Sponsors (8)
The bill protects owners and clarifies federal rules for digital-asset custody and death confirmation—reducing premature escheatment and legal uncertainty—at the cost of reduced state recoveries, added compliance costs for financial firms (which may be passed to customers), and potential delays for heirs.
Owners of securities, digital assets, and investment accounts (including seniors and retirees) are less likely to have assets turned over to State unclaimed-property programs without confirmed death, reducing premature escheatment of property.
Financial institutions (banks, custodians, exchanges) get a clear federal standard for confirming death and handling potential unclaimed assets, reducing legal uncertainty and inconsistent State requirements.
Holders of digital assets and small-business owners gain explicit statutory clarity because the bill defines 'digital asset' and custodian responsibilities, helping bring digital-asset custody and escheat rules into law.
State governments may lose ability to recover unclaimed property, potentially reducing revenues that fund public services and programs.
Banks, exchanges, and custodians will face new compliance costs to perform periodic death-checks and maintain records, costs that may be passed to customers through higher fees or reduced services.
Longer holdback periods (3–5 years) before assets are escheated could delay heirs or estates from accessing assets when institutions misapply rules or delay death confirmations.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates federal limits on State escheat of securities, digital assets, and investment accounts and requires multi‑year death/contact confirmations before State custody is allowed.
Official title: To prevent the premature seizure of an individual's securities, digital assets, or investment accounts in the custody of a financial institution under State escheatment laws, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 16, 2026 by Sam T. Liccardo · Last progress April 16, 2026
Prohibits states from taking custody of or escheating securities, digital assets, or investment accounts except under narrow, specified conditions. For accounts held by natural persons, custodial institutions may not yield custody to a State unclaimed property regime unless the owner has been confirmed dead at least three years and no fiduciary has come forward for three years; accounts for non‑natural persons may be escheated only after five years without contact. The bill also requires periodic death‑checks every five years for custodial retirement‑age accounts and preempts conflicting State escheat rules while preserving State communications and owner remedies.