Government of the District of Columbia
UNIFORM LAW COMMISSION
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September 19, 2023
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
The John A. Wilson Building,
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
RE: Request for introduction of the Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death
Act of 2023.
Dear Chairman Mendelson:
Pursuant to Rule 401(b)(1) of the Rules of Organization and Procedure for the
Council, this is to request, on behalf of the District of Columbia Uniform Law
Commission, that you introduce the proposed “Uniform Community Property Disposition
at Death Act of 2023.”
Nine states (and two territories) of the United States, comprising over 30 percent
of the country’s population, are community-property states, including the two largest
states (California and Texas). Community property acquired by a married couple retains
its character as community property even after the couple relocates to a non-community
property jurisdiction, such as the District. This result creates potential distribution
problems at the death of the first spouse and potential estate planning concerns. A
probate court or trustee in a non-community property state may not recognize the
character of community property in a decedent’s estate, which could lead to a
misallocation of the decedent’s property, and potentially to disputes between a surviving
spouse and the decedent’s other heirs.
This Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act provides a set of
default rules to ensure the equitable distribution of community property in such a
situation. It assists courts in determining the character of property when there is a dispute
between potential heirs. The Uniform Act also clarifies the process for partitioning and
reclassifying community property for couples who mutually agree to separate their
interests, and provides a remedy to address bad-faith transfers intended to impair the
property rights of one spouse. The Uniform Act also addresses non-probate transfers of
community property and provides clear default rules to ensure the proper disposition of
community property from any estate, in any jurisdiction. The Uniform Act is a revision of
the Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act of 1971, which applied only
to probate proceedings and which was not enacted in the District.
The Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act was completed by
the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2021. It is
designed for enactment only in non-community property jurisdictions. It has been
enacted, thus far, in two states and has been introduced in two more states. In addition,
16 states have enacted the predecessor 1971 uniform act.
A proposed “Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act of 2023” is
being filed with this letter. In addition, the following documents have been filed: (1) a
summary of the Uniform Act; (2) a statement as to why the Uniform Act should be
adopted; and (3) the official version of the Uniform Community Property Disposition at
Death Act with comments.
I would be pleased to answer any questions and to provide any additional
information requested.
Sincerely,
James C. McKay, Jr.
Chair
D.C. Uniform Law Commission
cc: Uniform Law Commissioners
2
 C ~ n Phil Mendelson at the request of the
District of Columbia Uniform Law Commission
A BILL
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
To amend Title 19 of the District of Columbia Code by adding a new Chapter 23 to enact the
Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act, to provide default rules that
ensure the equitable distribution of community property when the first spouse dies, to
assist courts in determining the character of property when there is a dispute between
potential heirs, to clarify the process for partitioning and reclassifying community
property for couples who mutually agree to separate their interests, to provide a remedy
to address bad-faith transfers intended to impair the property rights of one spouse, and for
other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
act may be cited as the "Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act of 2023 ."
Sec. 2. Title 19 of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended as follows:
(a) The table of contents is amended by adding a new Chapter 23 to read as follows:
"Chapter 23. Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act.
"Sec.
"19-2301. Short title.
"19-2301. Short title.
"19-2302. Definitions.
" 19-2303. Included and excluded property.
"19-2304. Form of partition, reclassification, or waiver.
“19-2305. Community property presumption.
“19-2306. Disposition of property at death.
“19-2307. Other remedies available at death.
“19-2308. Right of surviving community-property spouse.
“19-2309. Right of heir, devisee, or nonprobate transferee.
“19-2310. Protection of third person.
“19-2311. Principles of law and equity.
“19-2312. Uniformity of application and construction.
“19-2313. Saving provision.
“19-2314. Transitional provision.”
(b) A new Chapter 23 is added to read as follows:
“Chapter 23. Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act
Ҥ 19-2301. Short title..
“This chapter may be cited as the Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death
Act.
Ҥ 19-2302. Definitions.
“In this chapter:
“(1) “Community-property spouse” means an individual in a marriage or other
relationship:
“(A) Under which community property could be acquired during the existence of
the relationship; and
“(B) That remains in existence at the time of death of either party to the
relationship.
 “(2) “District” means the District of Columbia.
