Modifies provisions relating to fiduciaries in probate matters

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1542
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR CRAWFORD.
6051S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal sections 472.010, 472.100, and 473.020, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new
sections relating to fiduciaries in probate matters.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 472.010, 472.100, and 473.020, RSMo, 1
are repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to 2
be known as sections 472.010, 472.100, and 473.020, to read as 3
follows:4
472.010. When used in this code, unless otherwise 1
apparent from the context: 2
(1) "Administrator" includes any administrator de 3
bonis non, administrator cum testamento annexo, 4
administrator ad litem and administrator during absence or 5
minority; 6
(2) "Child" includes an adopted child and a child born 7
out of wedlock, but does not include a grandchild or other 8
more remote descendants; 9
(3) "Claims" include liabilities of the decedent which 10
survive whether arising in contract, tort or otherwise, 11
funeral expenses, the expense of a tombstone, and costs and 12
expenses of administration; 13
(4) "Clerk" means clerk of the probate division of the 14
circuit court; 15
(5) "Code" or "probate code" means chapters 472, 473, 16
474 and 475; 17
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(6) "Court" or "probate court" means the probate 18
division of the circuit court; 19
(7) "Devise", when used as a noun, means a 20
testamentary disposition of real or personal property or 21
both; when used as a verb it means to dispose of real or 22
personal property or both by will; 23
(8) "Devisee" includes legatee; 24
(9) "Distributee" denotes those persons who are 25
entitled to the real and personal property of a decedent 26
under his will, under the statutes of intestate succession 27
or who take as surviving spouse under section 474.160, upon 28
election to take against the will; 29
(10) "Domicile" means the place in which a person has 30
voluntarily fixed his abode, not for a mere special or 31
temporary purpose, but with a present intention of remaining 32
there permanently or for an indefinite time; 33
(11) "Estate" means the real and personal property of 34
the decedent or ward, as from time to time changed in form 35
by sale, reinvestment or otherwise, and augmented by any 36
accretions and additions thereto and substitutions therefor, 37
and diminished by any decreases and distributions 38
therefrom. Under the provisions of subsections 4 and 5 of 39
section 209.625, assets held in an ABLE account established 40
under sections 209.600 to 209.645 shall not be considered 41
the property of the designated beneficiary of said account 42
for purposes of this subdivision when applied in chapter 43
475, unless the estate is in the charge and custody of a 44
public administrator; 45
(12) "Exempt property" means that property of a 46
decedent's estate which is not subject to be applied to the 47
payment of claims, charges, legacies or bequests as 48
described in section 474.250; 49
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(13) "Fiduciary" includes executor, administrator, 50
guardian, conservator, and trustee; 51
(14) "Heirs" means those persons, including the 52
surviving spouse, who are entitled under the statutes of 53
intestate succession to the real and personal property of a 54
decedent on his death intestate; 55
(15) "Interested persons" mean heirs, devisees, 56
spouses, creditors or any others having a property right or 57
claim against the estate of a decedent being administered 58
and includes children of a protectee who may have a property 59
right or claim against or an interest in the estate of a 60
protectee. The term "interested persons" includes any 61
person or agency nominated to serve as a fiduciary in any 62
application for letters, petition for appointment of a 63
guardian or conservator, or petition for appointment of a 64
trustee. This meaning may vary at different stages and 65
different parts of a proceeding and must be determined 66
according to the particular purpose and matter involved; 67
(16) "Issue" of a person, when used to refer to 68
persons who take by intestate succession, includes adopted 69
children and all lawful lineal descendants, except those who 70
are the lineal descendants of living lineal descendants of 71
the intestate; 72
(17) "Lease" includes an oil and gas lease or other 73
mineral lease, but does not include month-to-month or year- 74
to-year tenancies under oral contracts; 75
(18) "Legacy" means a testamentary disposition of 76
personal property; 77
(19) "Legatee" means a person entitled to personal 78
property under a will; 79
(20) "Letters" include letters testamentary, letters 80
of administration and letters of guardianship; 81
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(21) "Lien" includes all liens except general 82
judgment, execution and attachment liens; 83
(22) "Lineal descendants" include adopted children and 84
their descendants; 85
(23) "Mortgage" includes deed of trust, vendor's lien 86
