Statutory Brief · Jurisprudence
Texas v. New Jersey Priority Rules: First-Priority Address vs. Corporate Domicile
Every dollar of corporate unclaimed property belongs to exactly one state under U.S. Supreme Court federal common law—determined strictly by owner address availability and corporate domicile.
Key Statutory Findings & Holder Guidance
First Priority Rule: Property escheats to the state of the owner's (payee/customer/employee) last known address as shown on the holder's books and records.
Second Priority Rule: Where the owner's address is unknown, incomplete, or located in a jurisdiction that does not escheat that property type, escheat rights revert to the holder's State of Incorporation or Formation.
Practical Impact: Incomplete vendor master files and unaddressed gift cards funnel multi-million-dollar liabilities straight to Delaware, Nevada, or Wyoming entities.
Corporate finance and tax teams evaluating these rules should verify entity-specific incorporation history and prior filing logs before submitting positive or negative reports to state portals.