The Senate Judiciary Committee heard SB 287 authored by Sen. Freeman on various probate and trust matters. The bill provides:
- a person may sign a form of living will declaration or a form of life prolonging procedures will declaration in the presence of a notary public.
- removal of nonconforming language in a petition for administration statute.
- clarification on the service requirements for certain probate notices.
- a testator or a testator’s agent may send written notice of the existence of a will to certain persons.
- if a testator’s will includes a provision exercising a power of appointment, the testator or the testator’s agent may notify certain persons of the existence of the will.
- a written notice of the existence of a will contains certain information.
- for a procedure to contest certain wills.
- if a notice to contest the validity of a trust pertains to a trust created by a settlor who is still living, a complete copy of the trust instrument must be sent with the notice to each recipient.
- certain complaint and notice requirements if a trust is being contested.
- allows a court to increase, decrease, or waive the bond amount that: (1) a nonresident personal representative; or (2) a personal representative who becomes a nonresident; is to file in order to administer an unsupervised estate.
- the requirements for: (1) a verified petition for a confidential health disclosure order; and (2) the court procedures after the verified petition is filed.
- if a settlor revokes a revocable trust and the trustee does not deliver the trust property, the remaining trust property becomes part of the revoking settlor’s probate estate.
- certain grantors are entitled to reimbursement from a trust for certain taxes.
- an individual may execute certain authority for an application for public benefits on behalf of the individual.
- requirements for the enforcement of a portability agreement contained within a premarital agreement or post-marital agreement.
Representatives from the Indiana State Bar and the Central Indiana Area on Aging testified in support of the bill. The bill was amended to provide:
- that evidence of a testator’s failure to use the procedures established in Ind. Code § 29-1-7-16.5 may not be cited as evidence that a will is not valid.
- a requirement that a personal representative or the personal representative’s agent to mail certain notices to certain heirs, devisees, and legatees.
- the court with discretion as to whether a personal representative who is not an Indiana resident is required to execute a bond.
- a court to set a hearing on a date that is as soon as practicable after a petition for a confidential health disclosure order is filed. Replaces the term “grantor” with “deemed owner” with respect to certain trusts.
The amended bill passed 10-1.
Read the bill at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/senate/287