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Unowned property

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+#REDIRECT [[Unowned property]]
-{{Property law}}{{italic title}}
+{{Redirect category shell|
-{{merge-to|Unowned property|date=September 2020}}
+{{R from alternative name}}
-'''''{{lang|la|Bona vacantia}}''''' ([[Latin language|Latin]] for "ownerless goods") is a legal concept associated with property that has no owner. It exists in various jurisdictions, with consequently varying application, but with origins mostly in English law.
+}}
-==Canada==
-''Bona vacantia'' is applied according to the laws of the relevant province, and the roots of the laws may be traced to Roman law.
-==New Zealand==
-Similarly to England, unclaimed money will mostly [[escheat]] to [[the Crown]]<ref>[http://www.treasury.govt.nz/services/unclaimedmoney The Treasurer (New Zealand) – Unclaimed Money]</ref> who may then make further distribution. Unclaimed property other than money might also be claimed on behalf of the Crown but (as with the UK jurisdictions) this is not inevitable.<ref>[http://www.treasury.govt.nz/services/bonavacantia treasury.govt.nz] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129010448/http://www.treasury.govt.nz/services/bonavacantia |date=November 29, 2010 }}</ref>
-== United Kingdom ==
-=== England and Wales ===
-''Bona vacantia'' is partly a [[common law]] [[doctrine]] and partly found in statute. It deals with:
-* Assets of dissolved companies that have failed to be distributed<ref name=wmn>{{cite news|title=Laws surrounding Duchy of Cornwall seen as 'mysterious, complex and arcane'|url=http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Laws-surrounding-Duchy-Cornwall-seen-mysterious/story-13893783-detail/story.html|accessdate=August 25, 2015|work=Western Morning News|publisher=Local World|date=November 19, 2011}}{{Dead link|date=October 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> or have been disclaimed by the [[official receiver]].
-* Assets of dissolved [[Voluntary association|unincorporated associations]] that have failed to be distributed
-* Assets of the estates of deceased persons that have failed to be distributed due to intestacy and a lack of known persons entitled to inherit<ref name=wmn/>
-* Some failed trust property
-For most of [[England and Wales]], the Bona Vacantia Division of the [[Government Legal Department]] is responsible for dealing with ''bona vacantia'' assets on behalf of the Crown.<ref name="BVD">{{cite web | url=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia | publisher=gov.uk | work=Bona Vacantia Division | accessdate=26 August 2015}}</ref><ref name=doc>{{cite web|title=Bona Vacantia and the Duke of Cornwall's Benevolent Fund|url=http://duchyofcornwall.org/bona-vacantia.html|website=Duchy of Cornwall.org|publisher=Duchy of Cornwall|accessdate=August 25, 2015}}</ref> If no heirs to an estate can be found then the assets are realised and the balance is transferred to HM Treasury. The division deals only with solvent estates whose net value exceeds £500.<ref>https://www.gov.uk/refer-a-deceased-persons-estate-to-the-treasury-solicitor</ref> The assets of dissolved companies automatically pass to the Crown by law. They are realised by the division and the revenue passed to the Exchequer, although the division has a power to disclaim onerous assets.<ref>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bona-vacantia-dissolved-companies-bvc1/bona-vacantia-dissolved-companies-bvc1#disclaimers</ref> Liabilities associated with assets do not automatically follow those assets into ''bona vacantia''. Care should be taken to distinguish between assets remaining when dissolution commences (which might be distributed to shareholders or others in that process) and those that for various valid reasons remain undistributed at the end of dissolution. Some assets might only come to notice after dissolution has taken place.
