§ 20-1102 — Distribution in kind; valuation; method.

Subject to the terms of any will and the needs of administration, the personal representative shall distribute the assets of a decedent’s estate in kind to the extent possible through application of the following provisions:

(a) A specific legatee shall receive distribution of the legacy given to such legatee;

(b) Any family allowance, or legacy payable in money may be satisfied by value in kind provided:

(1) the person entitled to the payment has not demanded payment in cash;

(2) the property distributed in kind is valued at fair market value as of the date of its distribution; and

(3) no residuary legatee has requested that the asset in question remain a part of the residue of the estate.

(c) The residuary estate shall be distributed in kind when there is no objection to the proposed distribution and it is practicable to distribute undivided interests. In other cases, residuary property may be converted into cash for distribution.

(c-1) For the purpose of valuation under subsection (b)(2) of this section, securities regularly traded on recognized exchanges, if distributed in kind, are valued at the price for the last sale of like securities traded on the business day prior to distribution, or if there was no sale on that day, at the median between amounts bid and offered at the close of that day. Assets consisting of sums owed the decedent or the estate by solvent debtors as to which there is no known dispute or defense are valued at the sum due with accrued interest or discounted to the date of distribution. For assets which do not have readily ascertainable values, a valuation as of a date not more than 30 days prior to the date of distribution, if otherwise reasonable, controls. For purposes of facilitating distribution, the personal representative may ascertain the value of the assets as of the time of the proposed distribution in any reasonable way, including the employment of qualified appraisers, even if the assets may have been previously appraised.

(d) After the probable claims against the estate are known, the personal representative may mail or deliver a proposal for distribution to all persons who have a right to object to the proposed distribution. The right of any such person to object to the proposed distribution terminates if such person fails to object in writing received by the personal representative within 30 days after mailing or delivery of the proposal.

Legislative History

June 24, 1980, D.C. Law 3-72, § 101, 27 DCR 2155; Mar. 21, 1995, D.C. Law 10-241, § 3(mmm), 42 DCR 63