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Controller's DivisionOUS Financial Administration Standard Operating Manual (FASOM) |
The content of this policy is current, although it has not yet been transitioned to the new Fiscal Policy format. This will be accomplished as time and resources permit.
A replacement check may be issued when the payee dies or when the original check is lost, stolen or destroyed. A duplicate check is issued payable to the payee, owner, legal representative of the owner, or heir as appropriate. Replacement procedure depends on the check type -- payroll or accounts payable -- and the circumstances (see FASOM 13.03C through FASOM 13.03H).
Undeliverable checks and checks to be cancelled should be returned to the institution business office (see FASOM 13.03K).
Forms mentioned in this section should be obtained from the institution business office.
When the payee, owner or legal representative requests a duplicate check, the institution business office should first verify that the original check must be replaced. This includes determining whether the original check was addressed correctly and ensuring that it is not being held for the payee.
Checks issued to employees, such as payroll and travel-expense reimbursement checks, are distributed according to information contained in PDB element 73, Check Disposition (see FASOM 10.01A). If the check was mailed, completeness and correctness of the PDB address should be verified.
Accounts payable checks are distributed according to instructions on the disbursement document, which should be checked for accuracy.
A Lost Check Statement (Form CO-196) is used to request replacement of a missing check. Exceptions may be made only for a check payable to a government agency (see FASOM 13.03F) or, in some circumstances, for a check lost by a bank (see FASOM 13.03G).
After it has been confirmed that the original check was issued, cannot be found, has not been cashed and must be replaced, the payee or owner should be given a Lost Check Statement and instructions for replacing the check. The completed form must be sent to the institution business office.
An Affidavit to Obtain Payment Due a Deceased Person (Form CO-192) must be completed by a survivor before any funds due a deceased person can be paid to the survivor. In signing the affidavit, the claimant affirms that :
These matters should be discussed with the claimant. The institution is not responsible for determining the truth of the affidavit.
Only a person in the group of survivors with highest priority according to ORS 293.490(3) can file a Form CO-192. Claimants with equal priority must complete separate affidavits. Following is the order of priority:
No limit exists on the amount paid to claimants for salary and wages. The maximum payment from all state departments from sources other than salary and wages is $1,000. If the total due from other sources exceeds $1,000, the decedent's estate is paid the full amount.
Payments to the decedent's estate require no affidavit. The estate's executor or administrator may cash a check issued to the decedent by attaching the "letters of administration" issued by the court.
The claimant must deliver the following to the institution business office before an Affidavit to Obtain Payment Due a Deceased Person can be processed:
On determining that a check has been endorsed and cashed by someone else, the payee or owner of a check should complete and send the institution business office an Affidavit of Forged Endorsement (Form CO-191).
A Governmental Agency Certificate (Form CO-175) is used in lieu of a Lost Check Statement to request replacement of a check payable to a federal, state or local government agency (ORS 293.475). An authorized officer or representative of the agency completes the form, which is then sent to the institution business office.
When a bank is the owner (but not the payee) of a check lost within its own system, no Lost Check Statement is required. The bank merely sends a photocopy of the check with an explanation and request for payment to the institution business office.
After verifying that the check is outstanding, the institution business office sends a letter of verification along with the bank's letter and photocopy of the check to the State Treasurer's Office, which pays the bank.
If no photocopy of the check is available, a Lost Check Statement is required and should be processed as in FASOM 13.03H.
When the institution business office receives a Lost Check Statement, Affidavit to Obtain Payment Due a Deceased Person or Affidavit of Forged Endorsement, it proceeds in one of two ways:
The replacement check is usually issued within three working days and is sent to the payee or owner according to the delivery arrangements made with the institution business office. The institution business office's address is included along with the following instructions:
"Enclosed is a duplicate Oregon State Board of Higher Education check to replace the one for which you signed a statement. We have voided the original check. If it should be found, please return it to the address below. If the original has already been cashed, do not cash this duplicate, but return it immediately to the above address."
In the case of a forged endorsement, the institution business office or Controller's Division, whichever issues the replacement check, will forward the cancelled forged check and affidavit to the State Treasurer's Office, which will credit OUS for the check's amount.
At the end of each fiscal year, funds for outstanding checks more than two years old are transferred to an unclaimed check account. This account records funds until they are returned or reverted as described below.
Once a year, in July, checks more than two years old are purged from the outstanding check list. All funds, except for auxiliary enterprise and student loan account funds, revert to the Division of State Lands. For replacement, the payee should contact the Division of State Lands, 775 Summer St. N.E., Salem, Oregon, 97310-1337, (503) 378-3805.
Funds from unclaimed checks written on auxiliary enterprise and student loan accounts are returned to those accounts by the Controller's Division. At the discretion of the institution Business Manager, a replacement check may be issued. The Controller's Division can confirm to which FOAPAL the funds were returned.
When a replacement check is issued, the institution is responsible for avoiding loss from both original and replacement checks being cashed.
When an alleged lost, stolen or destroyed check and its replacement are both cashed, the Controller's Division immediately sets up a receivable on the institution's books.
The institution is responsible for pursuing collection efforts for the amount of the replacement check.
Note: This electronic document supersedes all previous versions and is subject to change.
Contact: cdwebmaster@ous.edu
Last Updated: 11/05/01
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