Delaware Surplus Funds Laws
How mortgage foreclosure surplus, tax sale surplus and unclaimed funds work in Delaware.
Mortgage foreclosure surplus
10 Del. C. §§ 5065–5067 govern a mortgage sheriff sale and its surplus. Section 5067 expressly directs the officer to render the balance after mortgage debt, interest, and costs to the owner at the time of sale; § 4986 addresses money the sheriff cannot pay and deposits it into court. Section 5067 states no fixed owner filing cutoff; the selling officer must render the surplus, and may use the court-deposit procedure in § 4986 if the recipient is absent, unknown, or unable to receive payment. A confirmed mortgage sale conveys title free of the mortgagor’s equity of redemption under § 5066.
Tax sale surplus
Delaware county tax-sale routes differ. Title 9, Chapter 87, Subchapter II sets the monition sale procedure. In Kent and Sussex Counties, § 8779 expressly requires immediate payment of a tax-sale excess to the owner or identifiable bank deposit if the owner cannot accept it. New Castle County’s alternative procedure is in Subchapter III, including §§ 8758–8760 for redemption. Section 8779 requires immediate payment of an excess in the Kent/Sussex route, without an owner claim cutoff. In the New Castle alternative procedure, the owner may redeem within 60 days after court confirmation; lienholders have a separate one-year redemption petition period (§§ 8758, 8760). These property-redemption periods are distinct from claiming sale proceeds.
Unclaimed funds
Delaware Unclaimed Property Act, 12 Del. C. Chapter 11, Subchapter II; § 1165 governs an owner’s initial claim to property delivered to the State Escheator, and § 1167 governs review of a determination. Section 1165 sets no fixed initial owner-claim deadline. After a State Escheator determination, a claimant has 120 days to request Tax Appeal Board review and 30 days after that board’s decision to appeal to the Court of Chancery (§ 1167).
Statute text
Links to the statutes referenced in our research. These may be third-party copies of older code editions, so check the current official code before relying on them.
