Iowa-2023-SF468-Introduced

S.F. 468 Section 1. Section 633.78, subsection 1, Code 2023, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 1. A fiduciary under this chapter may present a written 3 request to any person for the purpose of obtaining property 4 owned by a decedent or by a ward protected person of a 5 conservatorship for which the fiduciary has been appointed, 6 or property to which a decedent or ward protected person is 7 entitled, including information about property owned by a 8 decedent or protected person that has passed or will pass 9 by beneficiary designation or joint tenancy ownership, or 10 for information about such property needed to perform the 11 fiduciary’s duties. The request must contain statements 12 confirming all of the following: 13 a. The fiduciary’s authority has not been revoked, modified, 14 or amended in any manner which would cause the representations 15 in the request to be incorrect. 16 b. The request has been signed by all fiduciaries acting on 17 behalf of the decedent or ward protected person . 18 c. The request has been dated and affirmed under penalty of 19 perjury to be true and correct or has been sworn and subscribed 20 to under penalty of perjury before a notary public as provided 21 in chapter 9B . 22 d. A photocopy of the fiduciary’s letters of appointment is 23 being provided with the request. 24 Sec. 2. Section 633.78, subsection 4, paragraph a, Code 25 2023, is amended to read as follows: 26 a. Damages sustained by the decedent’s or ward’s protected 27 person’s estate. 28 Sec. 3. Section 633.301, Code 2023, is amended to read as 29 follows: 30 633.301 Copy of will for executor. 31 When Upon request by the executor, when a will has been 32 admitted to probate and certified pursuant to section 633.300 , 33 the clerk shall cause a certified copy thereof to be placed 34 in the hands of the executor to whom letters are issued. The 35 -1- LSB 1413SV (1) 90 cm/ns 1/ 8

S.F. 468 clerk shall retain the will in a separate file provided for 1 that purpose until the time for contest has expired, and 2 promptly thereafter shall place it with the files of the 3 estate. 4 Sec. 4. Section 633.309, Code 2023, is amended to read as 5 follows: 6 633.309 Time within which action must be commenced. 7 1. An action to contest or set aside the probate of a will 8 must be commenced in the court in which the will was admitted 9 to probate within the later to occur of four months from the 10 date of second publication of notice of admission of the will 11 to probate or one month following the mailing of the notice to 12 all heirs of the decedent and devisees under the will whose 13 identities are reasonably ascertainable, at such persons’ last 14 known addresses. 15 2. A party claiming the decedent’s will was procured in 16 whole or in part by tortious interference with inheritance must 17 join such claim together in a timely will contest. The time 18 period set out in this section applies to both the will contest 19 and procurement of the decedent’s will by tortious interference 20 with inheritance if the party making the claim was given notice 21 pursuant to section 633.304. 22 Sec. 5. Section 633.555, Code 2023, is amended to read as 23 follows: 24 633.555 Procedure in lieu of conservatorship for a minor. 25 1. If a conservator has not been appointed for a minor, 26 money due to a minor or other property to which a minor is 27 entitled, not exceeding in the aggregate twenty-five fifty 28 thousand dollars in value, shall be paid or delivered to a 29 custodian under any uniform transfers to minors Act. one or 30 more of the following: 31 a. A custodian under the uniform transfer to minor account 32 established for the protected person pursuant to chapter 565B 33 or the laws of any other state. 34 b. A custodial trustee under a uniform custodial trust 35 -2- LSB 1413SV (1) 90 cm/ns 2/ 8

