§ 116B-52.  Definitions.

In this Chapter:

(1) "Apparent owner" means a person whose name appears on the records of a holder as the person entitled to property held, issued, or owing by the holder.

(2) "Business association" means a corporation, joint stock company, investment company, partnership, unincorporated association, joint venture, limited liability company, business trust, trust company, land bank, safe deposit company, safekeeping depository, financial organization, insurance company, mutual fund, utility, or other business entity consisting of one or more persons, whether or not for profit.

(3) "Domicile" means the state of incorporation of a corporation and the state of the principal place of business of a holder other than a corporation.

(4) "Financial organization" means a savings and loan association, building and loan association, savings bank, industrial bank, bank, banking organization, or credit union.

(5) "Holder" means a person obligated to hold for the account of or deliver or pay to the owner property that is subject to this Chapter.

(6) "Insurance company" means an association, corporation, or fraternal or mutual benefit organization, whether or not for profit, engaged in the business of providing life endowments, annuities, or insurance, including accident, burial, casualty, credit life, contract performance, dental, disability, fidelity, fire, health, hospitalization, illness, life, malpractice, marine, mortgage, surety, wage protection, and workers' compensation insurance.

(7) "Mineral" means gas, oil, coal, other gaseous, liquid, and solid hydrocarbons, oil shale, cement material, sand and gravel, road material, building stone, chemical raw material, gemstone, fissionable and nonfissionable ores, colloidal and other clay, steam and other geothermal resource, or any other substance defined as a mineral by the law of this State.

(8) "Mineral proceeds" means amounts payable for the extraction, production, or sale of minerals, or, upon the abandonment of those payments, all payments that become payable thereafter. The term includes amounts payable:

a. For the acquisition and retention of a mineral lease, including bonuses, royalties, compensatory royalties, shut-in royalties, minimum royalties, and delay rentals;

b. For the extraction, production, or sale of minerals, including net revenue interests, royalties, overriding royalties, extraction payments, and production payments; and

c. Under an agreement or option, including a joint operating agreement, unit agreement, pooling agreement, and farm-out agreement.

(9) "Owner" means a person who has a legal or equitable interest in property subject to this Chapter or the person's legal representative. The term includes a depositor in the case of a deposit, a beneficiary in the case of a trust other than a deposit in trust, and a creditor, claimant, or payee in the case of other property.

(10) "Person" means an individual, business association, financial organization, estate, trust, government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.

(11) "Property" means (i) currency or tangible personal property held by a holder that is physically located in a safe deposit box or other safekeeping depository held by a financial institution within this State or (ii) a fixed and certain interest in intangible property or currency that is held, issued, or owed in the course of a holder's business, or by a government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, and all income or increments therefrom. The term includes property that is referred to as or evidenced by:

a. Money, a check, draft, deposit, interest, or dividend;

b. Credit balance, customer's overpayment, gift certificate, security deposit, refund, credit memorandum, unpaid wage, unused ticket, mineral proceeds, or unidentified remittance;

c. Security or other evidence of ownership of an interest in a business association;

d. A bond, debenture, note, or other evidence of indebtedness;

e. Money deposited to redeem stocks, bonds, coupons, or other securities, or to make distributions;

f. An amount due and payable under the terms of an annuity or insurance policy, including policies providing life insurance, property and casualty insurance, workers' compensation insurance, or health and disability insurance; and

g. An amount distributable from a trust or custodial fund established under a plan to provide health, welfare, pension, vacation, severance, retirement, death, stock purchase, profit sharing, employee savings, supplemental unemployment insurance, or similar benefits.

(11a) "Property finder" means an individual or business entity, incorporated or otherwise, who, for fee or any other consideration, seeks to locate, deliver, recover, or assist in the recovery of property that is distributable to the owner or presumed abandoned.

(12) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

(13) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(14) "Treasurer" means the Treasurer of the State of North Carolina or the Treasurer's designated agent.

(15) "Utility" means a person who owns or operates for public use any plant, equipment, real property, franchise, or license for the transportation of the public, the transmission of communications, or the production, storage, transmission, sale, delivery, or furnishing of electricity, water, steam, or gas. (1999-460, s. 6; 2011-230, s. 2; 2013-281, s. 2; 2017-134, s. 3; 2021-157, s. 2(d); 2023-88, s. 1.)