Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C Sec. 2-702 – Requirement of survival by 120 hours
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1. Requirement of survival by 120 hours under Code. For the purposes of this Code, except as provided in subsection 4, an individual who has not been established by clear and convincing evidence to have survived an event, including the death of another individual, by 120 hours is deemed to have predeceased the event.
[PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C Sec. 2-702
- 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
- Common disaster: A sudden and extraordinary misfortune that brings about the simultaneous or near-simultaneous deaths of two or more associated persons, such as husband and wife.
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Probate: Proving a will
- Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
- Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
2. Requirement of survival by 120 hours under governing instrument. Except as provided in subsection 4, for purposes of a provision of a governing instrument that relates to an individual surviving an event, including the death of another individual, an individual who has not been established by clear and convincing evidence to have survived the event by 120 hours is deemed to have predeceased the event.
[PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
3. Co-owners with right of survivorship; requirement of survival by 120 hours. Except as provided in subsection 4, if:
A. It is not established by clear and convincing evidence that one of 2 co-owners with right of survivorship survived the other co-owner by 120 hours, 1/2 of the property passes as if one had survived by 120 hours and 1/2 as if the other had survived by 120 hours; or [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
B. There are more than 2 co-owners with right of survivorship and it is not established by clear and convincing evidence that at least one of them survived the others by 120 hours, the property passes in the proportion that one bears to the whole number of co-owners. [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
For the purposes of this subsection, “co-owners with right of survivorship” includes joint tenants, tenants by the entireties and other co-owners of property or accounts held under circumstances that entitle one or more to the whole of the property or account on the death of the other or others.
[PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
4. Exceptions. Survival by 120 hours is not required if:
A. The governing instrument contains language dealing explicitly with simultaneous deaths or deaths in a common disaster and that language is operable under the facts of the case; [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
B. The governing instrument expressly indicates that an individual is not required to survive an event, including the death of another individual, by any specified period or expressly requires the individual to survive the event by a specified period. Survival of the event and the specified period must be established by clear and convincing evidence; [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
C. The imposition of a 120-hour requirement of survival would cause a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment to fail to qualify for validity under Title 33, section 111, subsection 1, paragraph A, subsection 2, paragraph A or subsection 3, paragraph A or to become invalid under Title 33, section 111, subsection 1, paragraph B, subsection 2, paragraph B or subsection 3, paragraph B. Survival must be established by clear and convincing evidence; or [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
D. The application of a 120-hour requirement of survival to multiple governing instruments would result in an unintended failure or duplication of a disposition. Survival must be established by clear and convincing evidence. [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
[PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
5. Protection of payors and other 3rd parties. This subsection governs liability of payors and other 3rd parties.
A. A payor or other 3rd 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 who, under this section, is not entitled to the payment or item of property or for having taken any other action if that payment, transfer or other action is made in good faith reliance on the beneficiary’s apparent entitlement under the terms of the governing instrument before the payor or other 3rd party received written notice of a claimed lack of entitlement under this section. A payor or other 3rd party is liable for a payment or transfer made or other action taken after the payor or other 3rd party received written notice of a claimed lack of entitlement under this section. [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
B. Written notice of a claimed lack of entitlement under paragraph A must be mailed to the payor’s or other 3rd party’s main office or home by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or served upon the payor or other 3rd party in the same manner as a summons in a civil action. Upon receipt of written notice of a claimed lack of entitlement under this section, a payor or other 3rd party may pay any amount owed or transfer or deposit any item of property held by the payor or other 3rd party 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 in accordance with the determination. Payments, transfers or deposits made to or with the court discharge the payor or other 3rd party from all claims for the value of amounts paid to or items of property transferred to or deposited with the court. [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
[PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
6. Protection of bona fide purchaser; personal liability of recipient. This subsection governs the liability of bona fide purchasers and other recipients.
A. A person who purchases property for value and without notice, or who receives a payment, and item of property or any other benefit in partial or full satisfaction of a legally enforceable obligation, is neither obligated under this section to return the payment, item of property or benefit nor liable under this section for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit. A person who, not for value, receives a payment, item of property or other benefit to which the person is not entitled under this section is obligated to return the payment, item of property or benefit, or is personally liable for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit, to the person who is entitled to it under this section. [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
B. If this section or any part of this section is preempted by federal law with respect to a payment, an item of property or any other benefit covered by this section, a person who, not for value, receives the payment, item of property or other benefit to which the person is not entitled under this section is obligated to return the payment, item of property or benefit, or is personally liable for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit, to the person who would have been entitled to it were this section or part of this section not preempted. [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
[PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW). PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. F, §1 (AFF). PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).