HB716: repealing procedures for administration of small estates.

HB 716-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2003 SESSION

03-0989

09/01

HOUSE BILL 716-FN

AN ACT repealing the procedures for administration of small estates.

SPONSORS: Rep. O'Neil, Rock 85

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

ANALYSIS

This bill repeals the separate procedures for administration of estates of $10,000 or less.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-0989

09/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

AN ACT repealing the procedures for administration of small estates.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Repeal. The following are repealed:

I. RSA 553:31, relative to administration of small estates.

II. RSA 553:32, VII, relative to the election of a fiduciary to proceed under RSA 553:31.

2 Reference Deleted; Nursing Homes; Patient Accounts. Amend RSA 151-A:15, I to read as follows:

I. If 30 days after the date of a testate or intestate patient's death in any nursing home no petition for probate has yet been filed under any section of RSA 553 and the gross value of the personal property remaining at the nursing home belonging to the deceased, including any amount left in a patient account, is no more than $2,500, the nursing home administrator may file in the probate court an affidavit for the purpose of disposing of such deceased patient's estate. [In such cases, the nursing home administrator shall not be subject to the provisions of RSA 553:31.] The form of the affidavit, and the rules governing proceedings under this section, shall be provided by the probate court pursuant to RSA 547:33 and RSA 548:8. The nursing home administrator shall not file a death certificate with the probate court, but shall attest to the death in the affidavit. If the nursing home patient died testate, the nursing home administrator shall file the will in the probate court. The probate court shall waive all filing fees.

3 Reference Deleted; Publication of Notice of Appointment. Amend RSA 553:16 to read as follows:

553:16 Publication of Notice of Appointment. Upon appointment of an administrator or executor, the register of probate shall, within 15 days of such appointment, cause notice thereof to be published in accordance with the provisions of RSA 550:10. [Notwithstanding the foregoing, no publication of notice shall be required in the administration of small estates under RSA 553:31.]

4 Reference Deleted; Summary Administration. Amend RSA 553:33, I to read as follows:

I. This section shall apply to all estates, testate and intestate, other than those estates governed by [RSA 553:31 and] RSA 553:32.

5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2004.

LBAO

03-0989

Revised 1/31/03

HB 716 FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT repealing the procedure for administration of small estates.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Judicial Branch states this bill will increase state revenue by $43,538 in FY 2004, and $87,075 in FY 2005 and each year thereafter, and decrease state expenditures by $4,273 in FY 2004, and $8,546 in FY 2005 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local revenue or expenditures.

METHODOLOGY:

The Branch states this bill repeals the procedures for the administration of small estates (those consisting entirely of personal property of a gross value not exceeding $10,000). Currently, the filing fee for probating a small estate is $30, and the fee for a regular estate is $105. If the small estate procedure is repealed, the regular estate filing fee will be collected for all estates ($75 increase for small estates). Assuming 1,161 small estates are probated annually, and an effective date of January 1, 2004, the estimated revenue impact is as follows:

FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007

Revenue Increase $43,538 $87,075 $87,075 $87,075

The probate court also indicates that eliminating small estate administration will decrease staff time for processing of estates by approximately one half hour per case. Assuming a salary at the Court Assistant II level, the Branch estimates state expenditures will decrease by $4,273 in FY 2004, and by $8,546 in FY 2005 and each year thereafter.