Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 2002, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 347-S.F.No. 2540
An act relating to property; changing certain probate
and power of appointment provisions; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 501A.01; 524.2-804;
525.313; Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section
524.3-1201.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 501A.01, is
amended to read:
501A.01 [WHEN NONVESTED INTEREST, POWERS OF APPOINTMENT ARE
INVALID; EXCEPTIONS.]
(a) A nonvested property interest is invalid unless:
(1) when the interest is created, it is certain to vest or
terminate no later than 21 years after the death of an
individual then alive; or
(2) the interest either vests or terminates within 90 years
after its creation.
(b) A general power of appointment not presently
exercisable because of a condition precedent is invalid unless:
(1) when the power is created, the condition precedent is
certain to be satisfied or become impossible to satisfy no later
than 21 years after the death of an individual then alive; or
(2) the condition precedent either is satisfied or becomes
impossible to satisfy within 90 years after its creation.
(c) A nongeneral power of appointment or a general
testamentary power of appointment is invalid unless:
(1) when the power is created, it is certain to be
irrevocably exercised or otherwise to terminate no later than 21
years after the death of an individual then alive; or
(2) the power is irrevocably exercised or otherwise
terminates within 90 years after its creation.
(d) In determining whether a nonvested property interest or
a power of appointment is valid under subsection paragraph (a),
clause (1), paragraph (b), clause (1), or paragraph (c),
clause (1), the possibility that a child will be born to an
individual after the individual's death is disregarded.
(e) If, in measuring a period from the creation of a trust
or other property arrangement, language in a governing
instrument seeks to:
(1) disallow the vesting or termination of any interest
trust beyond;
(2) postpone the vesting or termination of any interest or
trust until; or
(3) operate in effect in any similar fashion upon,
the later of the expiration of a period of time not exceeding 21
years after the death of the survivor of specified lives in
being at the creation of the trust or other property
arrangement, or the expiration of a period of time that exceeds
or might exceed 21 years after the death of the survivor of
lives in being at the creation of the trust or other property
arrangement;
that language is inoperative to the extent it produces a period
of time that exceeds 21 years after the death of the survivor of
the specified lives.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 524.2-804, is
amended to read:
524.2-804 [REVOCATION BY DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE; NO
REVOCATION BY OTHER CHANGES OF CIRCUMSTANCES.]
If after executing a will the testator's marriage is
dissolved or annulled, the dissolution or annulment revokes any
disposition or appointment of property made by the will to the
former spouse, any provision conferring a general or special
power of appointment on the former spouse, and any nomination of
the former spouse as executor, trustee, conservator, or
guardian, unless the will expressly provides otherwise.
Property prevented from passing to a former spouse because of
revocation by dissolution of marriage or annulment passes as if
the former spouse failed to survive the decedent, and other
provisions conferring some power or office on the former spouse
are interpreted as if the spouse failed to survive the
decedent. If provisions are revoked solely by this section,
they are revived by testator's remarriage to the former spouse.
For purposes of this chapter and chapter 525, dissolution of
marriage includes divorce. A decree of separation which does
not terminate the status of husband and wife is not a
dissolution of marriage for purposes of this section. No change
of circumstances other than as described in this section revokes
a will. Subdivision 1. [REVOCATION UPON DISSOLUTION.] Except
as provided by the express terms of a governing instrument,
other than a trust instrument under section 501B.90, executed
prior to the dissolution or annulment of an individual's
marriage, a court order, a contract relating to the division of
the marital property made between individuals before or after
their marriage, dissolution, or annulment, or a plan document
governing a qualified or nonqualified retirement plan, the
dissolution or annulment of a marriage revokes any revocable:
(1) disposition, beneficiary designation, or appointment of
property made by an individual to the individual's former spouse
in a governing instrument;
(2) provision in a governing instrument conferring a
general or nongeneral power of appointment on an individual's
former spouse; and
(3) nomination in a governing instrument, nominating an
individual's former spouse to serve in any fiduciary or
representative capacity, including a personal representative,
executor, trustee, conservator, agent, or guardian.
Subd. 2. [EFFECT OF REVOCATION.] Provisions of a governing
instrument are given effect as if the former spouse died
immediately before the dissolution or annulment.
