Connecticut 2022 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00455 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
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4	4	LCO No. 3418 1 of 5
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6	6	General Assembly Bill No. 455
7	7	February Session, 2022
8	8	LCO No. 3418
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10	10
11	11	Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
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13	13
14	14	Introduced by:
15	15	(JUD)
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20	20	AN ACT CONCERNING REVOCATION BY DISSOLUTION OF
21	21	MARRIAGE.
22	22	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
23	23	Assembly convened:
24	24	Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2022) (a) As used in this section: 1
25	25	(1) "Disposition or appointment of property" includes a transfer of an 2
26	26	item of property or any other benefit to a beneficiary designated in a 3
27	27	governing instrument; 4
28	28	(2) "Dissolution of marriage" means any divorce or annulment, or any 5
29	29	dissolution or declaration of invalidity of a marriage that would exclude 6
30	30	the spouse as a surviving spouse. "Dissolution of marriage" does not 7
31	31	include a decree of legal separation that does not terminate an 8
32	32	individual's status as a spouse; 9
33	33	(3) "Divorced individual" means an individual whose marriage has 10
34	34	been dissolved; 11
35	35	(4) "Former spouse" means a person whose marriage to the divorced 12
36	36	individual resulted in a dissolution of marriage; 13 Raised Bill No. 455
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40	40	LCO No. 3418 2 of 5
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42	42	(5) "Governing instrument" includes, but is not limited to, (A) a 14
43	43	testamentary instrument; trust agreement; insurance or annuity policy; 15
44	44	savings, retirement, transfer on death, pension, deferred compensation, 16
45	45	death benefit, stock bonus or profit-sharing plan, account, arrangement, 17
46	46	system or trust; agreement with a bank, brokerage firm or investment 18
47	47	company; registration of securities in beneficiary form; other similar 19
48	48	benefit plan; or a dispositive, appointive or nominative instrument of 20
49	49	any similar type executed by the divorced individual prior to the date 21
50	50	of dissolution of the individual's marriage from the former spouse. 22
51	51	"Governing instrument" does not include a will, a court order, including 23
52	52	a decree of dissolution of marriage, or a contract relating to the division 24
53	53	of property made between the divorced individuals prior to or after the 25
54	54	date of dissolution of marriage; 26
55	55	(6) "Payor" means a trustee, insurer, business entity, employer, 27
56	56	government, governmental agency or subdivision, or any other person 28
57	57	authorized or obligated by law or a governing instrument to make 29
58	58	payments; 30
59	59	(7) "Relative of the divorced individual's former spouse" means an 31
60	60	individual who is related to the divorced individual's former spouse by 32
61	61	blood, adoption or affinity and who, after the divorce or annulment, is 33
62	62	not related to the divorced individual by blood, adoption or affinity; and 34
63	63	(8) "Revocable," with respect to a disposition, appointment, provision 35
64	64	or nomination, means one under which the divorced individual, at the 36
65	65	time of the divorce or annulment, was empowered, by law or under the 37
66	66	governing instrument, to cancel the designation in favor of the former 38
67	67	spouse or former spouse's relative, whether or not the divorced 39
68	68	individual was then empowered to designate himself or herself in place 40
69	69	of the former spouse's relative and whether or not the divorced 41
70	70	individual then had the capacity to exercise the power. 42
71	71	(b) Except as provided by the express terms of a governing 43
72	72	instrument, a dissolution of marriage: 44
73	73	(1) Revokes any revocable: 45 Raised Bill No. 455
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77	77	LCO No. 3418 3 of 5
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79	79	(A) Disposition or appointment of property in a governing 46
80	80	instrument made by a divorced individual to or for the benefit of the 47
81	81	divorced individual's former spouse or a relative of the divorced 48
82	82	individual's former spouse; 49
83	83	(B) Provision in a governing instrument conferring a general or 50
84	84	nongeneral power of appointment on a former spouse or on a relative 51
85	85	of an individual's former spouse; and 52
86	86	(C) Nomination in a governing instrument, nominating an 53
87	87	individual's former spouse or a relative of the individual's former 54
88	88	spouse to serve in any fiduciary or representative capacity, including as 55
89	89	a personal representative, executor, trustee, conservator, agent or 56
90	90	guardian; and 57
91	91	(2) Severs the interests of the former spouses in property held by the 58
92	92	former spouses on the date of the dissolution of marriage as joint tenants 59
93	93	with the right of survivorship, transforming the interests of the former 60
94	94	spouses into equal tenancies in common. 61
95	95	(c) The provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall only apply to: 62
96	96	(1) A disposition or appointment of property to a former spouse or a 63
97	97	relative of an individual's former spouse, made prior to the date of 64
98	98	dissolution of marriage; and (2) a provision in a governing instrument 65
