# Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 5: Dividends, stock, bonds, etc.; presumption of abandonment > Massachusetts · Statutes · In force URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S5 ## Section - **Citation:** Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 5 - **Heading:** Dividends, stock, bonds, etc.; presumption of abandonment - **Jurisdiction:** Massachusetts - **Kind:** Statutes - **Status:** In force - **Text as of:** August 14, 2026 - **Source:** Compiled text - **Location:** MA Code / Part II / Title II / Chapter 200A / Section 5 ## Text 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. 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. ## Nearby sections - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 1 Definitions](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S1.md) - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 1A Intangible personal property; presumption of abandonment](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S1A.md) - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 2 Property; presumption of abandonment](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S2.md) - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 3 Property on deposit; presumption of abandonment](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S3.md) - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 3A Automatically renewable abandonment periods](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S3A.md) - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 4 Property deposited as security; presumption of abandonment](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S4.md) - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 5 Dividends, stock, bonds, etc.; presumption of abandonment](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S5.md) - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 5A Insurance proceeds; presumption of abandonment](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S5A.md) - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 5B Dividends, etc. of business associations; presumption of abandonment](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S5B.md) - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 5C Employee benefit trust distributions; presumption of abandonment](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S5C.md) - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 5D Gift certificates; validity; expiration; redemption](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S5D.md) - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 6 Money paid into court; presumption of abandonment](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S6.md) - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 6A Property distributable upon dissolution or liquidation; presumption of abandonment](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S6A.md) - [Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 200A, sec. 6B Traveler's checks and other written instruments; presumption of abandonment](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S6B.md) --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_MA_PII_TII_C200A_S5. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.