§ 14-3714 — Persons dealing with personal representative; protection

A person who in good faith either assists or deals with another person acting as a personal representative, on the basis of a copy of letters certified by or under the direction of the court or an officer thereof within sixty days of the transaction, is protected as if the personal representative properly exercised his power and even though the authority of that person as personal representative has been terminated. The fact that a person knowingly deals with one who purports to act as a personal representative does not alone require the person to inquire into the existence of a power, the propriety of its exercise, or the current authority of the purported personal representative. Except for restrictions on powers of supervised personal representatives which are endorsed on letters as provided in section 14-3504, no provision in any will or order of court purporting to limit the power of a personal representative is effective except as to persons with actual knowledge thereof. A person is not bound to see to the proper application of estate assets paid or delivered to a personal representative. The protection here expressed extends to instances in which some procedural irregularity or jurisdictional defect occurred in proceedings leading to the issuance of letters, including a case in which the alleged decedent is found to be alive. The protection here expressed is not by substitution for that provided by comparable provisions of the laws relating to commercial transactions and laws simplifying transfers of securities by fiduciaries. If property is wrongfully transferred by a person acting as a personal representative to a person who is not in good faith, any person who subsequently purchases the property in good faith is protected as if the original transferee dealt in good faith.