“(3) “Electronic” means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic,
wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.
“(4) “Jurisdiction” means the United States, a state, a foreign country, or a political
subdivision of a foreign country.
“(5) “Partition” means voluntarily divide property to which this [act] chapter otherwise
would apply.
“(6) “Person” means an individual, estate, business or nonprofit entity, public
corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or other legal
entity.
“(7) “Personal representative” includes an executor, administrator, successor personal
representative, special administrator, and other person that performs substantially the same
function.
“(8) “Property” means anything that may be the subject of ownership, whether real or
personal, tangible or intangible, legal or equitable, or any interest therein.
“(9) “Reclassify” means change the characterization or treatment of community property
to property owned separately by community-property spouses.
“(10) “Record” means information:
“(A) Inscribed on a tangible medium; or
“(B) Stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in perceivable form.
“(11) “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:
“(A) To execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
 “(B) To attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol,
sound, or process.
“(12) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
the United States Virgin Islands, or any other territory or possession subject to the jurisdiction of
the United States. The term includes a federally recognized Indian tribe.
Ҥ 19-2303. Included and excluded property.
“(a) Subject to subsection (b), this chapter applies to the following property of a
community-property spouse, without regard to how the property is titled or held:
“(1) If a decedent was domiciled in the District at the time of death:
“(A) All or a proportionate part of each item of personal property,
wherever located, that was community property under the law of the jurisdiction where the
decedent or the surviving community-property spouse was domiciled when the property:
“(i) Was acquired; or
“(ii) After acquisition, became community property;
“(B) Income, rent, profit, appreciation, or other increase derived from or
traceable to property described in subparagraph (A); and
“(C) Personal property traceable to property described in subparagraph
(A) or (B); and
“(2) Regardless whether a decedent was domiciled in the District at the time of
death:
“(A) All or a proportionate part of each item of real property located in the
District traceable to community property or acquired with community property under the law of
the jurisdiction where the decedent or the surviving community-property spouse was domiciled
when the property:
“(i) Was acquired; or
“(ii) After acquisition, became community property; and
“(B) Income, rent, profit, appreciation, or other increase, derived from or
traceable to property described in subparagraph (A).
“(b) If community-property spouses acquired community property by complying with the
law of a jurisdiction that allows for creation of community property by transfer of property to a
trust, this chapter applies to the property only to the extent the property is held in the trust or
characterized as community property by the terms of the trust or the law of the jurisdiction under
which the trust was created.
“(c) This chapter does not apply to property that:
“(1) Community-property spouses have partitioned or reclassified; or
“(2) Is the subject of a waiver of rights granted by this chapter.
Ҥ 19-2304. Form of partition, reclassification, or waiver.
“(a) Community-property spouses domiciled in the District may partition or reclassify
property to which this chapter otherwise would apply. The partition or reclassification must be in
a record signed by both community-property spouses.
“(b) A community-property spouse domiciled in the District may waive a right granted
by this chapter only by complying with the law of the District, including the District’s choice-of-
law rules, applicable to waiver of a spousal property right.
Ҥ 19-2305. Community property presumption.
 “All property acquired by a community-property spouse when domiciled in a jurisdiction
where community property then could be acquired by the community-property spouse by
operation of law is presumed to be community property. This presumption may be rebutted by a
preponderance of the evidence.
Ҥ 19-2306. Disposition of property at death.
“(a) One-half of the property to which this chapter applies belongs to the surviving
community-property spouse of a decedent and is not subject to disposition by the decedent at
death.
“(b) One-half of the property to which this chapter applies belongs to the decedent and is
subject to disposition by the decedent at death.
“(c) The property that belongs to the decedent under subsection (b) is not subject to the
elective-share right of the surviving community-property spouse.
“(d) This section does not apply to property transferred by right of survivorship or under
a revocable trust or other nonprobate transfer.
“(e) This section does not limit the right of a surviving community-property spouse to a
homestead allowance under D.C. Code § 19-101.02.
“(f) If at death a decedent purports to transfer to a third person property that, under this
section, belongs to the surviving community-property spouse and transfers other property to the
surviving community-property spouse, this section does not limit the authority of the court under
other law of the District to require that the community-property spouse elect between retaining
the property transferred to the community-property spouse or asserting rights under this chapter.