S.F. 468 account established for the protected person pursuant to 1 chapter 633F or the laws of any other state. 2 c. An account owner or participant under a college savings 3 plan account established for the protected person pursuant to 4 section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code or chapter 12D. 5 d. The account owner under an ABLE account established for 6 the protected person with disabilities pursuant to section 529A 7 of the Internal Revenue Code or chapter 12I. 8 2. If a conservator has not been appointed for a minor, and 9 the money due to a minor or other property to which a minor is 10 entitled exceeds fifty thousand dollars in the aggregate, the 11 property may be paid or delivered in the manner set forth in 12 subsection 1 only if such transfer is authorized by the court. 13 3. The written receipt of the custodian constitutes an 14 acquittance of the person making the payment of money or 15 delivery of property. 16 Sec. 6. Section 633.561, subsections 3 and 6, Code 2023, are 17 amended to read as follows: 18 3. If the respondent is entitled to representation and is 19 indigent or incapable of requesting counsel, the court shall 20 appoint an attorney to represent the respondent. The cost of 21 court appointed counsel for indigents , including the cost of 22 the trial transcript, shall be assessed against the county 23 in which the proceedings are pending. For the purposes of 24 this subsection , the court shall find a person is indigent if 25 the person’s income and resources do not exceed one hundred 26 fifty percent of the federal poverty level or the person would 27 be unable to pay such costs without prejudicing the person’s 28 financial ability to provide economic necessities for the 29 person or the person’s dependents. 30 6. If the court determines that it would be in the 31 respondent’s best interest to have legal representation 32 with respect to any proceedings in a guardianship or 33 conservatorship, the court may appoint an attorney to represent 34 the respondent at the expense of the respondent or the 35 -3- LSB 1413SV (1) 90 cm/ns 3/ 8

S.F. 468 respondent’s estate, or if the respondent is indigent the cost 1 of the court appointed attorney , including the cost of the 2 trial transcript, shall be assessed against the county in which 3 the proceedings are pending. 4 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 633A.4403 Trustee-written request and 5 third-party protection. 6 1. A trustee under this chapter may present a written 7 request to any person for the purpose of obtaining information 8 needed to perform the trustee’s duties or information regarding 9 any of the following property: 10 a. Owned by the trust for which the trustee is acting as 11 fiduciary. 12 b. To which a living or deceased settlor is entitled. 13 c. Owned by the deceased settlor at the time of death, 14 including information about property of a deceased settlor that 15 has passed or will pass by beneficiary designation or joint 16 tenancy ownership. 17 2. The written request must include a certification of 18 trust that complies with section 633A.4604. A person to whom a 19 request is presented under this section may require that the 20 trustee presenting the request provide proof of the trustee’s 21 identity. 22 3. A person who in good faith provides the property or 23 information a trustee requests under this section, after taking 24 reasonable steps to verify the identity of the trustee and 25 who has no knowledge that the representations contained in 26 the request are incorrect, shall not be liable to any person 27 for so acting and may assume without inquiry the existence of 28 the facts contained in the request. The period of time to 29 verify the trustee’s authority shall not exceed ten business 30 days from the date the person received the request. Any right 31 or title acquired from the trustee in consideration of the 32 provision of property or information under this section is not 33 invalid in consequence of a misapplication by the trustee. A 34 transaction, and a lien created by a transaction, entered into 35 -4- LSB 1413SV (1) 90 cm/ns 4/ 8

S.F. 468 by the trustee and a person acting in reliance upon a request 1 under this section is enforceable against the assets for which 2 the trustee has responsibility. 3 4. If a person refuses to provide the requested property or 4 information within ten business days after receiving a request 5 under this section, the trustee may bring an action to recover 6 the property or information or compel its delivery against 7 the person to whom the trustee presented the written request. 8 An action brought under this section must be brought within 9 one year after the date of the act or failure to act. If the 10 court finds that the person acted unreasonably in failing to 11 deliver the property or information as requested in the written 12 request, the court may award any or all of the following to the 13 trustee: 14 a. Damages sustained by the trust or by a living or deceased 15 settlor’s estate. 16 b. Costs of the action. 17 c. A penalty in an amount determined by the court, but 18 not less than five hundred dollars or more than ten thousand 19 dollars. 20 d. Reasonable attorney fees, as determined by the court, 21 based on the value of the time reasonably expended by the 22 attorney and not by the amount of the recovery on behalf of the 23 trustee. 24 5. This section does not limit or change the right of 25 beneficiaries, heirs, or creditors of a living or deceased 26 settlor to estate or trust property to which they are otherwise 27 entitled. 28 Sec. 8. Section 633B.211, subsection 2, Code 2023, is 29 amended by adding the following new paragraphs: 30 NEW PARAGRAPH . h. Establish a medical assistance special 31 needs trust pursuant to chapter 633C for the benefit of 32 the principal and transfer an interest of the principal in 33 real property, stocks and bonds, accounts with financial 34 institutions or securities intermediaries, insurance, 35 -5- LSB 1413SV (1) 90 cm/ns 5/ 8