and chattel mortgage; 87
(24) "Person" includes natural persons and 88
corporations; 89
(25) "Personal property" includes interests in goods, 90
money, choses in action, evidences of debt, shares of 91
corporate stock, and chattels real; 92
(26) "Personal representative" means executor or 93
administrator. It includes an administrator with the will 94
annexed, an administrator de bonis non, an administrator 95
pending contest, an administrator during minority or 96
absence, and any other type of administrator of the estate 97
of a decedent whose appointment is permitted. It does not 98
include an executor de son tort; 99
(27) "Property" includes both real and personal 100
property; 101
(28) "Real property" includes estates and interests in 102
land, corporeal or incorporeal, legal or equitable, other 103
than chattels real; 104
(29) "Registered mail" includes "certified mail" as 105
defined and certified under regulations of the United States 106
Postal Service; 107
(30) "Will" includes codicil; it also includes a 108
testamentary instrument which merely appoints an executor 109
and a testamentary instrument which merely revokes or 110
revives another will. 111
472.100. 1. No notice to interested persons need be 1
given except as specifically provided for in this code or as 2
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ordered by the court. When no notice is required by this 3
code, the court may require such notice as it deems 4
desirable by a general rule or by an order in a particular 5
case. 6
2. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, 7
all notices required by this code or the court to be served 8
upon any person shall be served as the court directs, by 9
rule or otherwise, in such manner and at such time as to 10
constitute reasonable notice, in any of the following 11
manners: 12
(1) By delivering to the person, including a minor or 13
a disabled or incapacitated person not known to have a 14
legally appointed guardian or conservator, a copy of the 15
notice personally or by leaving a copy at his dwelling house 16
or usual place of abode with some person of his family over 17
the age of fifteen years, or by delivering a copy to an 18
agent authorized by appointment or required by law to 19
receive service of process; 20
(2) By publishing a copy of the notice in some 21
newspaper qualified to publish legal notices under chapter 22
493 and having general circulation within the county in 23
which the court is held for the time required by law or 24
court rule or order. If no time is fixed by law or by rule 25
of court, the notice shall be published once each week for 26
four consecutive weeks, the last insertion being at least 27
seven days before the hearing. The personal representative, 28
or other person at whose instance any notice by publication 29
is required, may designate the newspaper in which such 30
notice is to be published; but as to any notice which is 31
necessary to the jurisdiction of the court, the clerk shall 32
designate the newspaper unless the personal representative 33
or other person has made such designation and so informed 34
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the clerk in writing before the time for commencement of 35
publication. If there is no qualified newspaper published 36
in the county, the notice shall be published in some 37
qualified newspaper published in an adjoining county which 38
has a general circulation within the county in which the 39
court is held or the notice shall be given by posting copies 40
thereof in ten public places in the county as the court 41
directs. If a notice, which is required to be published 42
once a week for more than one time, is published in a daily 43
newspaper, each publication after the first shall appear on 44
the same day of the week on which the first publication was 45
made; 46
(3) By registered or certified mail, addressed to the 47
person to be notified at his address within the United 48
States, deposited in the United States mail, with all 49
postage charges prepaid, and, if ordered by the court, with 50
a return receipt requested; 51
(4) By ordinary mail, deposited in the United States 52
mail with all postage charges prepaid at the first class 53
rate, in a sealed envelope or on a post or postal card, 54
properly addressed, bearing the name and return address of 55
the sender and otherwise inscribed in accordance with the 56
regulations of the United States Postal Service to require a 57
return thereof to the sender upon nondelivery to the 58
addressee; 59
(5) By any combination of the above or as may be 60
provided by the rules of civil procedure. 61
3. Service by publication is notice to all heirs and 62
devisees, whether known or unknown or whether residents or 63
nonresidents of this state, spouses and to all creditors and 64
other persons interested in the estate. 65
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4. Provisions in this code for notice to interested 66
persons, other than by publication, do not require such 67
notice to creditors unless otherwise specifically required 68
by the code or by the court. 69
