Delaware corporations and other business entities have a limited opportunity to minimize and liquidate exposure to Delaware unclaimed property liability by enrolling in Delaware’s Voluntary Disclosure Agreement Program. The VDA program permits companies not under audit to voluntarily disclose and pay the amount of unclaimed property without interest or penalties. To obtain the maximum benefit of the VDA program—a waiver of all interest and penalties on reported property from transactions in 1996 and later, and an exclusion of property arising from transactions that took place prior to 1996—a company must enroll by June 30, 2013. An audit could otherwise subject a company to liability for transactions that took place as far back as 1981, plus interest and penalties which could double the amount due.
Kate F. Buckley and Sara R. Werner, members of Dentons’ Corporate practice, co-authored this article.
