BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1160|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1160
Author: Wagner (R)
Amended: 6/3/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/11/13
AYES: Evans, Walters, Anderson, Corbett, Jackson, Leno, Monning
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/11/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Decedents' estates: personal representative
SOURCE : Conference of California Bar Associations
DIGEST : This bill authorizes a personal representative of a
decedent's estate to file a petition with the court for
authorization to participate in a proceeding as necessary to
assist the court. The bill authorizes the court to grant or
deny the petition without an evidentiary hearing and requires a
showing of good cause for a petition to be granted. The bill
also requires a court to determine the manner and capacity in
which the personal representative may provide assistance in the
proceeding.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Defines the "personal representative" of a deceased person
(decedent) to mean the executor, administrator, administrator
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with the will annexed, special administrator, successor
personal representative, public administrator, or a person who
performs substantially the same function under the law of
another jurisdiction governing the decedent's status.
2.Provides that the term "interested person" includes any of the
following: (1) an heir, devisee, child, spouse, creditor,
beneficiary, and any other person having a property right in
or claim against a trust estate or the estate of a decedent
which may be affected by the proceeding; (2) any person having
priority for appointment as personal representative; and (3) a
fiduciary representing an interested person.
3.Authorizes the personal representative to commence and
maintain actions and proceedings for the benefit of the
estate, and defend actions and proceedings against the
decedent, the personal representative, or the estate.
4.Authorizes the personal representative or any person claiming
to be a beneficiary or otherwise entitled to distribution of a
share of the estate, to file a petition for a court
determination of the persons entitled to distribution of the
decedent's estate.
5.Provides that any interested person may appear and, at or
before the time of the hearing on the petition for
determination of distribution, file a written statement of the
person's interest in the estate. The written statement may be
in support of, or in opposition to, the petition. No other
pleadings are necessary and the written statement of each
claimant shall be deemed denied by each of the other claimants
to the extent the written statements conflict. Existing law
also authorizes the Attorney General to be deemed a person
entitled to distribution of the estate if the estate involves
a charitable trust without a designated trustee, a devise for
a charitable purpose without an identified beneficiary, or an
escheat to the state.
6.Provides that the personal representative may file papers and
otherwise participate in the distribution determination
proceeding as a party to assist the court.
This bill:
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1.Authorizes the personal representative to petition the court
for authorization to participate, as necessary to assist the
court, in the petition for determination of distribution
proceeding.
2.Requires that a notice of the hearing on the personal
representative's petition be given to interested parties.
3.Authorizes the court to grant or deny the personal
representative's petition, in whole or in part, on the
pleadings, without an evidentiary hearing or further
discovery.
4.Prohibits a court from granting the personal representative's
petition unless the personal representative makes a showing of
good cause.
5.Requires the court to determine the manner and capacity in
which the personal representative may provide assistance in
the proceeding, and authorizes the court to direct the
personal representative to file papers as a party to the
proceeding or to take other specified action, if deemed by the
court to be necessary to assist the court.
Background
The court may appoint a personal representative to administer a
decedent's estate. The personal representative may be an
executor (a person designated in the decedent's will to
administer the estate), or, if there is no named executor
willing or able to administer the estate or no will exists, the
court may appoint an administrator to administer the estate. In
the event there is no one willing to act on the decedent's
behalf, the court may appoint a public administrator.
During estate administration, the personal representative, a
beneficiary, or any other person having a property right in or
claim against the estate of a decedent may ask the court to
determine to whom the estate should be distributed. If the
beneficiary or other interested person petitions the court for a
determination on estate distribution, then the personal
representative is authorized to participate as a party and to
assist the court in the proceeding.
Prior to 1988, when the California Law Revision Commission
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(CLRC) recommended, and the Legislature enacted, a revised and
recast Probate Code, a personal representative, who wanted to
participate in an action brought by an interested person for the
determination of estate distribution, was first required to seek
an order from the court to participate in the determination
proceeding. The court order requirement was first enacted in
1976 under AB 3559 (Chel, Chapter 620, Statutes of 1976) in
order to create a narrow exception for a personal representative
to appear as a party in a beneficiary's distribution
determination and assist the court in sorting out the validity
of claims where there were no other interested parties
contesting a distribution determination.
This court order requirement allowed the court to determine
whether the personal representative was requesting to
participate in the proceeding as an impartial party or whether
the personal representative desired to participate to protect
his/her own interests in the estate. When the distribution and
discharge statutes of the Probate Code were revised and recast
by AB 2841 (Harris, Chapter 1199, Statutes of 1988), the court
order requirement was dropped, but there is no indication,
either in the CLRC's recommendation or the legislative analyses,
as to why.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/12/13)
Conference of California Bar Associations (source)
Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Conference of California Bar
Associations, notes that in 1976, in response to the growth in
the number and activity of commercial heir-hunting firms, the
Legislature enacted AB 3559 (Chel, Chapter 620, Statutes of
1976) to create a narrow exception to the long-standing general
rule barring a personal representative from participating in an
heirship proceeding. AB 3559 authorized a personal
representative to participate as a party in heirship
determination proceedings "to assist the court" in sorting out
the validity of claims where there were no other interested
parties, such as known heirs or beneficiaries, to contest the
claim. However, that authority came with the specific
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requirement that personal representatives must first obtain the
court's permission (court order) before participating, in order
to avoid improperly motivated personal representatives from
abusing the system.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/11/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove,
Hagman, Hall, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez,
Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Perea,
V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Fox, Harkey, Lowenthal, Patterson,
Vacancy
AL:ej 6/12/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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