Sec. 34.45.330. - Custody by state. - Alaska Statutes

(a) Upon the payment or delivery of property to the department, the state assumes custody and responsibility for the safekeeping of the property. A person who pays or delivers property to the department in good faith is relieved of all liability to the extent of the value of the property paid or delivered for a claim existing at the time of the payment or delivery or that may arise or be made with respect to the property after the payment or delivery.

(b) A holder who has paid money to the department under AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.430 may make payment to a person appearing to the holder to be entitled to payment. Upon receiving proof of payment from the holder and proof that the payee was entitled to the payment, the department shall promptly reimburse the holder for the payment without imposing a fee or other charge. If reimbursement is sought for a payment made on a negotiable instrument, including a traveler's check or money order, the department shall reimburse the holder under this subsection when the holder files proof that the instrument was presented and that payment was made to a person who appeared to the holder to be entitled to payment. The department shall reimburse the holder for payment made under this subsection even if the holder paid a person whose claim was barred under AS 34.45.430 .

(c) A holder who has delivered property other than money to the department under AS 34.45.110 - 34.45.430 may reclaim the property if it is still in the possession of the department, without payment of a fee or other charge, upon filing proof that the owner has claimed the property from the holder.

(d) The department may accept the holder's affidavit as sufficient proof of the facts that entitle the holder to recover money and property under this section.

(e) If a holder pays or delivers property to the department in good faith and another person subsequently claims the property from the holder or another state claims the property under the laws of the other state relating to escheat or unclaimed property, the department, upon receiving written notice of the claim, shall defend the holder against the claim and indemnify the holder against liability on the claim.

(f) Property removed from a safe deposit box or other safekeeping repository is received by the department subject to the holder's right under this subsection to be reimbursed for the actual cost of the opening and to a valid lien or contract providing for the holder to be reimbursed for unpaid rent or storage charges. For charges other than the actual cost of the opening, the department shall reimburse or pay the holder an amount no greater than the value of the property recovered less the department's selling cost.

(g) For the purposes of this section, "good faith" means that

(1) payment or delivery was made in a reasonable attempt to comply with this chapter;

(2) the person delivering the property was not a fiduciary then in breach of trust in respect to the property, and had a reasonable basis for believing, based on the facts then known to the person, that the property was abandoned for the purposes of this chapter; and

(3) there is no showing that the records under which the delivery was made did not meet reasonable commercial standards of practice in the industry.