What happens to the money in a Virginia jail's inmate trust account when former inmates can't be located after release?

Plain-English summary

The Petersburg City Sheriff asked a small but practical question with an outsized administrative impact: the Petersburg City Jail closed on May 1, 2015 and all current inmates were transferred to Riverside Regional Jail with their account balances. But the Sheriff's Office still held funds in the inmate trust account for former inmates who had been released before the jail closed. Their forwarding addresses were invalid and their current addresses were unknown. What should the Sheriff's Office do with that money?

Attorney General Mark R. Herring identified the answer quickly through Virginia's Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act. Section 55-210.9 makes intangible property held by a governmental entity presumed abandoned one year after it became "payable" to the owner. For a former inmate, the property became payable on the date of release. The Petersburg jail closed in May 2015, so anyone released before closing had been out for at least a year by the time of the inquiry. Under § 55-210.12(A), the holder must report and remit abandoned property to the Commonwealth, with the State Treasurer serving as the designated "administrator" (§ 55-210.2).

The opinion is short because the framework is clean. The Sheriff did not need to retain the money indefinitely, was not authorized to disburse it to other purposes, and was not required to keep looking. The Act establishes a perpetual claim mechanism: the State holds the funds as custodian forever, and any rightful owner can come forward and present a claim "no matter how remote" (1982-1983 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 645). Reporting and remitting the funds completes the Sheriff's duty.

The takeaway: when an inmate trust account is left with funds and the inmate cannot be located, the funds become abandoned property one year after release, must be reported and remitted to the State Treasurer, and the owner retains a perpetual right to claim them from the Commonwealth.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2017. 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.

The Virginia Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act has been substantially renumbered and reorganized since 2017. What was Title 55 (§§ 55-210.1 et seq.) is now in Title 55.1 (Chapter 25, §§ 55.1-2500 et seq.). The dormancy periods, definitions, and reporting mechanics generally carried over, but anyone applying this analysis today should cross-reference current Title 55.1 numbering and the Department of the Treasury's current reporting instructions.

Background and statutory framework

The Virginia Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, codified at the time at §§ 55-210.1 through 55-210.29, safeguards intangible property held for an owner who cannot be located. The Commonwealth becomes a custodian of the property in perpetuity, and the owner retains the right to claim it at any time, "no matter how remote" (1982-1983 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 645, 645).

For property held by a government entity, § 55-210.9 sets a one-year dormancy period: "[a]ll intangible property held for the owner by any government or governmental subdivision or agency, public corporation, or public authority that has remained unclaimed by the owner for more than one year after it became payable is presumed abandoned." That is shorter than the dormancy periods for many private holders (which range across two to five years depending on property type, see § 55-210.3:2 for examples), reflecting a legislative judgment that government holders should not warehouse unclaimed funds indefinitely.

"Payable" under § 55-210.2 means "the earliest date upon which the owner of property could become entitled to the payments, possession, delivery, or distribution of such property" from the holder. For an inmate's trust-account funds, that date is the inmate's release: that's when the inmate could have taken the money out and walked away with it.

Once the dormancy period runs, § 55-210.12(A) requires the holder to report and remit the property to the "administrator," who under § 55-210.2 is the State Treasurer or his designee. The reporting flows funds into the Commonwealth's custodial account; the State Treasurer then becomes the place where the rightful owner can come to claim the property.

The jurisdictional rules in § 55-210.2:2 determine whether the property is reportable to Virginia. Subsection (1) covers property where the apparent owner's last known address is in Virginia. Subsection (3) through (6) cover cases where the address is unknown or out of state but the property may still be reportable to the Commonwealth (for example, where the holder is a Virginia state agency, the property is presumed reportable here).

For the Petersburg facts: all the former inmates had been released before May 1, 2015 (when the jail closed). The one-year dormancy ran on each of those releases by no later than May 1, 2016. By the time of the March 2017 inquiry, every account was abandoned. The Sheriff's Office was holding abandoned property that should be reported and remitted forthwith.

Common questions

Q: How long does a Virginia jail have to hold an inmate's trust-account funds after release before reporting them as abandoned?
A: One year from the date of release, under § 55-210.9.

Q: Where do the funds go?
A: To the State Treasurer (the designated administrator under § 55-210.2), reported and remitted under § 55-210.12(A).

Q: Does the former inmate lose the money?
A: No. The Commonwealth holds it as custodian in perpetuity. The owner can come forward at any time and claim it.

Q: Does the Sheriff have to keep looking for the inmate during the dormancy year?
A: The Act doesn't prescribe specific search procedures, but holders are expected to use the last known address and reasonable means to attempt contact. After the dormancy period, the obligation is to report and remit, not to keep searching.

Q: What about a jail that closes and transfers all inmates to a regional jail?
A: The funds for inmates who are still in custody go with them to the new facility. Funds for already-released inmates whose dormancy has run become reportable to the State Treasurer.