5. Service of notice upon a minor or a disabled or 70
incapacitated person having a legally appointed guardian or 71
conservator, if the fact of the guardianship or 72
conservatorship is known to the person requiring such 73
service or is disclosed by the court files or records, shall 74
be made by serving such guardian or conservator in the 75
manner provided herein for service upon other persons. 76
Service upon a corporation may be made in the manner 77
provided by law for the service of summons on corporations 78
in civil actions. 79
6. In all cases where service by publication is 80
required but personal service or service by registered or 81
certified mail is not ordered, all interested persons whose 82
names and addresses appear in the court files or records, 83
including creditors only when ordered by the court, shall be 84
served by ordinary mail. Failure in any such case to mail 85
any notice or failure of any interested person to receive 86
any mailed notice does not invalidate any order of the court 87
or deprive the court of jurisdiction. 88
7. Personal service and service by registered or 89
certified mail may be made by any competent witness, except 90
that service by mail of any process, order or notice issued 91
by the court shall be made by the clerk, or, if personal 92
service is required, by the sheriff. Service by publication 93
and by ordinary mail, except those required by section 94
473.587, shall be made by the clerk when requested in 95
writing by the party requiring same, and when furnished with 96
the necessary information therefor. 97
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8. If an attorney has entered his appearance in 98
writing for any party in any probate proceeding or matter 99
pending in the court, all notices required to be served on 100
the party in the proceeding or matter may be served on the 101
attorney and such service shall be in lieu of service upon 102
the party for whom the attorney appears. Service on an 103
attorney may be made by ordinary mail or by leaving a copy 104
of any notice or paper at his office with his clerk or with 105
an attorney employed by or associated with the attorney to 106
be served. 107
9. If the public administrator is nominated as 108
fiduciary, or at any stage of the proceeding is being 109
considered by the court to be nominated as fiduciary, the 110
public administrator shall receive a copy of the application 111
or petition from the applicant, petitioner, or the court and 112
any accompanying documents, including exhibits, and shall 113
receive written notice indicating the date and time of the 114
proceeding, and have an opportunity to attend and be heard. 115
473.020. 1. If no application for letters 1
testamentary or of administration is filed by a person 2
entitled to such letters pursuant to section 473.110 within 3
twenty days after the death of a decedent, then any 4
interested person may petition the probate division of the 5
circuit court which would be the proper venue for the 6
administration of the estate of such decedent for the 7
issuance of letters testamentary or of administration. For 8
purposes of this section, in addition to persons provided 9
for in subdivision (15) of section 472.010, any person who 10
has attached a claim supported by an affidavit setting forth 11
the basis upon which such person has a claim against the 12
decedent shall be an interested person. 13
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2. The petition must be filed within one year after 14
the date of death of the decedent and shall include the 15
following: 16
(1) The decedent's name, the address of the decedent's 17
last residence and the date of death of the decedent; 18
(2) If a written will of the decedent has been 19
presented for probate, the names and addresses of the 20
personal representatives designated in such will; and 21
(3) The names, addresses and relationships to the 22
decedent of the decedent's heirs as is known to, or can be 23
reasonably ascertained by, the petitioner. 24
3. Within fifteen days from the date of filing, the 25
petition shall be set for hearing to determine who should be 26
directed to apply for letters testamentary or of 27
administration, and not to determine the validity of any 28
claim. Notice of the hearing shall be served upon all 29
interested persons, including a nominated fiduciary, in the 30
manner and within such time as directed by the court. Upon 31
hearing of the petition, the court shall enter such order or 32
orders as it deems appropriate, including any of the 33
following: 34
(1) An order directing the person found by the court 35
to be entitled to the issuance of letters testamentary or of 36
administration to apply for and qualify for such letters 37
within such time as is allowed by the court, and in default 38
of such timely application and qualification, upon 39
application, the court shall issue letters of administration 40
to some other person found suitable by the court; 41
(2) An order refusing letters on the estate; or 42
(3) An order dismissing the petition. 43
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