1. © Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007, 2008 Jurisdiction Suzanne Darling Affiliated Computer Services

2. © Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007 Slide 2 A Little Bit of History, or How We Got Here  Escheat dates back to English feudal law when the sovereign held title to all real property  Bona vacantia similarly applied to personal property  Escheat and bona vacantia were Americanized after the Revolutionary War

3. © Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007 Slide 3 In the U.S., a Culture of Personal Property Ownership Grew  The U.S. industrialized, capitalism thrived, and more and more people owned financial assets  Financial assets went unclaimed and, over time, the laws of unclaimed property as we know them were developed

4. © Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007 Slide 4 Things Were Easy…for a While  Early legislation involved property with all parties located in the same state  It was obvious which state had jurisdiction to escheat the property

5. © Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007 Slide 5  But then it got complicated and somebody had to make some rules!!

6. © Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007 Slide 6 What Happened Next  Sun Oil Company was incorporated in NJ, headquartered in PA  It had locations and conducted business in many states  It owed unclaimed property to owners across the country  It faced competing demands from three different states claiming jurisdiction to escheat the same property

7. © Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007 Slide 7 The Result: the Landmark Case of Texas v New Jersey, 379 U.S. 674 (1965)  Texas sued New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Sun Oil in the US Supreme Court  Florida joined in  Everybody had a different theory about where the money should go

8. © Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007 Slide 8 The Supreme Court Set Out Two Simple Rules  Primary rule: The holder (debtor) reports the property to the state of the last known address of the owner (creditor)  Secondary rule: If there is no last known address on the holder’s records, the holder (debtor) reports the property to the holder’s state of incorporation

9. © Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007 Slide 9 The Facts May Change, but the Rules Stay the Same  In two later cases, the Court reaffirmed the rules:  Pennsylvania v New York, 407 U.S. 206 (1972)  Delaware v New York, 507 U.S. 490 (1993)

10. © Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007 Slide 10 The Bottom Line  The law of unclaimed property is engrained in our history  All unclaimed property goes somewhere and you need to be able to figure out where  The Supreme Court tried to make it easy for you by setting out two simple rules in Texas v New Jersey  You just have to play by the rules

11. © Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) 2007 Slide 11 Questions?