-==== Cornwall and Lancashire ====
-For assets based in [[Cornwall]] and within the traditional boundaries of the [[county palatine]] of [[Lancashire]], [[Farrer & Co]] solicitors deal with ''bona vacantia'' on behalf of the [[Duchy of Cornwall]] and the [[Duchy of Lancaster]] respectively.<ref name=doc></ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Bona Vacantia|url=http://www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk/duties-of-the-duchy/bona-vacantia/|website=duchyoflancaster.co.uk|publisher=Duchy of Lancaster|accessdate=August 25, 2015}}</ref> In both cases, if no rightful owner is found for the assets, the assets legally pass to the respective duchies. Current practice for both is to donate these assets to charity. In Lancaster the beneficiaries are the [[Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund]] and the [[Duchy of Lancaster Jubilee Trust]], while in Cornwall [[The Duke of Cornwall's Benevolent Fund]] receives the assets.<ref>{{cite news|title=Inside the Duchy of Cornwall - part four|url=http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Inside-Duchy-Cornwall/story-26913549-detail/story.html#ixzz3jq6QnhYf|accessdate=August 25, 2015|work=Western Morning News|publisher=Local World|date=July 16, 2015}}{{Dead link|date=October 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
-When [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] established in 1230 the Office of the Royal Escheator to centralize ''bona vacantia'', [[Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall|Earl Edmund of Cornwall]]{{dubious|date=August 2020}} pressed his claim to bona vacantia by having his viscounts continue to handle them. Until the 1337 and 1338 Duchy Charters, the issue was contentious between the king and earl. In the Duchy Charters, the king formalized the bona vacantia right with the duchy.<ref name=wmn/>{{Verify source|date=August 2015}}
-When Lancaster was made a [[county palatine]] in 1351 by [[Edward III of England|Edward III]], the royal escheator's powers over Lancaster ended, and ''bona vacantia'' property escheated to the dutchy instead of the Crown.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C228 |website=[[National Archives (UK)|National Archives]] |title=Records of the Palatinate of Lancaster |quote=On 6 March 1351, Edward III conferred on his cousin Henry, fourth Earl of Lancaster, the dukedom of Lancaster. In the same charter he raised the county of Lancaster to a county palatine [...] The profits of justice belonged to the new duke. The King['s] ... escheator for the north-western counties of England was instructed to take no further action in the Palatinate. The Duke appointed his own escheator, who presumably accounted to the Duke at his Exchequer.}}</ref>
-=== Northern Ireland ===
-In [[Northern Ireland]], ''bona vacantia'' is dealt with by the Crown Solicitor as the Treasury Solicitor's agent. The value of the assets collected in Northern Ireland are separately identified in the annual report of HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor Accounts for the Crown's Nominee.
-=== Scotland ===
-In [[Scotland]], ''bona vacantia'' deals with assets of dissolved companies, the assets of missing persons and lost or abandoned property; lost or abandoned property involves a statutory saving for the Crown in ss.67–79 of the [[Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982]].<ref>[http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/About/roles/qltr/Bona-Vacantia Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service – Bona Vacantia]</ref> It is mostly controlled by common law with some statutes dealing with specific matters such as lost property; the concept also extends to such matters as [[treasure trove]]<ref>http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2003/11/18319/27604 – Review of Treasure Trove Arrangements in Scotland</ref> The separate doctrine of ''[[ultimus haeres]]'' states that the assets of those who die intestate leaving no other person entitled to inherit pass to the Crown. Both of these rights, together with treasure trove, are administered by the [[Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer]], an office held by the Crown Agent, the senior official in the [[Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS)]].<ref>[http://www.copfs.gov.uk/About/roles/qltr/Bona-vacantia  Official Website of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service of Scotland]</ref> ''Bona vacantia'' assets in Scotland are not aggregated with those from elsewhere in the United Kingdom, being paid directly into the [[Scottish Consolidated Fund]].
-=== Crown dependencies ===
-==== Guernsey ====
-In Guernsey, assets of dissolved companies may become ''bona vacantia'' under s.369 of the Companies (Guernsey) Law, as amended, and are administered by the Receiver-General ([https://web.archive.org/web/20110521165259/http://www.gov.gg/ccm/navigation/government/law-officers/ ''HM Procureur'']).
-==United States of America==
-''Bona vacantia'' was inherited from English Common Law and continues in the form of [[lost, mislaid, and abandoned property]], applied only to personal property that has left the owner's possession, as opposed to an estate left in [[intestacy]] after death. Intangible personal assets such as checks, account balances, and securities are under unclaimed property law, varying by state. The states do not take permanent possession, but act as the custodian of the property in perpetuity on behalf of the rightful owner.<ref>[http://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/pubdocs/bcdocs2010_2/274670/unclaimed_intangible_property_administration.pdf British Columbia, Ministry of Finance and Corporate Relations – Unclaimed Intangible Property Administration in British Columbia]</ref>
-== See also ==
-* [[Claims Conference]], administers compensation funds and recovers unclaimed Jewish property
-* [[Escheat]]
-* [[Unowned property]]
-== References ==
-{{Reflist}}
-== External links ==
-* [http://www.gov.uk/bonavacantia Bona Vacantia]
-* [http://www.gov.uk/tsol Treasury Solicitor's Department]
-* [http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/ Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service]
-[[Category:Common law]]
-[[Category:Scots law legal terminology]]
-[[Category:Property law]]
-[[Category:English legal terminology]]
-[[Category:Latin legal terminology]]