abandoned property law

(also unclaimed property law), n. A statute describing specific procedures that allow an individual or organization to obtain clear, legal title to material that it holds but does not own.

Notes

In the United States, federal statutes do not address abandoned property and are enacted state by state. Less than one half the states have such laws. For examples, see Arizona, Unclaimed Property in Museums (44-351ff); North Dakota, Museum or Historical Society Unclaimed Property (55-12); Maine, Property Deposited with Museums and Historical Societies (27 ยง601).