Virginia Code 64.2-601: Payment or delivery of small asset by affidavit
A. Any person having possession of a small asset shall pay or deliver the small asset to the designated successor of the decedent upon being presented an affidavit made by all of the known successors stating:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 64.2-601
- Adult: means a person 18 years of age or more. See Virginia Code 1-203
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- 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.
- Fiduciary: includes a guardian, committee, trustee, executor, conservator, or personal representative. See Virginia Code 64.2-100
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- 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.
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- Personal representative: includes the executor of a will or the administrator of the estate of a decedent, the administrator of such estate with the will annexed, the administrator of such estate unadministered by a former representative, whether there is a will or not, any person who is under the order of a circuit court to take into his possession the estate of a decedent for administration, and every other curator of a decedent's estate, for or against whom suits may be brought for causes of action that accrued to or against the decedent. See Virginia Code 1-234
- Probate: Proving a will
- Trustee: means a trustee under a probated will or an inter vivos trust instrument. See Virginia Code 64.2-100
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
1. That the value of the decedent’s entire personal probate estate as of the date of the decedent’s death, wherever located, does not exceed $50,000;
2. That at least 60 days have elapsed since the decedent’s death;
3. That no application for the appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction;
4. That the decedent’s will, if any, was duly probated;
5. That the claiming successor is entitled to payment or delivery of the small asset, and the basis upon which such entitlement is claimed;
6. The names and addresses of all successors, to the extent known;
7. The name of each successor designated to receive payment or delivery of the small asset on behalf of all successors; and
8. That the designated successor shall have a fiduciary duty to safeguard and promptly pay or deliver the small asset as required by the laws of the Commonwealth.
B. The designated successor may discharge his fiduciary duty to promptly pay or deliver the small asset to a successor who is, or is reasonably believed to be, incapacitated or under a legal disability, by paying or delivering the asset directly to the incapacitated or disabled successor or applying it for such successor’s benefit, or by:
1. Paying it to such successor’s conservator or, if no conservator exists, guardian;
2. Paying it to such successor’s custodian under the Virginia Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (§ 64.2-1900 et seq.) or custodial trustee under the Uniform Custodial Trust Act (§ 64.2-900 et seq.), and, for that purpose, creating a custodianship or custodial trust;
3. If the designated successor does not know of a conservator, guardian, custodian, or custodial trustee, paying it to an adult relative or other person having legal or physical care or custody of such successor to be expended on such successor’s behalf; or
4. Managing it as a separate fund on such successor’s behalf, subject to such successor’s continuing right to withdraw the asset.
C. Any successor may be represented and bound under virtual representation provisions of §§ 64.2-714, 64.2-716, and 64.2-717 with respect to affidavits required and designations of persons to receive payment or delivery of a small asset under this article.
D. A transfer agent of any security, upon the surrender of the certificates, if any, evidencing the security, shall change the registered ownership on the books of a corporation from the decedent to the designated successor upon the presentation of an affidavit as provided in subsection A.
E. Upon the presentation of an affidavit as provided in subsection A, the designated successor may endorse or negotiate any small asset that is a check, draft, or other negotiable instrument that is payable to the decedent or the decedent’s estate. Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 8.3A-403, 8.3A-417, and 8.3A-420, a financial institution accepting such check, draft, or other negotiable instrument presented for deposit in such manner is discharged from all claims for the amount accepted.
1981, c. 281, § 64.1-132.2; 1996, c. 549; 2001, c. 368; 2006, c. 280; 2010, c. 269; 2012, c. 614; 2013, c. 68; 2015, c. 617; 2019, c. 360.