General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6694
January Session, 2013 LCO No. 5442
*05442_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 6694
January Session, 2013
LCO No. 5442
*05442_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE INHERITANCE RIGHTS OF A CHILD WHO IS BORN AFTER THE DEATH OF A MARRIED PARENT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2013) (a) For purposes of determining rights to property to be distributed upon the death of a decedent spouse, a child of the decedent spouse, born after the death of the decedent spouse, shall be deemed to have been born in the lifetime of the decedent spouse, and after the execution of all of the decedent spouse's testamentary instruments, if the child or his or her representative proves by clear and convincing evidence that:
(1) The decedent spouse executed a written document that: (A) Specifically set forth that his or her genetic material may be used for the posthumous conception of a child, (B) specifically provided his or her spouse with authority to exercise custody, control and use of the genetic material in the event of the death of the other spouse, and (C) was signed and dated by the decedent spouse and the surviving spouse; and
(2) The child posthumously conceived using the decedent spouse's genetic material was in utero not later than one year after the date of death of the decedent spouse.
(b) Upon the death of a decedent spouse who has executed a document described in subsection (a) of this section, the surviving spouse shall ensure that a copy of such document is provided to the fiduciary of the decedent spouse's estate not later than thirty days after the date of the decedent spouse's death.
Sec. 2. Subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 45a-341 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):
(a) (1) An inventory of all the property of every deceased person and insolvent debtor, except real property situated outside the state, duly appraised, shall be made and signed under penalty of false statement by the fiduciary. The inventory shall include any written document supplied to the fiduciary by a surviving spouse in compliance with the requirements set forth in section 1 of this act.
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2013) If a claim is made on behalf of a child, which alleges that such child is a beneficiary of the decedent entitled to property under section 1 of this act, any payment or distribution of assets by a fiduciary shall be deemed to have been made in good faith unless the claimant proves that the fiduciary had knowledge of the child's existence at the time of payment or distribution of the assets.
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2013) (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of section 45a-357 of the general statutes and section 45a-375 of the general statutes, the failure of a person, acting on behalf of a child who alleges to be a beneficiary of the decedent entitled to property under section 1 of this act, to present his or her claim to the fiduciary as prescribed by law, shall not impair such person's right to maintain an action against the beneficiaries under section 45a-368 of the general statutes; provided nothing contained in this section shall extend the time limit for the commencement of an action to enforce such person's claim.
(b) Following final distribution of all assets known to a fiduciary, any suit on an unsatisfied obligation described in subsection (a) of section 45a-368 of the general statutes shall be brought against beneficiaries and not against the fiduciary, unless the plaintiff is seeking to have the fiduciary personally surcharged.
Sec. 5. Subsection (a) of section 45a-257b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, if a testator fails to provide in the testator's will for any of the testator's children born or adopted after the execution of the will, including any child who is born as a result of artificial insemination to which the testator has consented in accordance with subsection (b) of section 45a-772 and any child born after the death of the testator as provided in subsection (a) of section 1 of this act, the omitted after-born or after-adopted child receives a share in the estate as follows:
(1) If the testator had no child living when the testator executed the will, an omitted after-born or after-adopted child receives a share in the estate equal in value to that which the child would have received had the testator died intestate, unless the will devised or bequeathed all or substantially all of the estate to the other parent of the omitted child and that other parent survives the testator and is entitled to take under the will.
(2) If the testator had one or more children living when the testator executed the will, and the will devised or bequeathed property or an interest in property to one or more of the then-living children, an omitted after-born or after-adopted child is entitled to share in the testator's estate as follows:
(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (E) of this subdivision, the portion of the testator's estate in which the omitted after-born or after-adopted child is entitled to share is limited to devises and legacies made to the testator's then-living children under the will.
(B) The omitted after-born or after-adopted child is entitled to receive the share of the testator's estate, as limited in subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, that the child would have received had the testator included all omitted after-born and after-adopted children with the children to whom devises and legacies were made under the will and had given an equal share of the estate to each child.
(C) To the extent feasible, the interest granted an omitted after-born or after-adopted child under this section must be of the same character, whether equitable or legal, present or future, as that devised or bequeathed to the testator's then-living children under the will.
(D) In satisfying a share provided by this subdivision, devises and legacies to the testator's children who were living when the will was executed abate ratably. In the abatement of the devises and legacies of the then-living children, to the maximum extent possible the character of the testamentary plan adopted by the testator shall be preserved.
(E) If it appears from the will that the intention of the testator was to make a limited provision which specifically applied only to the testator's living children at the time the will was executed, the after-born or after-adopted child succeeds to the portion of such testator's estate as would have passed to such child had the testator died intestate.
Sec. 6. Subsection (a) of section 45a-438 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2013):
(a) After distribution has been made of the intestate estate to the surviving spouse in accordance with section 45a-437, all the residue of the real and personal estate shall be distributed in equal proportions, according to its value at the time of distribution, among the children, including children born after the death of the decedent, as provided in subsection (a) of section 1 of this act, and the legal representatives of any of them who may be dead, except that children or other descendants who receive estate by advancement of the intestate in the intestate's lifetime shall themselves or their representatives have only so much of the estate as will, together with such advancement, make their share equal to what they would have been entitled to receive had no such advancement been made.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2013 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2013 45a-341(a)(1)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2013 New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2013 New section
Sec. 5 October 1, 2013 45a-257b(a)
Sec. 6 October 1, 2013 45a-438(a)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2013
New section
Sec. 2
October 1, 2013
45a-341(a)(1)
Sec. 3
October 1, 2013
New section
Sec. 4
October 1, 2013
New section
Sec. 5
October 1, 2013
45a-257b(a)
Sec. 6
October 1, 2013
45a-438(a)
Statement of Purpose:
To define the statutory rights of inheritance of certain children who are born after the death of a married parent.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]