Mass. Gen. Laws » Part II Title II Chapter 200A
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, § 5 (2026)

Dividends, stock, bonds, etc.; presumption of abandonment

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 5. Subject to the provision of section one A, all intangible personal property not otherwise presumed to have been abandoned under any other section of this chapter, including but not limited to all certificates of ownership, dividends, stocks, bonds, money, drafts and claims for money and credits, except deposits and the increments thereon referred to in section three that are held or owing in the commonwealth in the ordinary course of the person's business, including all such property held by any fiduciary, shall be presumed abandoned unless claimed by the beneficiary or person entitled thereto within three years after the date prescribed for payment or delivery. Any dividend, distribution, interest, accrual, or payment on principal declared, set aside, accumulated, provided for or owed with respect to property presumed abandoned under the foregoing provisions of this section shall itself be presumed abandoned.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, any outstanding credit balances to a vendor or commercial customer from a vendor resulting from a transaction occurring in the normal and ordinary course of business shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter. This exemption shall not apply to unallocated distributions from securities held by financial intermediaries including, but not limited to, brokers, mutual funds, custodians, trust companies and depositories and owing to unknown beneficiaries but held in the intermediary's nominee names.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 1983–2020 · leading case: Biogen IDEC MA, Inc. v. Treasurer & Receiver Gen., 908 N.E.2d 740 (Mass. 2009).
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Biogen IDEC MA, Inc. v. Treasurer & Receiver Gen., 908 N.E.2d 740 (Mass. 2009). · cites it 12× “This appeal requires us to determine which set of regulations promulgated by different Treasurers of the Commonwealth defining the phrase “outstanding credit balances,” see G. L. c. 200A, § 5 (outstanding credit balance exemption), applies to certain uncashed checks issued by…”
Treasurer & Receiver Gen. v. John Hancock Mut. Life Ins., 446 N.E.2d 1376 (Mass. 1983). · cites it 11× “However, we conclude that since G. L. c. 200A, § 5, is applicable to John Hancock, it is subject to the reporting and payment requirements of G.”
In the Matter of Olchowski (Mass. 2020). “200A, § 4 (abandonment of security deposits); G. L. c. 200A, § 5 (abandonment of instruments, documents, and money); G.”
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