How long it will take to consider personal property as abandoned in Texas?
Full Question:
My father has left his laptop and some other valuable things in his friend’s house long ago. Thereafter, he didn't go there. It was before 4 years. Now I found that his friend is using all those. When I asked his friend to return those things, he told me that now the properties belong to him since my father abandoned it. I wanna know how long it will take to consider those personal properties as abandoned.
04/11/2017 |
Category: Abandoned Property |
State: Texas |
#35479
Answer:
You can have a look at the relevant law in this regard below.
Tex. Prop. Code § 72.101
Personal Property Presumed Abandoned.
(a) Except as provided by this section and Sections 72.1015, 72.1016, 72.1017, 72.102, and 72.104, personal property is presumed abandoned if, for longer than three years:
(1) the existence and location of the owner of the property is unknown to the holder of the property; and
(2) according to the knowledge and records of the holder of the property, a claim to the property has not been asserted or an act of ownership of the property has not been exercised.
(b) (1) The three-year period leading to a presumption of abandonment of stock or another intangible ownership interest in a business association, the existence of which is evidenced by records available to the association, commences on the first date that either a sum payable as a result of the ownership interest is unclaimed by the owner or a communication to the owner is returned undelivered by the United States Postal Service.
(2) The running of the three-year period of abandonment ceases immediately on the exercise of an act of ownership interest or sum payable or a communication with the association as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file with the association or its agents.
(3) At the time an ownership is presumed abandoned under this section, any sum then held for interest or owing to the owner as a result of the interest and not previously presumed abandoned is presumed abandoned.
(4) Any stock or other intangible ownership interest enrolled in a plan that provides for the automatic reinvestment of dividends, distributions, or other sums payable as a result of the ownership interest is subject to the presumption of abandonment as provided by this section.
(c) Property distributable in the course of a demutualization or related reorganization of an insurance company is presumed abandoned on the first anniversary of the date the property becomes distributable if, at the time of the first distribution, the last known address of the owner according to the records of the holder of the property is known to be incorrect or the distribution or statements related to the distribution are returned by the post office as undeliverable and the owner has not:
(1) communicated in writing with the holder of the property or the holder's agent regarding the interest; or
(2) otherwise communicated with the holder regarding the interest as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file with the holder or its agents.
(d) Property distributable in the course of a demutualization or related reorganization of an insurance company that is not subject to Subsection (c) is presumed abandoned as otherwise provided by this section.
(e) This section does not apply to money collected as child support that:
(1) is being held for disbursement by the state disbursement unit under Chapter 234, Family Code, or a local registry, as defined by Section 101.018, Family Code, pending identification and location of the person to whom the money is owed; or
(2) has been disbursed by the state disbursement unit under Chapter 234, Family Code, by electronic funds transfer into a child support debit card account established for an individual under Section 234.010, Family Code, but not activated by the individual.
Tex. Prop. Code § 683.002.
Abandoned Motor Vehicle.
(a) For the purposes of this chapter, a motor vehicle is abandoned if the motor vehicle:
(1) is inoperable, is more than five years old, and has been left unattended on public property for more than 48 hours;
(2) has remained illegally on public property for more than 48 hours;
(3) has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in charge of the property for more than 48 hours;
(4) has been left unattended on the right-of-way of a designated county, state, or federal highway for more than 48 hours;
(5) has been left unattended for more than 24 hours on the right-of-way of a turnpike project constructed and maintained by the Texas Turnpike Authority division of the Texas Department of Transportation or a controlled access highway; or
(6) is considered an abandoned motor vehicle under Section 644.153(r).
(b) In this section, "controlled access highway" has the meaning assigned by Section 541.302.
Tex. Prop. Code § 683.011.
Authority to Take Abandoned Motor Vehicle into Custody.
(a) A law enforcement agency may take into custody an abandoned motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor found on public or private property.
(b) A law enforcement agency may use agency personnel, equipment, and facilities or contract for other personnel, equipment, and facilities to remove, preserve, store, send notice regarding, and dispose of an abandoned motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor taken into custody by the agency under this subchapter.
Tex. Prop. Code § 683.012.
Taking Abandoned Motor Vehicle into Custody: Notice.
(a) A law enforcement agency shall send notice of abandonment to:
(1) the last known registered owner of each motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor taken into custody by the agency or for which a report is received under Section 683.031; and
(2) each lienholder recorded:
(A) under Chapter 501 for the motor vehicle;
(B) with the Federal Aviation Administration or the secretary of state for the aircraft; or
(C) under Chapter 31, Parks and Wildlife Code, for the watercraft or outboard motor.
(a-1) A law enforcement agency that takes into custody an aircraft shall contact the Federal Aviation Administration in the manner described by Section 22.901 to attempt to identify the owner of the aircraft before sending the notice required by Subsection (a).