Q: What if the address of record is invalid and we never had a current address?
A: The funds are still reportable. Under § 55-210.2:2, even where the last known address is unknown or outside Virginia, the property may still be reportable to the Commonwealth.

Citations and references

Virginia statutes:

• Va. Code Ann. § 55-210.1 (Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, opening)
• Va. Code Ann. §§ 55-210.1 to 55-210.29 (the Act)
• Va. Code Ann. § 55-210.2 (definitions, including "payable" and "administrator")
• Va. Code Ann. § 55-210.2:2 (jurisdictional rules)
• Va. Code Ann. § 55-210.3:2 (dormancy periods for various property types)
• Va. Code Ann. § 55-210.9 (one-year dormancy for government-held property)
• Va. Code Ann. § 55-210.12 (reporting and remittance)
• Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-505 (AG advisory opinion authority)

Prior AG opinions:

• 1982-1983 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 645

Source

• Landing page: https://www.oag.state.va.us/annual-reports-opinions/official-opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2017/16-047-Crawford-unclaimed-inmate-funds-corrected-version.pdf

Original opinion text

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Office of the Attorney General
Mark R. Herring
Attorney General

March 20, 2017

The Honorable Vanessa R. Crawford
Sheriff, City of Petersburg
8 Courthouse Avenue
Petersburg, Virginia 23803

Dear Sheriff Crawford:

I am responding to your request for an official advisory opinion in accordance with § 2.2-505 of the Code of Virginia.

Issue Presented

You inquire how the City of Petersburg Sheriff's Office (the "Sheriff's Office") should dispose of funds presently held in an inmate trust account for former inmates of the Petersburg City Jail.

Background

Prior to the closure of the Petersburg City Jail on May 1, 2015, all inmates were transferred to Riverside Regional Jail. The funds in their individual accounts were transferred with them. However, the Sheriff's Office is still holding in an inmate trust account money belonging to some former jail inmates who were released prior to the closing of the jail. Their forwarding addresses are invalid, and their current addresses are unknown.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Virginia's Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act (the "Act") safeguards abandoned property on behalf of its rightful owner.[1] The Act establishes when property is presumed abandoned. For property held by a governmental entity, § 55-210.9 of the Act creates a one-year "dormancy period" for abandonment by providing that "[a]ll intangible property held for the owner by any government or governmental subdivision or agency, public corporation, or public authority that has remained unclaimed by the owner for more than one year after it became payable is presumed abandoned."[2] Funds are deemed "payable" under the Act on "the earliest date upon which the owner of property could become entitled to the payments, possession, delivery, or distribution of such property" from the holder of the property.[3] For a prisoner, that date would be the date of release. The holder of property that is deemed abandoned must report and remit the property to the custody of the Commonwealth.[4] The state agency to which the funds are to be reported and remitted is the State Treasurer.[5]

Under the statutory one-year dormancy period, the unclaimed funds in question are presumed abandoned one year from the date of an inmate's release. Because the inmates on whose behalf the Sheriff's Office is holding the funds were released prior to the jail's closing on May 1, 2015, the one-year dormancy period expired no later than May 1, 2016. Thus, the funds now constitute abandoned property under the Act and should be reported and remitted to the State Treasurer.

Conclusion

For the reasons stated, it is my opinion that the unclaimed funds belonging to former inmates of the Petersburg City Jail that are presently held by the Sheriff's Office in the inmate trust account constitute abandoned property that should be reported and remitted forthwith to the State Treasurer.

With kindest regards, I am

Very truly yours,

Mark R. Herring
Attorney General

[1] See generally VA. CODE ANN. §§ 55-210.1 through 55-210.29 (2012 & Supp. 2016). "The State is a custodian of the unclaimed property in perpetuity; the owner retains his right to present his claim at any time, no matter how remote." 1982-1983 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 645, 645.

[2] Section 55-210.9 (2012) (emphasis added). The holding period between the date that the property becomes payable and the date on which the property is presumed abandoned is commonly referred to as the dormancy period. While the dormancy period sometimes depends on the type of property (i.e., payroll and salary, bank accounts, securities, or outstanding checks, etc.), see, e.g., § 55-210.3:2, the one-year dormancy period contained in § 55-210.9 is applicable across the board to this particular holder-the government or a governmental subdivision-regardless of the type of property.

[3] Section 55-210.2 (2012).

[4] Section 55-210.12(A) (2012) ("Every person holding funds or other property, tangible or intangible, presumed abandoned under this chapter shall report and remit [the property] to the administrator ...."). Any unclaimed intangible property that is presumed abandoned under the Act becomes subject to the custody of the Commonwealth when the "last known address, as shown on the records of the holder, of the apparent owner is in [the] Commonwealth ...." Section 55-210.2:2(1) (2012). When the last known address of the property owner is unknown or lies outside of the Commonwealth, then the property may still be reportable to the Commonwealth pursuant to § 55-210.2:2(3) to (6).

[5] Section 55-210.2 defines "administrator" as "the State Treasurer or his designee."