Effective 28 Aug 1998

447.543. Delivery of property to treasurer, when — retention of approved costs — errors of presumption, procedure — abandoned fund account established — payment of claims — records subject to public inspection, exception. — 1. Every person who has filed a report pursuant to section 447.539 shall pay all moneys to the treasurer and deliver to the treasurer all other abandoned property specified in the report at the time of filing the report, provided the holder may retain from any such moneys the reasonable costs of complying with sections 447.500 to 447.595, which costs shall be approved by the treasurer. The treasurer shall approve such costs provided such costs are not unreasonable given the facts and circumstances of each case. The holder may recover the total bona fide costs for compliance with sections 447.500 to 447.595. If the owner establishes his or her right to receive the abandoned property to the satisfaction of the holder before such report is filed, or if it appears that for some other reason the presumption of abandonment is erroneous, the holder need not pay or deliver the property as required in this subsection, which will no longer be presumed abandoned, but in lieu thereof shall file a verified written explanation of the proof of claim or of the error in the presumption of abandonment with the treasurer.

2. The treasurer shall record the name and the last known address of each person appearing from the holders' reports to be entitled to the abandoned funds and cause such funds to be deposited in the special account known as the "Abandoned Fund Account", which is hereby created. The abandoned fund account created by this section shall be the successor account to the abandoned fund account previously in the state treasury and all funds in such accounts on August 13, 1984, shall be transferred to the abandoned fund account created by this section. Records made herein, and open for public inspection pursuant to section 447.560, shall be available for public inspection at all reasonable business hours; except that, the records shall not be subject to public inspection or available for copying, reproduction, or scrutiny by commercial or professional locators of property presumed abandoned who charge any service or finder's fee until ninety days after the names of the people to whom property is owed have been published or officially disclosed. From this account the treasurer shall make prompt payment of claims duly allowed by the treasurer. At any time when the balance of the account exceeds one-twelfth of the previous fiscal year's total disbursement from the abandoned property fund, the treasurer may, and at least once every fiscal year shall, transfer to the general revenue of the state of Missouri the balance of the abandoned fund account which exceeds one-twelfth of the previous fiscal year's total disbursement from the abandoned property fund, and, notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080 to the contrary, no other moneys in the fund shall lapse at the end of the biennium. Should any claims be allowed or refunds ordered which reduce the balance to less than one-twenty-fourth of the previous fiscal year's total disbursement from the abandoned property fund, the treasurer shall transfer from the general funds of the state an amount which is sufficient to restore the balance to one-twelfth of the previous fiscal year's total disbursement from the abandoned property fund.

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(L. 1984 H.B. 1088 § 13, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1547, A.L. 1989 H.B. 506, A.L. 1993 H.B. 566, A.L. 1994 S.B. 757, A.L. 1998 H.B. 1510)