Subd. 3. [REVIVAL IF DISSOLUTION NULLIFIED.] Provisions
revoked solely by this section are revived by the individual's
remarriage to the former spouse or by a nullification of the
dissolution or annulment.
Subd. 4. [NO REVOCATION FOR OTHER CHANGE OF
CIRCUMSTANCES.] No change of circumstances other than as
described in this section and in section 524.2-803 effects a
revocation.
Subd. 5. [PROTECTION OF PAYORS AND OTHER THIRD
PARTIES.] (a) A payor or other third party is not liable for
having made a payment or transferred an item of property or any
other benefit to a beneficiary designated in a governing
instrument affected by a dissolution, annulment, or remarriage,
or for having taken any other action in good faith reliance on
the validity of the governing instrument, before the payor or
other third party received written notice of the dissolution,
annulment, or remarriage. A payor or other third party is
liable for a payment made or other action taken after the payor
or other third party received written notice of a claimed
forfeiture or revocation under this section.
(b) Written notice of the dissolution, annulment, or
remarriage under paragraph (a) must be delivered to the payor's
or other third party's main office or home. Upon receipt of
written notice of the dissolution, annulment, or remarriage, a
payor or other third party may pay any amount owed or transfer
or deposit any item of property held by it to or with the court
having jurisdiction of the probate proceedings relating to the
decedent's estate or, if no proceedings have been commenced, to
or with the court having jurisdiction of probate proceedings
relating to decedents' estates located in the county of the
decedent's residence. The court shall hold the funds or item of
property and, upon its determination under this section, shall
order disbursement or transfer in accordance with the
determination. Payments, transfers, or deposits made to or with
the court discharge the payor or other third party from all
claims for the value of amounts paid to or items of property
transferred to or deposited with the court.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2001 Supplement, section
524.3-1201, is amended to read:
524.3-1201 [COLLECTION OF PERSONAL PROPERTY BY AFFIDAVIT.]
(a) Thirty days after the death of a decedent, (i) any
person indebted to the decedent, (ii) any person having
possession of tangible personal property or an instrument
evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action
belonging to the decedent, or (iii) any safe deposit company, as
defined in section 55.01, controlling the right of access to
decedent's safe deposit box shall make payment of the
indebtedness or deliver the tangible personal property or an
instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in
action or deliver the entire contents of the safe deposit box to
a person claiming to be the successor of the decedent, or a
state or county agency with a claim authorized by section
256B.15, upon being presented a certified death record of the
decedent and an affidavit, in duplicate, made by or on behalf of
the successor stating that:
(1) the value of the entire probate estate, determined as
of the date of death, wherever located, including specifically
any contents of a safe deposit box, less liens and encumbrances,
does not exceed $20,000;
(2) 30 days have elapsed since the death of the decedent
or, in the event the property to be delivered is the contents of
a safe deposit box, 30 days have elapsed since the filing of an
inventory of the contents of the box pursuant to section 55.10,
paragraph (h);
(3) no application or petition for the appointment of a
personal representative is pending or has been granted in any
jurisdiction;
(4) if presented, by a state or county agency with a claim
authorized by section 256B.15, to a financial institution with a
multiple-party account in which the decedent had an interest at
the time of death, the amount of the affiant's claim and a good
faith estimate of the extent to which the decedent was the
source of funds or beneficial owner of the account; and
(5) the claiming successor is entitled to payment or
delivery of the property.
(b) A transfer agent of any security shall change the
registered ownership on the books of a corporation from the
decedent to the successor or successors upon the presentation of
an affidavit as provided in subsection (a).
(c) The claiming successor or state or county agency shall
disburse the proceeds collected under this section to any person
with a superior claim under section 524.2-403 or 524.3-805.
(d) A motor vehicle registrar shall issue a new certificate
of title in the name of the successor upon the presentation of
an affidavit as provided in subsection (a).
(e) The person controlling access to decedent's safe
deposit box need not open the box or deliver the contents of the
box if:
(1) the person has received notice of a written or oral
objection from any person or has reason to believe that there
would be an objection; or
(2) the lessee's key or combination is not available.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 525.313, is
amended to read:
525.313 [CLEARANCE FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE CLAIMS.]
(a) The court shall not enter a decree of descent until the
petitioner has filed a clearance for medical assistance claims
under this section, and until any medical assistance claims
filed under this section have been paid, settled, or otherwise
finally disposed of.