(b) The notice under Subsection (a) must:
(1) be sent by certified mail not later than the 10th day after the date the agency:
(A) takes the abandoned motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor into custody; or
(B) receives the report under Section 683.031;
(2) specify the year, make, model, and identification number of the item;
(3) give the location of the facility where the item is being held;
(4) inform the owner and lienholder of the right to claim the item not later than the 20th day after the date of the notice on payment of:
(A) towing, preservation, and storage charges; or
(B) garagekeeper's charges and fees under Section 683.032 and, if the vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle impounded under Section 644.153(q), the delinquent administrative penalty and costs; and
(5) state that failure of the owner or lienholder to claim the item during the period specified by Subdivision (4) is:
(A) a waiver by that person of all right, title, and interest in the item; and
(B) consent to the sale of the item at a public auction.
(c) Notice by publication in one newspaper of general circulation in the area where the motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor was abandoned is sufficient notice under this section if:
(1) the identity of the last registered owner cannot be determined;
(2) the registration has no address for the owner; or
(3) the determination with reasonable certainty of the identity and address of all lienholders is impossible.
(d) Notice by publication:
(1) must be published in the same period that is required by Subsection (b) for notice by certified mail and contain all of the information required by that subsection; and
(2) may contain a list of more than one abandoned motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor.
(e) A law enforcement agency is not required to send a notice, as otherwise required by Subsection (a), if the agency has received notice from a vehicle storage facility that an application has or will be submitted to the department for the disposal of the vehicle.
(f) In addition to the notice required under Subsection (a), if a law enforcement agency takes an abandoned motor vehicle into custody, the agency shall notify a person that files a theft report or similar report prepared by any law enforcement agency for the vehicle of that fact. The notice must be sent by regular mail on the next business day after the agency takes the vehicle into custody. The law enforcement agency shall also provide the name and address of the person that filed the theft report or similar report to the vehicle storage facility or governmental vehicle storage facility that is storing the vehicle.
Tex. Prop. Code § 683.014.
Auction or Use of Abandoned Items; Waiver of Rights.
(a) If an abandoned motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor is not claimed under Section 683.012:
(1) the owner or lienholder:
(A) waives all rights and interests in the item; and
(B) consents to the sale of the item by public auction or the transfer of the item, if a watercraft, as provided by Subsection (d); and
(2) the law enforcement agency may sell the item at a public auction, transfer the item, if a watercraft, as provided by Subsection (d), or use the item as provided by Section 683.016.
(b) Proper notice of the auction shall be given. A garagekeeper who has a garagekeeper's lien shall be notified of the time and place of the auction.
(c) The purchaser of a motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor:
(1) takes title free and clear of all liens and claims of ownership;
(2) shall receive a sales receipt from the law enforcement agency; and
(3) is entitled to register the motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor with and receive a certificate of title from the appropriate authority.
(d) On consent of the Parks and Wildlife Department, the law enforcement agency may transfer a watercraft that is not claimed under Section 683.012 to the Parks and Wildlife Department for use as part of an artificial reef under Chapter 89, Parks and Wildlife Code, or for other use by the Parks and Wildlife Department permitted under the Parks and Wildlife Code. On transfer of the watercraft, the Parks and Wildlife Department:
(1) takes title free and clear of all liens and claims of ownership; and
(2) is entitled to register the watercraft and receive a certificate of title.
Tex. Prop. Code § 683.015.
Auction Proceeds.
(a) A law enforcement agency is entitled to reimbursement from the proceeds of the sale of an abandoned motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor for:
(1) the cost of the auction;
(2) towing, preservation, and storage fees resulting from the taking into custody; and
(3) the cost of notice or publication as required by Section 683.012.
(b) After deducting the reimbursement allowed under Subsection (a), the proceeds of the sale shall be held for 90 days for the owner or lienholder of the vehicle.
(c) After the period provided by Subsection (b), proceeds unclaimed by the owner or lienholder shall be deposited in an account that may be used for the payment of auction, towing, preservation, storage, and notice and publication fees resulting from taking other vehicles, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motors into custody if the proceeds from the sale of the other items are insufficient to meet those fees.
(d) A municipality or county may transfer funds in excess of $ 1,000 from the account to the municipality's or county's general revenue account to be used by the law enforcement agency or, if the vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor was located in a county with a population of less than 150,000, by the attorney representing the state.
(e) If the vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle impounded under Section 644.153(q), the Department of Public Safety is entitled from the proceeds of the sale to an amount equal to the amount of the delinquent administrative penalty and costs.
(f) A law enforcement agency or an attorney representing the state may use funds transferred under Subsection (d) to compensate property owners whose property was damaged as a result of a pursuit involving a law enforcement agency or a federal law enforcement agency, regardless of whether the agency would be liable under Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(g) Before a law enforcement agency or an attorney representing the state may compensate a property owner under Subsection (f) using funds transferred to a county under Subsection (d), the sheriff, constable, or attorney representing the state must submit the proposed payment for compensation for consideration, and the commissioners court shall consider the proposed payment for compensation, at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the commissioners court.
(h) In this section, "attorney representing the state" means a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney performing the duties of a district attorney.
Tex. Prop. Code § 683.016.
Law Enforcement Agency Use of Certain Abandoned Motor Vehicles.