Ҥ 19-2307. Other remedies available at death.
 “(a) At the death of a community-property spouse, the surviving community-property
spouse or a personal representative, heir, or nonprobate transferee of the decedent may assert a
right based on an act of:
“(1) The surviving community-property spouse or decedent during the marriage
or other relationship under which community property then could be acquired; or
“(2) The decedent that takes effect at the death of the decedent.
“(b) In determining a right under subsection (a) and corresponding remedy, the court:
“(1) Shall apply equitable principles; and
“(2) May consider the community property law of the jurisdiction where the
decedent or surviving community-property spouse was domiciled when property was acquired or
enhanced.
Ҥ 19-2308. Right of surviving community-property spouse.
“(a) The surviving community-property spouse of the decedent may assert a claim for
relief with respect to a right under this chapter in accordance with the following rules:
“(1) In an action asserting a right in or to property, the surviving community-
property spouse must:
“(A) Not later than three years after the death of the decedent, commence
an action against an heir, devisee, or nonprobate transferee of the decedent that is in possession
of the property; or
“(B) Not later than six months after appointment of the personal
representative of the decedent, send a demand in a record to the personal representative.
“(2) In an action other than an action under paragraph (1), the surviving
community-property spouse must:
 “(A) Not later than six months after appointment of the personal
representative of the decedent, send a demand in a record to the personal representative; or
“(B) If a personal representative is not appointed, commence the action
not later than three years after the death of the decedent.
“(b) Unless a timely demand is made under subsection (a)(1)(B) or (2)(A), the personal
representative may distribute the assets of the decedent’s estate without personal liability for a
community-property spouse’s claim under this chapter.
Ҥ 19-2309. Right of heir, devisee, or nonprobate transferee.
“An heir, devisee, or nonprobate transferee of a deceased community-property spouse
may assert a claim for relief with respect to a right under this chapter in accordance with the
following rules:
“(1) In an action asserting a right in or to property, the heir, devisee, or nonprobate
transferee must:
“(A) Not later than three years after the death of the decedent, commence an
action against the surviving community-property spouse of the decedent who is in possession of
the property; or
“(B) Not later than six months after appointment of the personal representative of
the decedent, send a demand in a record to the personal representative.
“(2) In an action other than an action under paragraph (1), the heir, devisee, or
nonprobate transferee must:
“(A) Not later than six months after the appointment of the personal
representative of the decedent, send a demand in a record to the personal representative; or
 “(B) If a personal representative is not appointed, commence the action not later
than three years after the death of the decedent.
Ҥ 19-2310. Protection of third person.
“(a) With respect to property to which this chapter applies, a person is not liable under
this chapter to the extent the person:
“(1) Transacts in good faith and for value:
“(A) With a community-property spouse; or
“(B) After the death of the decedent, with a surviving community-property
spouse, personal representative, heir, devisee, or nonprobate transferee of the decedent; and
“(2) Does not know or have reason to know that the other party to the transaction
is exceeding or improperly exercising the party’s authority.
“(b) Good faith under subsection (a)(1) does not require the person to inquire into the
extent or propriety of the exercise of authority by the other party to the transaction.
Ҥ 19-2311. Principles of law and equity.
“The principles of law and equity supplement this chapter except to the extent
inconsistent with this chapter.
Ҥ 19-2312. Uniformity of application and construction.
“In applying and construing this uniform act, a court shall consider the promotion of
uniformity of the law among jurisdictions that enact it.
Ҥ 19-2313. Saving provision.
“If a right with respect to property to which this chapter applies is acquired, extinguished,
or barred on the expiration of a limitation period that began to run under another statute before
the effective date of this chapter, that statute continues to apply to the right even if the statute has
been repealed or superseded by this chapter.
Ҥ 19-2314. Transitional provision.
“Except as provided in § 19-2313, this chapter applies to a judicial proceeding with
respect to property to which this chapter applies commenced on or after effective date of this
chapter, regardless of the date of death of the decedent.”
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal
impact statement required by section 602(c)(3) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act,
approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(3))
Sec. 4. Effective date.
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of Congressional review as
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of
Columbia Register.
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