DISPOSITION OF LOST, UNCLAIMED, OR ABANDONED PERSONAL PROPERTY

MCL ch. 434, subtit. Act 238 of 1957

in effect

MCL 434.151 Lost, unclaimed or abandoned personal property in custody of state; application of act.

434.151. Lost, unclaimed or abandoned personal property in custody of state; application of act. Sec. 1. The provisions of this act shall apply to: (a) Personal property of patients in state hospitals remaining after the death, discharge, release or escape of the patient and unclaimed by the patient, his or her relatives or heirs or personal or legal representative. (b) Personal property of prisoners in state prisons remaining unclaimed after the death, discharge, release or escape of a prisoner and unclaimed by the prisoner, his relatives or heirs, or personal or legal representatives. (c) Personal property lost or abandoned by the owners thereof in or on state owned property administered by the department of conservation and turned into the custody of said department. (d) Personal property lost or abandoned by the owners thereof in or on other property owned, leased or rented by the state of Michigan for the use of state departments, boards and institutions. 1957, Act 238, Eff. Sept. 27, 1957

MCL 434.152 Personal effects without intrinsic or commercial value of certain state hospital patients; applicability of act.

434.152. Personal effects without intrinsic or commercial value of certain state hospital patients; applicability of act. Sec. 2. The provisions of this act do not apply to property subject to the provisions of the uniform unclaimed property act, or to property subject to the provisions of Act No. 203 of the Public Acts of 1937, being sections 28.401 to 28.406 of the Michigan Compiled Laws. The provisions of this act apply to personal effects of no intrinsic or commercial value of deceased, discharged, or escaped state hospital patients. 1957, Act 238, Eff. Sept. 27, 1957; Am. 1995, Act 46, Eff. Jan. 1, 1996

MCL 434.153 Lost, unclaimed or abandoned personal property in custody of state; appraisal.

434.153. Lost, unclaimed or abandoned personal property in custody of state; appraisal. Sec. 3. Each state department, board or institution when necessary to accomplish the purposes of this act shall delegate authority to 2 or more of its employees, hereinafter called appraisers, to examine and appraise lost or abandoned property in its possession remaining unclaimed for at least 6 months. The said appraisers shall examine, appraise and inventory each article of lost or abandoned personal property. Property found to be of no intrinsic or commercial value in the opinion of the appraisers shall be inventoried and recorded separately from property found by the appraisers to have intrinsic or commercial value. A record of property having intrinsic or commercial value containing a description of the property, the name of the county where found, and the appraisers' estimate of its value shall be made and a copy thereof forwarded to the commissioner of the state police. 1957, Act 238, Eff. Sept. 27, 1957

MCL 434.154 Lost, unclaimed or abandoned personal property in custody of state; professional opinion as to intrinsic value; appraiser's opinion as to value.

434.154. Lost, unclaimed or abandoned personal property in custody of state; professional opinion as to intrinsic value; appraiser's opinion as to value. Sec. 4. Should the said appraisers be unable to decide whether or not certain articles of lost or abandoned property are of intrinsic or commercial value, professional opinion may be sought. No fee shall be payable for such opinion. Whether or not professional opinion is sought as to the value of any article of lost or abandoned property, the opinion of the said appraisers, made in the exercise of ordinary care and pursuant to this act, shall be prima facie evidence of the value of such property. 1957, Act 238, Eff. Sept. 27, 1957

MCL 434.155 Lost, unclaimed or abandoned personal property in custody of state; sale by commissioner of state police.

434.155. Lost, unclaimed or abandoned personal property in custody of state; sale by commissioner of state police. Sec. 5. Upon the request of the commissioner of the state police, property previously reported to him pursuant to the provisions of section 3 of this act shall be delivered to his custody at the East Lansing state police headquarters or to such state police post as the state police commissioner may direct. Said property shall be sold at any ensuing state police sale of stolen property, such sale and the disposition of the proceeds of such sale to be governed by the provisions of Act No. 203 of the Public Acts of 1937, except that such property need not be held by the state police for the 6 months' period provided in that act. 1957, Act 238, Eff. Sept. 27, 1957

MCL 434.156 Lost, unclaimed or abandoned personal property in custody of state; disposition of property without intrinsic value.

434.156. Lost, unclaimed or abandoned personal property in custody of state; disposition of property without intrinsic value. Sec. 6. Property found by the appraisers to be of no intrinsic or commercial value, after being appraised and recorded as such, may be donated to state institutions for the use of patients or inmates or to charitable institutions, or may be destroyed, but the inventories of such property shall first be submitted to the state administrative board and the authority of that board secured for such disposition of the property. Property remaining unsold by the state police after having been offered for sale at any 2 state police sales may be disposed of by the commissioner of the state police in the same manner upon order of the state administrative board. 1957, Act 238, Eff. Sept. 27, 1957

Source: Michigan Legislature (legislature.mi.gov)URL: https://legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/Chapter%20434.xmlFetched: 10/20/2026