District Of Columbia § 41-103 - Property presumed abandoned.

All intangible personal property, not otherwise covered by this chapter, including any income or increment thereon and deducting any lawful charges, that is held or owing in the ordinary course of the holder’s business and has remained unclaimed by the owner for more than 3 years after it became payable or distributable is presumed abandoned.

Property presumed abandoned shall include, but is not limited to: Drafts, credit balances, credit checks, uncashed vendor checks, and any other outstanding checks.

Property subject to this chapter shall be deemed payable or distributable notwithstanding the owner’s failure to present any instrument or document evidencing the owner’s right to receive the payment provided therein.

A record of the issuance of a check, draft, or similar instrument is prima facie evidence of an obligation. In claiming property from a holder who is also the issuer, the administrator’s burden of proof as to the existence and amount of the property and its abandonment is satisfied by showing issuance of the instrument and passage of the requisite period of abandonment. Defenses of payment, satisfaction, discharge, and want of consideration are affirmative defenses that must be established by the holder.