Section 1310. Payment of certain debts without administration 1  


Latest version.
  • 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.