California Probate Code 5678 – (a) If proceedings for the administration of the transferor’s …
(a) If proceedings for the administration of the transferor‘s estate are commenced, a beneficiary who receives property from the transferor under a revocable transfer on death deed may voluntarily return that property to the transferor’s estate for administration.
(b) Property returned to the transferor’s estate under this section shall be treated as if it had been specifically devised to the beneficiary by the transferor.
Terms Used In California Probate Code 5678
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Beneficiary: means a person to whom a donative transfer of property is made or that person's successor in interest, and:
California Probate Code 24
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Personal representative: means executor, administrator, administrator with the will annexed, special administrator, successor personal representative, public administrator acting pursuant to Section 7660, or a person who performs substantially the same function under the law of another jurisdiction governing the person's status. See California Probate Code 58
- Property: means anything that may be the subject of ownership and includes both real and personal property and any interest therein. See California Probate Code 62
- Transferor: means the testator, settlor, grantor, owner, or other person who executes an instrument. See California Probate Code 81
(c) If the beneficiary’s action or inaction increased the value of property returned to the estate or decreased the estate’s obligations, the estate shall reimburse the beneficiary by the same amount. Actions or inaction that increase the value of returned property or decrease the estate’s obligations include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following actions:
(1) A payment toward an unsecured debt of the decedent.
(2) A payment toward a debt secured against the returned property.
(3) A significant improvement of the returned property that increased the fair market value of the property.
(d) If the beneficiary’s action or inaction decreased the value of property returned to the estate or increased the estate’s obligations, the beneficiary is personally liable to the estate for that amount. Actions or inaction that decrease the value of the returned property or increase the estate’s obligations include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following actions or inaction:
(1) An action or inaction that resulted in a lien or encumbrance being recorded against the property.
(2) The receipt of income from the property, if that income would have accrued to the estate had the property not been transferred to the beneficiary.
(e) The personal representative shall provide the beneficiary a written statement of any reimbursement or liability under this section, along with a statement of the reasons for the reimbursement or liability. For the purposes of Section 11420, any reimbursement under this section shall be deemed an expense of administration.
(f) In the event that the beneficiary and the personal representative cannot agree on the reimbursement or liability due under this section, the beneficiary or personal representative may petition the court for an order determining the amount of the reimbursement or liability. In making a decision under this subdivision, the court should consider the surrounding circumstances, including whether the parties acted in good faith and whether a particular result would impose an unfair burden on the beneficiary or the estate.
(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 215, Sec. 22. (SB 315) Effective January 1, 2022. Repealed as of January 1, 2032, pursuant to Section 5600.)