Can the NC State Treasurer use money in the Escheats Fund to pay for newspaper ads listing the names of people who may have unclaimed property, beyond the bare-minimum notices the statute specifically requires?
Plain-English summary
The NC Escheats Fund holds property that has been abandoned by its owner (forgotten bank accounts, uncashed checks, unclaimed insurance proceeds, and so on). State law (Chapter 116B, Escheats and Abandoned Property) requires the State Treasurer to try to return the property to the rightful owners. To do that, the Treasurer publishes lists of owner names in the newspaper so people can spot their own name and file a claim.
Chapter 116B requires two specific publications:
- A yearly list of owners, published for two consecutive weeks in at least two newspapers of general circulation. § 116B-62(a) and (b).
- A single notice of any proposed sale of abandoned property at least three weeks before the sale. § 116B-65(a).
The Treasurer asked the AG whether § 116B-6(h) authorized spending Escheats Fund money on additional newspaper publications beyond those statutory minimums. The thinking was that more notice means more owners reunited with their property, which is what Chapter 116B is supposed to accomplish.
The AG answered yes. § 116B-6(h) lists "costs of notice and publication" among the items the Treasurer may pay out of the Fund. The statute does not limit those costs to the specific publications mandated elsewhere in the chapter. Under standard NC statutory construction principles (plain meaning, Lutz v. Gaston County Bd. of Education), broader publication spending is within the statutory authorization.
The opinion also relies on the broader purpose of Chapter 116B. § 116B-67 expressly encourages the return of property upon the filing of a valid claim. The notice provisions exist to make that return possible. Reading the spending authority narrowly (only the minimums in § 116B-62(b) and § 116B-65(a)) would frustrate that purpose. Reading it broadly (any publication that helps owners learn about their property) advances it.
Signed by Senior Deputy AG Ann Reed and Special Deputy AG John Corne.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2003. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Chapter 116B has been amended several times since 2003 and the Treasurer's office now uses an extensive online unclaimed-property search system. The print-newspaper publication context has shifted considerably as more notice moves to digital channels. Anyone applying this opinion to a current question about Escheats Fund spending should pull the current text of § 116B-6(h) and check for later guidance from the Treasurer's office.
Common questions
Q: What is escheated property?
A: Property whose owner cannot be located after a statutory dormancy period (typically several years of inactivity). Common examples: forgotten bank accounts, uncashed payroll or dividend checks, unclaimed insurance proceeds, safe deposit box contents, and unclaimed utility deposits.
Q: Does NC ever take ownership of the property?
A: NC holds the property in custody. The original owner (or their heirs) can claim it indefinitely. The state earns the use of the funds while they're held, but the underlying claim never expires under most NC unclaimed-property categories.
Q: What if a search shows your name on the published list?
A: Contact the NC Department of State Treasurer, Unclaimed Property Division. The state will require proof of identity and proof of ownership before paying out a claim.
Q: Why does this matter? Isn't notice notice?
A: Statutory-mandated minimums are designed to comply with due process, not to maximize recovery rates. The AG opinion confirms that the Treasurer can invest in additional outreach (more newspapers, additional weeks, supplemental advertising) to help more people find their property.
Q: Are there limits on spending?
A: Yes. § 116B-6(h) only authorizes specific categories of expenditure (claim refunds, maintenance, list preparation, notice and publication, appraisals, hired-person fees under § 116B-8, heir-search costs, title searches, auction costs). "All other costs, including salaries of personnel," must come through normal state-budget appropriations under Chapter 143, Article 1.
Q: What's the difference between the Escheats Fund and the Escheats Account?
A: The statute distinguishes the two but doesn't define them in the opinion. The relevant point is that § 116B-6(h) permits expenditures from the Fund "other than funds in the Escheat Account."
Background and statutory framework
Every state has unclaimed property laws. NC's Chapter 116B is a custodial system: the state holds abandoned financial assets that businesses, banks, and other "holders" report to the Treasurer after the statutory dormancy period. The state then tries to find and pay rightful owners.
NC's system is funded by the abandoned property itself: the Treasurer earns investment returns on the assets while they're held, and those returns plus administrative fees support the program. § 116B-6(h) is the operative statute that says what the Treasurer can spend Escheats Fund money on. It's deliberately enumerated rather than open-ended; a generic catchall would let the Treasurer reallocate the funds to general state operations.
The "costs of notice and publication" line in § 116B-6(h) reflects the legislative recognition that finding owners is core to the program. The AG's reading aligns with that purpose: the Treasurer needs flexibility to design notice campaigns that actually reach owners, not just hit the procedural minimum.
