3. The following property is considered to be unclaimed property if the owner or other right-holder is domiciled in Québec:
(1) deposits of money with a deposit institution authorized under the Deposit Institutions and Deposit Protection Act (chapter I-13.2.2), where no claim or transaction has been made and no instructions have been given by the right-holder in respect of the deposits or the related accounts in the three years following the date on which the money deposited became due or payable;
(2) the value of cheques or bills of exchange certified or accepted by a financial institution or of drafts issued by a financial institution, where no request for payment has been made by the right-holder in respect of the instruments in the three years following the date of certification, acceptance or issue;
(3) amounts due on the reimbursement or redemption of debt securities, stocks, shares or any other form of participation in a legal person, partnership or trust, and the interest, dividends or other income, including patronage dividends, attaching to the securities or other form of participation, where no claim or transaction has been made and no instructions have been given by the right-holder in respect of the amounts or the income in the three years following the date on which they became due or payable;
(4) property, including a share or the right to such a share, to be distributed because of the conversion of a mutual insurance association into a joint-stock company, where no claim or transaction has been made and no instructions have been given by the right-holder in respect of the property in the three years following the date of the last claim, transaction or instruction in respect of the property, including the deposit of interest, dividends or any other income produced by such property or, in the absence of such a claim, transaction or instruction, in the three years following the date on which the property has been distributed; the property is deemed to be held by the company;
(5) funds, securities and other property received in any capacity whatsoever by a securities adviser or broker in the name or on behalf of a third person, where no claim or transaction has been made and no instructions have been given by the right-holder in respect of the property in the three years following the date of the last claim, transaction or instruction in respect of the property, including the deposit of interest, dividends or any other income produced by such property;
(5.1) shares and equity securities issued by a reporting issuer, within the meaning of the Securities Act (chapter V-1.1), that are traded on securities exchanges or financial markets and that do not give rise to security entitlements, where no claim or transaction has been made and no instructions have been given by the right-holder in respect of the property in the three years following the date of the last claim, transaction or instruction in respect of the property, including the deposit of interest, dividends or any other income produced by such property or, in the absence of such a claim, transaction or instruction, in the three years following the date on which the property has been issued; the shares and equity securities are deemed to be held by the reporting issuer;
(6) funds, securities and other property held in trust by any person authorized by law to hold property in trust, where no claim or transaction has been made and no instructions have been given by the right-holder in respect of the property in the three years following the date on which they became due or payable; property held in trust includes sums of money required to be accounted for separately and kept in a separate trust account by the holder and sums of money held in a fiduciary capacity under any other designation indicating that they are held for the benefit of a third person;
(7) funds, securities and other property deposited in a safety deposit box in a financial institution, where the safety deposit box lease has been expired for three years and, during that period, neither the renewal of the contract nor access to the safety deposit box has been requested by the right-holder;
(8) funds, securities and other property held by a financial institution as pledge holder or custodian, where no claim or transaction has been made and no instructions have been given by the right-holder in respect of the property in the three years following the date on which the property became due or payable by reason of the extinction of the secured obligation or otherwise;
(9) insured amounts due under a life insurance contract, where no claim or transaction has been made and no instructions have been given by the right-holder in respect of the amounts in the three years following the date on which they became due or payable; any insured amount is presumed to be due at the expiry of a 30-day period following the date on which the insurer is informed of the death of the insured person; the amounts for which payment is guaranteed, under the contract, on the death of the insured person are presumed to be due and payable on or before the date of the person’s one 100th birthday;
(10) amounts due under a pension or retirement contract or plan, other than benefits under the Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan (chapter R-9) or under a similar plan within the meaning of that Act, where no claim or transaction has been made and no instructions have been given by the right-holder in respect of the amounts in the three years following the date on which they became due or payable; such amounts are presumed to be due or payable on or before the end of the year in which the annuitant or employee reaches 71 years of age; where property to which this section applies is an asset of a retirement savings plan, it may not be considered separately from the amounts due under the plan;
(11) interest, dividends and other income produced by property described in any of subparagraphs 1 to 10, insofar as the instrument stipulates or the law provides that the income is payable to the right-holder; and
(12) property determined by government regulation, subject to the prescribed conditions.
Property described in the first paragraph is also considered to be unclaimed property if it is situated in Québec and the law of the domicile of the right-holder does not provide for provisional administration.
The Government may, by regulation, determine the amounts due under a pension or retirement contract or plan referred to in subparagraph 10 of the first paragraph.
2011, c. 10, s. 3; 2018, c. 23, s. 725; 2022, c. 3, s. 24; 2023, c. 2, s. 1; 2023, c. 10, s. 14; 2025, c. 32, s. 97.
