California Probate Code 13109.5 – (a) If proceedings for the administration of the decedent’s …
(a) If proceedings for the administration of the decedent‘s estate are commenced, a transferee is personally liable to the estate for a share of the decedent’s unsecured debts.
(b) In calculating the transferee’s share of liability under subdivision (a), the abatement rules provided in Part 4 (commencing with Section 21400) of Division 11 shall be applied, using all of the following assumptions:
Terms Used In California Probate Code 13109.5
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- 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
- Transferee: means the beneficiary, donee, or other recipient of an interest transferred by an instrument. See California Probate Code 81.5
(1) Transferred property shall be treated as if it had remained in the estate for administration.
(2) Any unsecured debts of the decedent that were paid by the transferee pursuant to Section 13109 shall be treated as if they were claims made against the decedent’s estate.
(c) The personal representative shall provide a written statement of liability to the transferee, which specifies the amount that must be paid to the estate.
(d) The transferee is personally liable to the estate for the amount specified in the statement of liability. Any amount that the transferee paid pursuant to Section 13109 or 13110 shall be credited against the amount that the transferee owes the estate under this subdivision. If the amount that the transferee paid pursuant to Section 13109 or 13110 exceeds the amount specified in the written statement of liability, the estate shall reimburse the difference to the transferee. For the purposes of Section 11420, that reimbursement shall be deemed an expense of administration.
(e) The reasonable cost of proceeding under this section shall be reimbursed as an extraordinary service under Sections 10801 and 10811. The transferee is liable for the payment of that cost, which shall be separately identified in the statement of liability.
(f) A transferee is not liable under this section if the transferee has satisfied the requirements of Section 13110.5 or 13111.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 29, Sec. 4. (AB 1716) Effective January 1, 2023.)