2006 New York Code - Payment Of Certain Debts Without Administration

 
  § 1310. Payment of certain debts without administration
    1. As used in this section
    (a) "Debt" means
    (i)  money  or  securities  payable on account of a deposit in a bank,
  national bank, trust company, branch of a foreign  banking  corporation,
  savings  bank,  industrial  bank,  state  or  federal  savings  and loan
  association or state or federal credit union or with a  private  banker,
  or  funds  or  securities  invested  with,  held  by or deposited with a
  broker-dealer or  with,  by  or  in  securities  of  a  management  type
  investment  company  or trust payable or returnable to, or to the estate
  of, or to a beneficiary designated by, the depositor or
    (ii) money payable by a state or federal savings and loan  association
  or  state  or  federal  credit  union  to,  or to the estate of, or to a
  beneficiary designated by, a member on account of the  withdrawal  value
  of his shares or
    (iii)  money  payable  by  an  insurance  company  or  a  savings bank
  authorized to conduct the business of life insurance under an annuity or
  pure endowment contract or a policy of life, group life, industrial life
  or accident and health insurance or a contract made by such an  insurer,
  relating  to  the  payment  of proceeds or avails thereof, to, or to the
  estate of, or to a beneficiary designated by, the owner  or  the  person
  purchasing the annuity or the person insured or the person effecting the
  insurance or the person effecting the supplemental contract or
    (iv)  money  payable  by  a public corporation, a state or the federal
  government or an agency thereof, to, or  to  the  estate  of,  or  to  a
  beneficiary designated by, any natural person or
    (v)  a pension or retirement or death benefit, profit share, earnings,
  wages, salary  or  bonus  payable  by  an  employer  or  by  a  pension,
  retirement  or profit-sharing plan or system to, or to the estate of, or
  to a beneficiary designated by, an employee, or
    (vi) a balance of money due on an accepted claim or  account  payable,
  on  account  of  dividends  payable  by  the  superintendent of banks in
  liquidation of bank assets, to, or to the estate of, or to a beneficiary
  designated by, a depositor or
    (vii) any personal property deposited with a  county  treasurer  by  a
  coroner  or  county medical examiner pursuant to sections 785 and 786 of
  the code of criminal procedure, or
    (viii) any personal property on deposit with a hospital, nursing home,
  residential health care  facility  or  out-patient  lodge  described  in
  section twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law at the time of
  the  death  of a decedent that is payable or returnable to the estate of
  the decedent;
    (b) "Debtor" means the person or  persons,  partnership,  corporation,
  government  or  government agency by whom a debt defined in this section
  is to be paid,
    (c) "Creditor" means the employee, depositor, member, or other person,
  to whom, or to whose estate, or to a beneficiary designated by  whom,  a
  debt  defined  in  this  section  is  to  be  paid and shall include any
  beneficiary validly designated by such a creditor,
    (d) A "designation of a beneficiary" means any writing, signed by  the
  creditor  and delivered to the debtor purporting to designate the person
  to whom a debt shall be paid on death of the creditor or any transaction
  which operates pursuant to statute as such a designation.
    2. Upon the death of  a  creditor,  unless  otherwise  provided  by  a
  designation of a beneficiary which is then in effect, it shall be lawful
  for  the debtor forthwith to pay to the surviving spouse of the decedent
  not more than thirty thousand dollars of the  debt,  upon  an  affidavit
  made  by  the  spouse  showing  that  the payment and all other payments