S.F. 468 annuities, and other property to the trustee of any such trust. 1 NEW PARAGRAPH . i. Establish a medical assistance income 2 trust pursuant to chapter 633C for the benefit of the principal 3 and transfer an income interest of the principal to the trustee 4 of any such trust. 5 Sec. 9. APPLICABILITY. The following apply to estates, 6 trusts, and conservatorships in existence on or after the 7 effective date of this Act, that were opened or created before, 8 on, or after the effective date of this Act: 9 1. The sections of this Act amending section 633.78. 10 2. The section of this Act amending section 633.555. 11 3. The section of this Act enacting section 633A.4403. 12 EXPLANATION 13 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 14 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 15 This bill relates to probate proceedings. 16 The bill allows a fiduciary to present a written request to 17 any person for the purpose of obtaining information about the 18 property owned by the decedent or protected person that has 19 passed or will pass by beneficiary designation or joint tenancy 20 ownership. The written request needs to be dated and affirmed 21 under penalty of perjury to be true and correct. 22 Under current law, a certified copy of a will is provided to 23 the executor by the clerk of court upon the will being admitted 24 into probate. The bill requires an executor to request a copy. 25 The bill requires that a party claiming that the decedent’s 26 will was procured by tortious interference with inheritance 27 must join the claims in a timely will contest. 28 The bill changes the procedure in lieu of a conservatorship 29 for a minor by increasing the aggregate amount of money from 30 $25,000 to $50,000 under which the amount may be paid or 31 delivered to the following: a uniform transfer to minor 32 account, a uniform custodial trust account, an account owner 33 or participant under a college savings plan account, or an 34 account owner under an ABLE account. An amount over $50,000 35 -6- LSB 1413SV (1) 90 cm/ns 6/ 8

S.F. 468 may be paid or delivered in this manner only if authorized by 1 the court. 2 The bill provides that the cost of a trial transcript for 3 an indigent respondent shall be assessed against the county in 4 which the probate proceedings are pending. 5 The bill creates a procedure for a trustee’s written 6 request and third-party protection. A trustee may present a 7 written request to any person for the purpose of obtaining 8 information needed to perform the trustee’s duties or regarding 9 property owned by the trust for which the trustee is acting as 10 fiduciary, for which a living or deceased settlor is entitled, 11 or owned by the deceased settlor at the time of death. The 12 request must include a certification of trust (Code section 13 633A.4604). A person to whom a request is presented may 14 require that the trustee presenting the request provide proof 15 of the trustee’s identity. 16 The bill provides that a person who in good faith provides 17 the property or information a trustee requests, after taking 18 reasonable steps to verify the identity of the trustee and who 19 has no knowledge that the representations contained in the 20 request are incorrect, shall not be liable to any person for 21 so acting and may assume without inquiry the existence of the 22 facts contained in the request. If a person refuses to provide 23 the requested property or information within 10 business days 24 after receiving a request, the trustee may bring an action to 25 recover the property or information or compel its delivery 26 against the person to whom the trustee presented the written 27 request. In an action against a person for unreasonably 28 withholding property, the court may award any or all of the 29 following to the trustee: damages sustained by the trust or by 30 a living or deceased settlor’s estate, costs of the action, a 31 penalty set forth in the bill, and reasonable attorney fees. 32 Under the bill, certain provisions do not limit or change 33 the right of beneficiaries, heirs, or creditors of a living or 34 deceased settlor to estate or trust property to which they are 35 -7- LSB 1413SV (1) 90 cm/ns 7/ 8

S.F. 468 otherwise entitled. 1 The bill allows an agent of a protected person to establish a 2 medical assistance special needs trust and a medical assistance 3 income trust pursuant to Code chapter 633C for the benefit of 4 the principal. 5 Certain provisions of the bill apply to estates, trusts, and 6 conservatorships in existence on or after July 1, 2023, that 7 were opened or created before, on, or after July 1, 2023, as 8 set forth in the bill. 9 -8- LSB 1413SV (1) 90 cm/ns 8/ 8