Michigan Laws 700.3907 – Pecuniary bequests and trust interests
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(1) This section governs a distribution in kind in satisfaction, wholly or partly, of a pecuniary bequest or transfer in trust of a pecuniary amount.
(2) Whether a devise or transfer in trust is pecuniary in character depends upon the testator‘s or settlor’s intention.
Terms Used In Michigan Laws 700.3907
- Bequest: Property gifted by will.
- Devise: To gift property by will.
- Devise: means , when used as a noun, a testamentary disposition of real or personal property and, when used as a verb, to dispose of real or personal property by will. See Michigan Laws 700.1103
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Fiduciary: includes , but is not limited to, a personal representative, funeral representative, guardian, conservator, trustee, plenary guardian, partial guardian, and successor fiduciary. See Michigan Laws 700.1104
- Governing instrument: means a deed; will; trust; funeral representative designation; insurance or annuity policy; account with POD designation; security registered in beneficiary form (TOD); pension, profit-sharing, retirement, or similar benefit plan; instrument creating or exercising a power of appointment or a power of attorney; or dispositive, appointive, or nominative instrument of any similar type. See Michigan Laws 700.1104
- Money: means legal tender or a note, draft, certificate of deposit, stock, bond, check, or credit card. See Michigan Laws 700.1106
- Personal representative: includes , but is not limited to, an executor, administrator, successor personal representative, and special personal representative, and any other person, other than a trustee of a trust subject to article VII, who performs substantially the same function under the law governing that person's status. See Michigan Laws 700.1106
- Property: means anything that may be the subject of ownership, and includes both real and personal property or an interest in real or personal property. See Michigan Laws 700.1106
- Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
- Testator: includes an individual of either gender. See Michigan Laws 700.1107
- Trust: includes , but is not limited to, an express trust, private or charitable, with additions to the trust, wherever and however created. See Michigan Laws 700.1107
(3) If the fiduciary elects to satisfy wholly or partly in kind a pecuniary devise or transfer in trust of a pecuniary amount, unless the governing instrument otherwise expressly provides, the property the fiduciary selects for that purpose shall be valued at its value on the distribution date.
(4) If a will or a trust agreement requires the personal representative or trustee to value the property the fiduciary selects for distribution as of a date other than the distribution date, unless the governing instrument otherwise expressly provides, the property selected to satisfy the pecuniary devise or transfer in trust, together with any cash distributed, shall have an aggregate value on the distribution date amounting to not less than, and to the extent practicable to not more than, the amount of the devise or transfer in trust as stated in, or determined by, the formula stated in the governing instrument.
(5) As used in this section, “pecuniary bequest” and “transfer in trust of a pecuniary amount” mean a devise in a will or a transfer under a trust agreement to, or for the benefit of, the testator‘s or settlor’s spouse of a specific amount of money which amount is either expressly stated in the instrument or determinable by means of a formula that is stated in the instrument.