HB1088: Various probate matters.

Legislative Summary

Various probate matters. Clarifies that a personal representative or the personal representative's agent shall serve a written or electronic copy of the notice of the estate administration on a creditor of the decedent within one month of the notice being published. Requires the personal representative or the personal representative's agent to file and serve a new proposed notice with the clerk of court for a creditor that is served more than one month after the notice is published. Clarifies that a creditor that is served notice more than one month after the notice is published must file a claim against the estate within two months of the date of service of the notice. Provides a template for notice that is served more than one month after the notice is published. Allows a: (1) personal representative of an unsupervised estate; or (2) trustee of a trust; to distribute all or part of a decedent's interest in a retirement plan or retirement account without a court order. Defines a "direct postmortem transfer" as a transfer of an asset to a testamentary trust established in a will admitted to probate that meets certain conditions. Specifies that a direct postmortem transfer is a transfer of an asset or property to a trust established by a will for all purposes of the Social Security Act. Establishes that the effective date of the testamentary trust is the date of the decedent's death. Provides that a power of attorney authority to take certain actions concerning tax matters of the principal does not terminate upon the death of the principal. Specifies that this authority terminates upon the appointment of a personal representative. (The introduced version of this bill was prepared by the probate code study committee.)