For amend and vote only, the House Judiciary Committee heard Rep. J. Young’s HB 1591 concerning electronic estate planning. This bill allows a person to contest two or more wills if there is prima facie evidence that: (1) the decedent suffered from an irreversible medical or psychiatric condition that predated the earliest will to be challenged; or (2) a party beneficially interested in one or more of the challenged wills had a direct and active nexus with the preparation or execution process for each will to be challenged. The bill further specifies that the issuance of a court order on any matter related to an unsupervised estate does not revoke the personal representative’s authority to continue the administration of the estate as an unsupervised estate. The bill raises the gross probate estate caps (for small estate affidavits) to $100,000 for the estate of an individual who dies after June 30, 2019.
The House Judiciary Committee first heard the bill on January 28, 2019. Testifying in support of the bill was the Indiana State Bar Association Trust and Real Property Committee. The bill was held for further amendment.
The House Judiciary Committee again heard the bill on February 18, 2019. The first amendment, taken by consent, removes all provisions concerning the electronic estate planning documents registry. The second amendment taken by consent raised the small estate amount to $100,000. The amended bill passed 10-0.
Read the bill at http://www.iga.in.gov/legislative/2019/bills/house/1591.