BILL NUMBER: S2410
SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the surrogate's court procedure act, in relation to
prohibiting the use of a waiver of probate form
 
PURPOSE:
This bill would prohibit the usage of a waiver of probate to transfer an
inheritance, and prohibit a transfer agent from accepting a waiver of
probate on behalf of a New York decedent.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act by adding a new
section 1409-a. This section prohibits the usage of a waiver of probate
by any deceased person's heirs and/or beneficiaries of an estate, and
prohibits any transfer agent from accepting a waiver of probate on
behalf of a New York decedent.
Section 2: The effective date of this bill.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, transfer agents of publicly traded corporations, like Apple,
Google and Amazon, distribute decedent assets with only a sworn affida-
vit and without going through formal estate proceedings that will result
in documentation from the courthouse appointing a fiduciary on behalf of
a New York decedent. The effect of this practice is that the surrogate
court system is often completely sidestepped and family members entitled
to the inheritance are left out of the distribution of the decedent's
estate.
By prohibiting this practice in New York, this bill seeks to make sure
that family members and beneficiaries of a decedent's estate get what
they are entitled to and are not unfairly left out of the inheritance.
Consequently, this bill will generate increased revenue for the State
through new filing fees that will be collected given that the surrogate
court system is sidestepped in estate matters by transfer agents. Last-
ly, this bill empowers the family members with the ability to look in a
public court record for information about a deceased family member, and
allows creditors, such as Medicaid, to file claims and get reimbursed
for services rendered to the decedent.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.748 of 2023-2024; Referred to Judiciary
S. 2213 of 2021-22: Referred to Judiciary
S. 6261 of 2019-20: Referred to Judiciary
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.