The cited cases (Davis, Hedrick, Lutz) all stand for the standard NC rule that clear statutory language gets its plain meaning and that everything necessarily implied by the language is also covered. Here the implied meaning is straightforward: if "costs of notice and publication" pays for the legally required notices, it also pays for additional notices that serve the same statutory purpose.
Citations
- N.C.G.S. § 116B-6(h) (State Treasurer's expenditure authority)
- N.C.G.S. § 116B-62(a), (b) (yearly list, newspaper publication)
- N.C.G.S. § 116B-65(a) (notice of proposed sale)
- N.C.G.S. § 116B-67 (return of property upon valid claim)
- N.C.G.S. § 116B-4 (refunds to owners, holders, claimants)
- N.C.G.S. § 116B-8 (persons employed to assist)
- N.C.G.S. Chapter 143, Article 1 (general state budgeting for non-enumerated costs)
- Davis v. Granite Corp., 259 N.C. 249 (1963)
- Hedrick v. Graham, 245 N.C. 249 (1956)
- Board of Education v. Dickson, 235 N.C. 359 (1952)
- Lutz v. Gaston County Bd. of Education, 282 N.C. 208 (1972) (plain meaning rule)
Source
- Landing page: https://ncdoj.gov/opinions/escheats-fund/
Original opinion text
RE: Advisory Opinion; State Treasurer's Authority To Expend Funds In The Escheats Fund; G.S. 116B-6(h)
Dear Mr. Stewart:
You have asked whether G.S. § 116B-6(h) gives you the authority to expend funds from the Escheats Fund to publish the names of individuals who may have claims against the Escheats Fund. We understand that such publications will be addition to those required by G.S. § 116B-62(b) and G.S. § 116B-65(a). As explained below, we have concluded that you do have such authority under G.S. § 116B-6(h).
Chapter 116B (Escheats and Abandoned Property) clearly encourages the return of property upon the filing of a valid claim. G.S. § 116B-67. The Chapter requires the State Treasurer to prepare and deliver a yearly list of owners (persons who may have a legal or equitable interest in escheated property) of unclaimed property to the clerk of superior court of each county and to publish such list for two consecutive weeks in at least two newspapers having general circulation in the State. G.S. § 116B-62(a) and (b). G.S. § 116-65(a) requires the State Treasurer to publish a single notice of the proposed sale of abandoned property at least three weeks in advance of the sale in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the property is to be sold.
G.S. 116B-6(h) provides:
(h) Expenditures. — The Treasurer may expend the funds in the Escheat Fund, other than funds in the Escheat Account, for the payment of claims for refunds to owners, holders and claimants under G.S. 116B-4; for the payment of costs of maintenance and upkeep of abandoned or escheated property; costs of preparing lists of names of owners of abandoned property to be furnished to clerks of superior court; costs of notice and publication; costs of appraisals; fees of persons employed pursuant to G.S. 116B-8; costs involved in determining whether a decedent died without heirs; costs of a title search of real property that has escheated; and costs of auction or sale under this Chapter. All other costs, including salaries of personnel, necessary to carry out the duties of the Treasurer under this Chapter, shall be appropriated from the funds of the Escheat Fund pursuant to the provisions of Article 1, Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. (emphasis added).
This provision specifically authorizes the State Treasurer to expend Escheats funds for "costs of notice and publication."
When the language of a statute is clear and unambiguous, the court must give it its plain and definite meaning. Davis v. Granite Corp., 259 N.C. 249, 96 S.E.2d 335 (1963); Hedrick v. Graham, 245 N.C. 249, 96 S.E.2d 129 (1956) . . . . Matters necessarily implied by the language of a statute must be given effect to the same extent as matters specifically expressed. Board of Education v. Dickson, 235 N.C. 359, 70 S.E.2d 14 (1952). Lutz v. Gaston County Bd. of Education, 282 N.C. 208, 220, 192 S.E.2d 463, 471-472 (1972).
Reading Chapter 116B as a whole leads to the conclusion that the General Assembly intended that individuals who have claims for escheated and abandoned property be notified.
Based on the foregoing, we conclude that the Treasurer's authority to expend funds for "costs of notice of publication" is not limited to only the cost of publication of notice as required by G.S. § 116B-62(b) and G.S. § 116B-65(a). Therefore, pursuant to G.S. § 116B-6(h), the Treasurer may expend funds from the Escheats fund to publish the name of individuals who may have claims against the Escheats Fund.
Should you have any further questions, please contact the undersigned.
Sincerely,
Ann Reed
Senior Deputy Attorney General
John R. Corne
Special Deputy Attorney General