§ 1216. Presumptions. If it shall appear from the records of the United States that the rightful owner of property described in section twelve hundred fifteen of this article has not made claim thereto for a period of seven consecutive years, it shall be presumed for purposes of escheat proceedings under this article that such rightful owner is, and during such period has been, unknown or has died without having disposed thereof and without having left a will, and without having left any heirs, next-of-kin or distributees or that such property has been abandoned and that such property has escheated. In any case wherein the rightful owner of such property is a corporation it shall also be presumed for purposes of escheat proceedings under this article that the corporation is dissolved, no longer in existence, and its charter forfeited and the presumptions set forth in the first sentence of this section shall be made with respect to the rightful owners or claimants to the assets of such corporation, including its stockholders and creditors. The presumptions provided for in this section may be rebutted by competent evidence to the contrary.

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Terms Used In N.Y. Abandoned Property Law 1216

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • 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
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Property: includes , but is not limited to, money, rights to claim refunds or rebates, postal savings deposits, bonds, notes, certificates, policies of insurance, other instruments of value, choses in action, obligations whether written or unwritten, and any thing of value of any nature whatsoever. See N.Y. Abandoned Property Law 1214
  • United States: means any officer, agency, department or instrumentality of the United States of America, other than a court, and any corporation organized under its laws. See N.Y. Abandoned Property Law 1214
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