BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1305|
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SPECIAL CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1305
Author: Huber (D)
Amended: 5/31/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 06/07/11
AYES: Evans, Harman, Blakeslee, Corbett, Leno
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 04/11/11 (consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Decedents estates: smaller estates
SOURCE : Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar of
California
DIGEST : This bill increases the monetary value of small
estates consisting of real and personal property that may
be summarily disposed of using simplified non-probate
procedures such as the filing of an affidavit and a
petition for a court order of succession to real property.
This bill: (1) increases the value of specified personal
property that the successor to a decedent may collect
without letters of administration or waiting for probate of
a will from $100,000 to $150,000; (2) increases the value
of an item of real property that a person may receive as
successor to a decedent by using an affidavit procedure,
from $20,000 to $50,000; (3) increases the value of a small
estate from $100,000 to $150,000, where a person may
petition the court to determine succession to property; (4)
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increases from $5,000 to $15,000 the amount of salary or
other compensation to be excluded from the determination of
the value of the decedent's estate; and (5) increases from
$5,000 to $15,000 the amount of salary or compensation owed
the decedent that a surviving spouse may collect by
affidavit.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides a list of property that
is excluded from the determination of a decedent's property
or estate. The property excluded are: (1) property held
by a decedent as a joint tenant; (2) property in which a
decedent held a terminable life estate; (3) property
passing to a surviving spouse without court administration;
(4) multi-party accounts, whether or not community
property, as long as moneys on deposit are payable on death
to the payee; (5) specified registered vehicles, specified
registered vessels or boats and registered manufactured
homes, mobilehomes, commercial coaches, truck campers or
floating homes; (6) any wages due for military services
rendered; and (7) any wages or compensation due to the
decedent in an amount not exceeding $5,000. (Prob. Code
Sec. 13050.)
This bill raises the limit on the excludable wages or
compensation due to the decedent from $5,000 to $15,000.
This bill increases the limit on wages or compensation due
to a decedent that a surviving spouse may collect without
letters of administration or waiting for probate of a will
from $5,000 to $15,000.
Existing law authorizes a surviving spouse or guardian or
conservator of the estate of the surviving spouse, without
procuring letters of administration or awaiting probate of
the will, to collect salary or other compensation owed by
an employer for personal services of the deceased spouse,
including compensation for unused vacation, not in excess
of $5,000 net.
This bill increases the limit on wages or compensation due
to a decedent that a surviving spouse may collect without
letters of administration or waiting for probate of a will
from $5,000 to $15,000.
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Existing law provides an affidavit procedure by which a
successor to a decedent's estate that does not exceed
$100,000 of the gross value of personal and real property,
unless otherwise excluded, may collect, receive, or have
transferred to the successor any particular item of
property that belongs to or is due to the decedent. (Prob.
Code Secs. 13100 and 13101.)
This bill increases this limit on the gross value of a
decedent's property, unless otherwise excluded, from
$100,000 to $150,000.
Existing law provides that if, unless otherwise excluded, a
decedent owned real property in the state and the gross
value of both real and personal property of the decedent in
this state is not greater than $100,000, the successor of
the decedent to a particular interest in real property may
seek a court determination of his or her succession to the
real property interest without obtaining letters of
administration or waiting for probate of the decedent's
will. (Prob. Code Secs. 13151, 13152, and 13154.)
This bill makes this procedure available to successors in
interest to real property of a decedent where the gross
value of both real and personal property of the decedent in
this state does not exceed $150,000, rather than $100,000.
Existing law provides a procedure by which a successor to a
decedent's real property in California valued at no greater
than $20,000 may, under specified conditions, petition the
court to transfer the real property to the successor of the
decedent. This procedure involves the simple filing of a
Judicial Council form and an affidavit stating specified
facts and attaching an inventory and appraisal of the
decedent's real property in California, excluding property
that is excludable by statute. (Prob. Code Sec. 13200.)
This bill increases the value of the California real
property that may be transferred using this procedure from
$20,000 to $50,000.
Existing law requires the public administrator to petition
the court for appointment as personal representative of a
decedent's estate if no person of higher priority has
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petitioned for appointment and the total value of the
decedent's estate exceeds $100,000. (Prob. Code Sec. 7620.)
This bill increases the total value of a decedent's estate
that would trigger the public administrator's petition for
appointment as personal representative of the estate to
greater than $150,000.
Existing law authorizes a public administrator who has
taken possession or control of a decedent's property not
exceeding $100,000 (the limit stated in Probate Code
Section 13100) to request the court on an ex parte
application to issue an order for the public administrator
to summarily dispose of the decedent's estate. (Prob. Code
Sec. 7660(a)(1).)
This bill conforms this provision to changes being made to
Section 13100, by increasing the size of the decedent's
estate for which summary disposition may be requested by
the public administrator from $100,000 to $150,000.
Existing law authorizes the public administrator, without
court authorization, to summarily dispose of a decedent's
estate if the total value of the property does not exceed
$30,000. (Prob. Code Sec. 7660(a)(2).)
This bill raises the limit for the public administrator's
authority to summarily dispose of the decedent's estate
without court authorization from $30,000 to $50,000.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/8/11)
Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar of California
(source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
The small estate administration limits have not been
increased for approximately 15 years. Due to the 15
year window since the last increase in estate limits,
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many small estates that would have qualified to use
the small estate provisions as enacted no longer
qualify to use these procedures.
Over time, there has been an increase in real property
and other asset values, an increase in salaries,
inflation, increases in the costs and time delays
involved in formal probate administration, and
increased burdens on the court system.
The Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar of
California writes:
AB 1305 seeks to raise the small estate limits to
account for inflation, the rise in asset values that
occurs over time, increases in the costs and time
delays involved in formal probate administration, and
increased burdens on the court system.
These small estate provisions serve a valuable purpose
by allowing small estates to avoid formal probate
administration. These provisions allow heirs and
beneficiaries of such small estates to avoid the
burdens and delays of formal probate administration.
These provisions also allow heirs and beneficiaries to
avoid costs which amount to a considerable percentage
of a small estate. They also reduce the burdens on
the judicial system and allow the courts to more
efficiently focus on matters requiring greater
judicial oversight and resources. But again,
inflation values and the fact that the limits have not
been increased in 15 years have made these provisions
unavailable for an increasing number of small estates
that historically would have qualified for the use of
these procedures. In originally enacting these
provisions, the Legislature sought to balance the need
for judicial oversight in formal probate
administrations with the needs of judicial economy and
to avoid overburdening small estates with
administrative expenses. The Legislature has
regularly reemphasized the importance of maintaining
this balance by adjusting the applicable limits
regularly over time. TEXCOM believes these limits
should again be increased so these statutes may ?
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continue to serve the purpose for which they were
enacted.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 04/11/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Eng,
Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto,
Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Butler, Donnelly, Fletcher, Gorell,
Halderman, Vacancy
RJG:nl 6/24/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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