(b) After filing the petition, the petitioner or the
petitioner's attorney shall apply to the county agency in the
county in which the petition is pending for a clearance of
medical assistance claims. The application must state the
decedent's name, date of birth, and social security number; the
name, date of birth, and social security number of any
predeceased spouse of the decedent; the names and addresses of
the devisees and heirs; and the name, address, and telephone
number of the petitioner or the attorney making the application
on behalf of the petitioner, and include a copy of the notice of
hearing.
(c) The county agency shall determine whether the decedent
or any of the decedent's predeceased spouses received medical
assistance under chapter 256B or general assistance medical care
under chapter 256D giving rise to a claim under section
256B.15. If there are no claims, the county agency shall issue
the petitioner a clearance for medical assistance claims stating
no medical assistance claims exist. If there is a claim, the
county agency shall issue the petitioner a clearance for medical
assistance claims stating that a claim exists and the total
amount of the claim. The county agency shall mail the completed
clearance for medical assistance claims to the applicant within
15 working days after receiving the application without cost to
the applicant or others.
(d) The petitioner or attorney shall file the certificate
in the proceedings for the decree of descent as soon as
practicable after it is received. Notwithstanding any rule or
law to the contrary, if a medical assistance claim appears in a
clearance for medical assistance claims, then:
(1) the claim shall be a claim against the decedent's
property which is the subject of the petition. The county
agency issuing the certificate shall be the claimant. The
filing of the clearance for medical assistance claims in the
proceeding for a decree of descent constitutes presentation of
the claim;
(2) the claim shall be an unbarred and undischarged claim
and shall be payable, in whole or in part, from the decedent's
property which is the subject of the petition, including the net
sale proceeds from any sale of property free and clear of the
claim under this section;
(3) the claim may be allowed, denied, appealed, and bear
interest as provided for claims in estates under chapter 524;
and
(4) the county agency may collect, compromise, or otherwise
settle the claim with the estate, the petitioner, or the
assignees of the property on whatever terms and conditions are
deemed appropriate.
(e) Any of the decedent's devisees, heirs, successors,
assigns, or their successors and assigns, may apply for a
partial decree of descent to facilitate the good faith sale of
their interest in any real or personal property described in the
petition free and clear of any medical assistance claim any time
before the entry of a decree of descent under section 525.312.
The applicant must prove an interest in the property as provided
under section 525.312. The court may enter a partial decree of
descent any time after it could hear and decide the petition for
a decree of descent. A partial decree of descent shall assign
the interests in the real and personal property described in the
application to the parties entitled to the property free and
clear of any and all medical assistance claims. The net sale
proceeds from the sale shall be:
(1) substituted in the estate according to this section for
the property sold;
(2) paid over to and held by the petitioner pending the
entry of a decree of descent;
(3) used for payment of medical assistance claims; and
(4) distributed according to the decree of descent after
any medical assistance claims are paid.
(f) The clearance for medical assistance claims must:
(1) include the case name, case number, and district court
in which the proceeding for a decree of descent is pending;
(2) include the name, date of birth, and social security
number of the decedent and any of the decedent's predeceased
spouses;
(3) state whether there are medical assistance claims
against the decedent, or a predeceased spouse, and the total
amount of each claim; and
(4) include the name, address, and telephone number of the
county agency giving the clearance for medical assistance
claims. The certificate shall be signed by the director of the
county agency or the director's designee. The signature of the
director or the director's designee does not require an
acknowledgment.
(g) All recoveries under this section are recoveries under
section 256B.15.
(h) For purposes of this section and chapter 256B, all
property identified in the petition and all subsequent
amendments to the petition shall constitute an estate.
(i) No clearance for medical assistance claims is required
under this section and section 525.312 in an action for a decree
of descent proceeding in which all of the following apply to the
decedent whose property is the subject of the proceeding:
(1) the decedent's estate was previously probated in this
state;
(2) the previous probate was not a special administration
or summary proceeding; and
(3) the decedent's property, which is the subject of the
petition for a decree of descent, was omitted from the previous
probate.
Sec. 5. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Section 4 applies to proceedings for a decree of descent
commenced after July 31, 2002.
Presented to the governor April 18, 2002
Signed by the governor April 19, 2002, 9:46 a.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes