elections in the Milford and Smyrna School Districts shall be conducted by the Department of Elections for Kent County and public school elections in the Woodbridge School District shall be conducted by the Department of Elections for Sussex County. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 1071
• Dependent: shall mean a dependent child or dependent parent. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Division: means the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement. See Delaware Code Title 4 Sec. 1302
• Domicile: means as follows:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130

• Election: shall include a referendum where applicable. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 1071
• Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Employee: shall mean :

  a. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801

• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Equalized state service: shall mean :

  a. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801

• Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. ^{Source: OCC}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Final average compensation: shall mean 1/3 6 of the compensation paid to an employee during any period of 36 consecutive months for services rendered during those 36 months, in the years of credited service in which the compensation was highest. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801
• Financial organization: means a savings and loan association, building and loan association, savings bank, industrial bank, bank, banking organization, or credit union. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fund: shall mean the Fund established by § 8843 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801
• Game-related digital content: means digital content that exists only in an electronic game or electronic-game platform. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• General Fund: means the General Fund described in § 6102 of Title 29. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Gift card: means a record that may be used to obtain merchandise, goods, or services at a single retailer of goods or services or an affiliated group of retailers of goods or services. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Holder: means any person having possession, custody, or control of the property of another person and includes a post office, a depository, a bailee, a trustee, a receiver or other liquidating officer, a fiduciary, a governmental department, institution or agency, a municipal corporation and the fiscal officers thereof, a public utility, service corporation, and every other legal entity incorporated or created under the laws of this State or doing business in this State. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Inactive member: shall mean a member who is an employee on or after the member:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801

• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Insurance company: means an association, corporation, or fraternal or mutual-benefit organization, whether or not for profit, engaged in the business of providing life endowments, annuities, or insurance, including accident, burial, casualty, credit-life, contract-performance, dental, disability, fidelity, fire, health, hospitalization, illness, life, malpractice, marine, mortgage, surety, wage-protection, and worker-compensation insurance. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Law-enforcement agency: means a government agency or any subunit thereof which performs the administration of criminal justice pursuant to state or federal law or executive order, and which allocates a substantial part of its annual budget to the administration of criminal justice. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8901B
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Legal tender: coins, dollar bills, or other currency issued by a government as official money. ^{Source: U.S. Mint}
• License: means any license or permit to cultivate, possess, manufacture, sell, transport, or test marijuana or marijuana products and accessories authorized or issued by the Commissioner under this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 4 Sec. 1302
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Loyalty card: means a record given without direct monetary consideration under an award, reward, benefit, loyalty, incentive, rebate, or promotional program that may be used or redeemed only to obtain goods or services or a discount on goods or services. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Member: shall mean a person who is an employee on or after the date the employer affiliates with the Fund. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801
• Mineral: means gas, oil, coal, oil shale, other gaseous liquid or solid hydrocarbon, cement material, sand and gravel, road material, building stone, chemical raw material, gemstone, fissionable and nonfissionable ores, colloidal and other clay, steam and other geothermal resources, and any other substance defined as a mineral by law of this State other than this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Mineral proceeds: means an amount payable for extraction, production, or sale of minerals, or, on the abandonment of the amount, the amount that becomes payable after abandonment. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Municipal bond: means a bond or evidence of indebtedness issued by a municipality or other political subdivision of a state. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Nonfreely transferable security: means a security that cannot be delivered to the State Escheator by the Depository Trust Clearing Corporation or a similar custodian of securities providing post-trade clearing and settlement services to financial markets or cannot be delivered because there is no agent to effect transfer. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner: means a person, or the person's legal representative when acting on behalf of the person, that has a legal, beneficial, or equitable interest in property subject to this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Partial disability: shall mean a medically determined physical or mental impairment which renders the member unable to function as a police officer and which is reasonably expected to last at least 12 months. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Party: means the respondent, petitioner, guardian, conservator, or any other person allowed by the Court to participate in a guardianship or protective proceeding. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 39A-101
• Person: means an individual; estate; business association; public corporation; government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; or other legal entity. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Person convicted of a crime: shall mean any person convicted of a crime in this State either by entry of a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, a "Robinson plea" or by conviction after trial as well as a person found not guilty as a result of the defense of mental disease or defect pursuant to this title. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 9102
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Primary survivor: shall mean a person in the following order of priority, unless the priority is changed by the member on a form prescribed by the Board on file with the Board at the time of the member's death:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801

• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Property: means tangible property described in § 1134 of this title or a fixed and certain interest in intangible property held, issued, or owed in the course of a holder's business or by a government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Provider: is a s defined in § 10002 of Title 16. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8901B
• Public safety answering point: is a s defined in § 10002 of Title 16. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8901B
• Public school election: means an election to elect 1 or more members to a board of education and any election conducted in accordance with Chapter 19, 20 or 21 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 1071
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Reorganized school district: means a school district constituted and established in accordance with this chapter whether by reorganization, consolidation or division. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 1071
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Retired member: shall mean a member who has terminated service, other than an inactive member, who is eligible to receive a service or disability pension under this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801
• School board: as used in this subchapter means the board of education of a school district which is constituted and established under this chapter whether by reorganization, consolidation or division. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 1041
• School board: means the board of education of a reorganized school district. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 1071
• School board member: as used in this subchapter means a person duly elected or appointed to a school board in accordance with the provisions for such election or appointment as provided elsewhere in this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 1041
• Security: means any of the following:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130

• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• State Board: consists of 9 members who are citizens of this State andappointed as follows:

  (1) The Governor shall appoint, with Senate confirmation, 7 voting members. See Delaware Code Title 14 Sec. 104

• State Escheator: means the person responsible for the administration and enforcement of this chapter, as established by § 1102 of this title and § 363 of Title 30. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Stored-value card: means a record that evidences a promise for consideration by the holder of the record that the owner of the record will be provided, solely or a combination of, merchandise, services, or cash in the value shown in the record, which is pre-funded and the value of which may be increased by the owner or holder or decreased by redemption. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Total disability: shall mean a medically determined physical or mental impairment which renders the member totally unable to work in any occupation for which the member is reasonably suited by training or experience, which is reasonably expected to last at least 12 months. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8801
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: includes its territories and possessions and the District of Columbia. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
• Utility: means a person that owns or operates for public use a plant, equipment, real property, franchise, or license for any the following public services:

  a. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130

• Victim: shall mean a person who suffers personal, physical, mental or emotional injury, or pecuniary loss, as a direct result of the commission of a crime enumerated in Chapter 5 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 9102
• Virtual currency: means a digital representation of value, including cryptocurrency, used as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, or a store of value that does not have legal tender status recognized by the United States. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130
• Wireless provider: is a s defined in § 10002 of Title 16. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8901B
• Wireless service: is a s defined in § 10002 of Title 16. See Delaware Code Title 11 Sec. 8901B
• Worthless security: means a security whose cost of liquidation and delivery would exceed the value of the security on the date a report is due under this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 1130