99	99	conferring a general or nongeneral power of appointment upon, or a 66
100	100	nomination in a governing instrument to serve in any fiduciary or 67
101	101	representative capacity on behalf of, a former spouse or a relative of an 68
102	102	individual's former spouse, made prior to the date of dissolution of 69
103	103	marriage. 70
104	104	(d) (1) Any provisions of a governing instrument shall be given effect 71
105	105	as if the former spouse and relatives of the former spouse died 72
106	106	immediately before the date of dissolution of marriage. 73
107	107	(2) A severance under subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this section 74
108	108	does not affect any third-party interest in property acquired for value in 75
109	109	good faith reliance on an apparent title by survivorship in the survivor 76 Raised Bill No. 455
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113	113	LCO No. 3418 4 of 5
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115	115	of the former spouses unless a writing declaring the severance has been 77
116	116	noted, registered, filed or recorded in records appropriate to the kind 78
117	117	and location of the property which are relied upon, in the ordinary 79
118	118	course of transactions involving such property, as evidence of 80
119	119	ownership. 81
120	120	(e) Provisions of a governing instrument revoked solely by this 82
121	121	section are revived by the divorced individual's remarriage to the 83
122	122	former spouse or by a nullification of the dissolution of marriage. 84
123	123	(f) No change of circumstances other than the circumstances 85
124	124	described in this section and section 45a- 447 of the general statutes 86
125	125	effect a revocation. 87
126	126	(g) (1) A payor or other third party is not liable for having made a 88
127	127	payment or transferred an item of property or any other benefit to a 89
128	128	beneficiary designated in a governing instrument affected by a 90
129	129	dissolution of marriage or remarriage, or for having taken any other 91
130	130	action in good faith reliance on the validity of the governing instrument, 92
131	131	before the payor or other third party received written notice of the 93
132	132	dissolution of marriage or remarriage. A payor or other third party is 94
133	133	liable for a payment made or other action taken after the payor or other 95
134	134	third party received written notice of a claimed forfeiture or revocation 96
135	135	under this section. 97
136	136	(2) Written notice of the dissolution of marriage or remarriage under 98
137	137	subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be delivered to the payor's or 99
138	138	other third party's home office or principal address, by registered or 100
139	139	certified mail, return receipt requested. Upon receipt of such written 101
140	140	notice of the dissolution of marriage or remarriage, a payor or other 102
141	141	third party may pay any amount owed or transfer or deposit any item 103
142	142	of property held by it to or with the court having jurisdiction of the 104
143	143	probate proceedings relating to the decedent's estate or, if no 105
144	144	proceedings have been commenced, to or with the court having 106
145	145	jurisdiction of probate proceedings relating to decedents' estates located 107
146	146	in the probate district of the decedent's residence. The Probate Court 108 Raised Bill No. 455
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150	150	LCO No. 3418 5 of 5
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152	152	shall hold the funds or item of property and, upon its determination 109
153	153	under this section, order disbursement or transfer in accordance with 110
154	154	the determination. Payments, transfers or deposits made to or with the 111
155	155	Probate Court shall discharge the payor or other third party from all 112
156	156	claims for the value of amounts paid to the Probate Court, or items of 113
157	157	property transferred to or deposited with the Probate Court. 114
158	158	(h) A person who purchases property from a former spouse, relative 115
159	159	of a former spouse or any other person for value and without notice, or 116
160	160	who received from a former spouse, relative of a former spouse or any 117
161	161	other person a payment, other item of property or benefit in partial or 118
162	162	full satisfaction of a legally enforceable obligation, is not (1) obligated 119
163	163	under this section to return the payment, item of property or benefit, or 120
164	164	(2) liable under this section for the amount of the payment or the value 121
165	165	of the item of property or benefit. Except, as may preempted by federal 122
166	166	law, a former spouse, relative of a former spouse or other person who, 123
167	167	not for value, received a payment, item of property or any other benefit 124
168	168	to which the person is not entitled under this section, (A) shall return 125
169	169	the payment, item of property or benefit, and (B) is personally liable for 126
170	170	the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or 127
171	171	benefit, to the person who is entitled to such payment, property or 128
172	172	benefit under this section. 129
173	173	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
174	174	sections:
175	175
176	176	Section 1 July 1, 2022 New section
177	177
178	178	Statement of Purpose:
179	179	To revoke certain beneficiary designations or testamentary transfers
180	180	passing to a former spouse following a dissolution of marriage.
181	181	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
182	182	that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
183	183	underlined.]
184	184