The House Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee heard SB 31, sponsored by Reps. Koch, Steuerwald, and Washburne, establishing the probate code study commission. This bill requires the commission to study and recommend to the general assembly changes that are needed in the probate code (IC 29-1), the trust code (IC 30-4), and other statutes affecting the administration of a decedent’s estate, guardianships, probate jurisdiction, trusts, or fiduciaries.
The Indiana Bankers Association testified in favor of the bill. The bill was amended to make the probate code study commission a subcommittee of the interim study committee on courts and the judiciary. The amendment also changed the membership of the commission to members of the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore and minority leader, members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House and minority leader, and possibly lay members, two of which must work in the trust department of a bank, trust company, savings institution or credit union. The amended bill passed 6-0.
Read the bill at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2016/bills/senate/31