  received by the spouse under this subdivision do not  in  the  aggregate
  exceed thirty thousand dollars.
    3.  Not  less  than  thirty days after the death of a creditor, unless
  otherwise provided by a designation of a beneficiary which  is  then  in
  effect,  it  shall be lawful for the debtor to pay not more than fifteen
  thousand dollars of the debt to
    (a) the surviving spouse,
    (b) one or more of the children eighteen years of age or older,
    (c) the father or mother,
    (d) the brother or sister,
    (e) the niece or nephew of the decedent, preference being given in the
  order named if request for payment shall have been made by more than one
  such person,
    (f) a creditor of the decedent or to a person who has paid or incurred
  the funeral expense of the decedent, upon the request of  the  surviving
  spouse  or of one of such relatives.  Payment under this subdivision may
  be made upon an affidavit by the surviving spouse or relative to whom or
  at whose request the payment is made, showing
    (i) the date of the death of the decedent,
    (ii) the relationship of the affiant to the decedent,
    (iii) that no fiduciary has qualified or been appointed,
    (iv) the names and addresses of the persons entitled to and  who  will
  receive the money paid, and
    (v)  that  such payment and all other payments made under this section
  by all debtors, known to the affiant, after diligent inquiry do  not  in
  the aggregate exceed fifteen thousand dollars. This subdivision does not
  limit the right of a debtor to make payment to a surviving spouse within
  less  than  thirty  days  after the death of the creditor as provided in
  subdivision two.
    4. Not less than 6 months  after  the  death  of  a  creditor,  unless
  otherwise  provided  by  a designation of a beneficiary which is then in
  effect, it shall be lawful for the debtor to pay a debt which  does  not
  exceed  $5,000,  or  any  part of such debt, to a distributee or, to the
  extent that the funds are not exempt from  claims  of  creditors,  to  a
  creditor  or  to  a person who has paid or incurred the funeral expenses
  upon an affidavit made by the person paid showing
    (a) the date of the death of the decedent,
    (b) that no fiduciary has qualified or been appointed,
    (c) that the decedent was not survived by a spouse or minor child,
    (d) that the affiant is entitled to the payment, and
    (e) that such payment and all other payments made under  this  section
  by  all debtors, known to the affiant, after diligent inquiry, do not in
  the aggregate exceed $5,000.
    5. A payment made in good faith under this section shall be a complete
  discharge to the debtor to the extent of the payment,  even  though  the
  affidavit  on  which  payment  is made be false, and even though payment
  pursuant to subdivision 3 was  not  made  in  the  order  of  preference
  indicated  in  that subdivision, provided only that the creditor be dead
  and that the required number of days elapse between  death  and  payment
  and,  in the case of a payment under subdivision 2 or subdivision 3 that
  the affiant in fact bear the stated relationship to the decedent and  in
  the  case of a payment under subdivision 4 that the affiant be in fact a
  distributee or creditor or have paid or incurred the funeral expenses.
    6.  Any  person  receiving  payment  pursuant  to  this   section   is
  accountable  therefor  to  the  fiduciary  of  the  decedent  if  one be
  appointed or to the public administrator of the county having  authority
  to take possession of the money or property constituting the debt except
  that a surviving spouse entitled to have property set aside to him or to


  her  pursuant  to  EPTL  5-3.1 need not account for such payments to the
  extent of the exemption provided therein, and  the  amount  so  received
  shall be credited to such exemption.
    7. Nothing in this section shall deprive any person of any right which
  he  would otherwise have to receive payment of a debt, except as against
  a debtor who has made a payment which is a discharge  under  subdivision
  5, nor shall anything in this section deprive any debtor of any right to
  make  or refuse payment which it would otherwise have. This section does
  not limit article 26 of the tax law.
    8. It shall be lawful for the debtor to pay  a  debt  which  does  not
  exceed five thousand dollars or any part of such debt, under subdivision
  four  of  this section, to the department of social services or a social
  services district where the debt  is  money  payable  on  account  of  a
  deposit  with the debtor for the personal needs of the deceased creditor
  while residing in a medical institution or other facility, or otherwise,
  and the deceased creditor is indebted to the department or  district  on
  account  of medical assistance furnished to or on behalf of the deceased
  creditor.
    9. This section  applies  only  to  creditors  who  die  on  or  after
  September 1, 1952.