Legal Question in Business Law in California

As a Franchise Attorney I can say the answer is simple - you don't. Consult with a good business or franchise attorney in your area for specific advice.

Mr. Franchise - Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D.

Franchise Foundations, a Professional Corporation

Even though gift cards don't expire, the ability of the seller to honor it does, if it goes out of business without a successor. In abstract theory, you may have a right to collect from the former owners if they took money or property out of the business in the process of closing it down and without paying creditors like yourself, but the economic reality probably is that a suit for the money wouldn't be worth while.