(a) The law enforcement agency that takes an abandoned motor vehicle into custody that is not claimed under Section 683.012 may:
(1) use the vehicle for agency purposes; or
(2) transfer the vehicle to any other municipal or county agency, a groundwater conservation district governed by Chapter 36, Water Code, or a school district for the use of that agency or district.
(b) The law enforcement agency shall auction the vehicle as provided by this subchapter if the law enforcement agency or the municipal or county agency, groundwater conservation district, or school district to which the vehicle was transferred under Subsection (a) discontinues use of the vehicle.
(c) This section does not apply to an abandoned vehicle on which there is a garagekeeper's lien.
(d) This section does not apply to a vehicle that is:
(1) taken into custody by a law enforcement agency located in a county with a population of 3.3 million or more; and
(2) removed to a privately owned storage facility.
(e) A law enforcement agency must comply with the notice requirements of Section 683.012 before the law enforcement agency may transfer a vehicle under Subsection (a)(2).
Tex. Prop. Code § 683.031.
Garagekeeper's Duty: Abandoned Motor Vehicles.
(a) A motor vehicle is abandoned if the vehicle is left in a storage facility operated for commercial purposes after the 10th day after the date on which:
(1) the garagekeeper gives notice by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known registered owner of the vehicle and to each lienholder of record of the vehicle under Chapter 501 to remove the vehicle;
(2) a contract for the vehicle to remain on the premises of the facility expires; or
(3) the vehicle was left in the facility, if the vehicle was left by a person other than the registered owner or a person authorized to have possession of the vehicle under a contract of use, service, storage, or repair.
(b) If notice sent under Subsection (a)(1) is returned unclaimed by the post office, substituted notice is sufficient if published in one newspaper of general circulation in the area where the vehicle was left.
(c) The garagekeeper shall report the abandonment of the motor vehicle to a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction where the vehicle is located and shall pay a $ 10 fee to be used by the law enforcement agency for the cost of the notice required by this subchapter or other cost incurred in disposing of the vehicle.
(d) The garagekeeper shall retain custody of an abandoned motor vehicle until the law enforcement agency takes the vehicle into custody under Section 683.034.
Tex. Prop. Code § 683.032.
Garagekeeper's Fees and Charges.
(a) A garagekeeper who acquires custody of a motor vehicle for a purpose other than repair is entitled to towing, preservation, and notification charges and reasonable storage fees, in addition to storage fees earned under a contract, for each day:
(1) not to exceed five days, until the notice described by Section 683.031(a) is mailed; and
(2) after notice is mailed, until the vehicle is removed and all accrued charges are paid.
(b) A garagekeeper who fails to report an abandoned motor vehicle to a law enforcement agency within seven days after the date it is abandoned may not claim reimbursement for storage of the vehicle.
(c) This subchapter does not impair any lien that a garagekeeper has on a vehicle except for the termination or limitation of claim for storage for the failure to report the vehicle to the law enforcement agency.
Tex. Prop. Code § 683.034.
Disposal of Vehicle Abandoned in Storage Facility.
(a) A law enforcement agency shall take into custody an abandoned vehicle left in a storage facility that has not been claimed in the period provided by the notice under Section 683.012. In this section, a law enforcement agency has custody if the agency:
(1) has physical custody of the vehicle;
(2) has given notice to the storage facility that the law enforcement agency intends to dispose of the vehicle under this section; or
(3) has received a report under Section 683.031(c) and the garagekeeper has met all of the requirements of that subsection.
(b) The law enforcement agency may use the vehicle as authorized by Section 683.016 or sell the vehicle at auction as provided by Section 683.014. If a vehicle is sold, the proceeds of the sale shall first be applied to a garagekeeper's charges for providing notice regarding the vehicle and for service, towing, impoundment, storage, and repair of the vehicle.
(c) As compensation for expenses incurred in taking the vehicle into custody and selling it, the law enforcement agency shall retain:
(1) two percent of the gross proceeds of the sale of the vehicle; or
(2) all the proceeds if the gross proceeds of the sale are less than $ 10.
(d) Surplus proceeds shall be distributed as provided by Section 683.015.
(e) If the law enforcement agency does not take the vehicle into custody before the 31st day after the date the vehicle was reported abandoned under Section 683.031:
(1) the law enforcement agency may not take the vehicle into custody; and
(2) the storage facility may dispose of the vehicle under:
(A) Chapter 70, Property Code, except that notice under Section 683.012 satisfies the notice requirements of that chapter; or
(B) Chapter 2303, Occupations Code, if the storage facility is a vehicle storage facility.
Tex. Prop. Code § 683.053.
Department to Provide Notice.
Except as provided by Section 683.054(b), the department shall give notice as provided by Section 683.012 if it determines that an application under Section 683.051 is:
(1) executed in proper form; and
(2) shows that:
(A) the abandoned motor vehicle is in the possession of the applicant or has been abandoned on the applicant's property; or
(B) the vehicle is not an abandoned motor vehicle and the applicant appears to be the owner of the vehicle.