§ 1310 — Payment of certain debts without administration 1

§ 1310. Payment of certain debts without administration\n 1. As used in this section\n (a) "Debt" means\n (i) money or securities payable on account of a deposit in a bank,\nnational bank, trust company, branch of a foreign banking corporation,\nsavings bank, industrial bank, state or federal savings and loan\nassociation or state or federal credit union or with a private banker,\nor funds or securities invested with, held by or deposited with a\nbroker-dealer or with, by or in securities of a management type\ninvestment company or trust payable or returnable to, or to the estate\nof, or to a beneficiary designated by, the depositor or\n (ii) money payable by a state or federal savings and loan association\nor state or federal credit union to, or to the estate of, or to a\nbeneficiary designated by, a member on account of the withdrawal value\nof his shares or\n (iii) money payable by an insurance company or a savings bank\nauthorized to conduct the business of life insurance under an annuity or\npure endowment contract or a policy of life, group life, industrial life\nor accident and health insurance or a contract made by such an insurer,\nrelating to the payment of proceeds or avails thereof, to, or to the\nestate of, or to a beneficiary designated by, the owner or the person\npurchasing the annuity or the person insured or the person effecting the\ninsurance or the person effecting the supplemental contract or\n (iv) money payable by a public corporation, a state or the federal\ngovernment or an agency thereof, to, or to the estate of, or to a\nbeneficiary designated by, any natural person or\n (v) a pension or retirement or death benefit, profit share, earnings,\nwages, salary or bonus payable by an employer or by a pension,\nretirement or profit-sharing plan or system to, or to the estate of, or\nto a beneficiary designated by, an employee, or\n (vi) a balance of money due on an accepted claim or account payable,\non account of dividends payable by the superintendent of financial\nservices in liquidation of bank assets, to, or to the estate of, or to a\nbeneficiary designated by, a depositor or\n (vii) any personal property deposited with a county treasurer by a\ncoroner or county medical examiner pursuant to sections 785 and 786 of\nthe code of criminal procedure, or\n (viii) any personal property on deposit with a hospital, nursing home,\nresidential health care facility or out-patient lodge described in\nsection twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law at the time of\nthe death of a decedent that is payable or returnable to the estate of\nthe decedent;\n (b) "Debtor" means the person or persons, partnership, corporation,\ngovernment or government agency by whom a debt defined in this section\nis to be paid,\n (c) "Creditor" means the employee, depositor, member, or other person,\nto whom, or to whose estate, or to a beneficiary designated by whom, a\ndebt defined in this section is to be paid and shall include any\nbeneficiary validly designated by such a creditor,\n (d) A "designation of a beneficiary" means any writing, signed by the\ncreditor and delivered to the debtor purporting to designate the person\nto whom a debt shall be paid on death of the creditor or any transaction\nwhich operates pursuant to statute as such a designation.\n 2. Upon the death of a creditor, unless otherwise provided by a\ndesignation of a beneficiary which is then in effect, it shall be lawful\nfor the debtor forthwith to pay to the surviving spouse of the decedent\nnot more than thirty thousand dollars of the debt, upon an affidavit\nmade by the spouse showing that the payment and all other payments\nreceived by the spouse under this subdivision do not in the aggregate\nexceed thirty thousand dollars.\n 3. Not less than thirty days after the death of a creditor, unless\notherwise provided by a designation of a beneficiary which is then in\neffect, it shall be lawful for the debtor to pay not more than fifteen\nthousand dollars of the debt to\n (a) the surviving spouse,\n (b) one or more of the children eighteen years of age or older,\n (c) either parent,\n (d) the brother or sister,\n (e) the niece or nephew of the decedent, preference being given in the\norder named if request for payment shall have been made by more than one\nsuch person,\n (f) a creditor of the decedent or to a person who has paid or incurred\nthe funeral expense of the decedent, upon the request of the surviving\nspouse or of one of such relatives.\n Payment under this subdivision may be made upon an affidavit by the\nsurviving spouse or relative to whom or at whose request the payment is\nmade, showing\n (i) the date of the death of the decedent,\n (ii) the relationship of the affiant to the decedent,\n (iii) that no fiduciary has qualified or been appointed,\n (iv) the names and addresses of the persons entitled to and who will\nreceive the money paid, and\n (v) that such payment and all other payments made under this section\nby all debtors, known to the affiant, after diligent inquiry do not in\nthe aggregate exceed fifteen thousand dollars. This subdivision does not\nlimit the right of a debtor to make payment to a surviving spouse within\nless than thirty days after the death of the creditor as provided in\nsubdivision two.\n 4. Not less than 6 months after the death of a creditor, unless\notherwise provided by a designation of a beneficiary which is then in\neffect, it shall be lawful for the debtor to pay a debt which does not\nexceed $5,000, or any part of such debt, to a distributee or, to the\nextent that the funds are not exempt from claims of creditors, to a\ncreditor or to a person who has paid or incurred the funeral expenses\nupon an affidavit made by the person paid showing\n (a) the date of the death of the decedent,\n (b) that no fiduciary has qualified or been appointed,\n (c) that the decedent was not survived by a spouse or minor child,\n (d) that the affiant is entitled to the payment, and\n (e) that such payment and all other payments made under this section\nby all debtors, known to the affiant, after diligent inquiry, do not in\nthe aggregate exceed $5,000.\n 5. A payment made in good faith under this section shall be a complete\ndischarge to the debtor to the extent of the payment, even though the\naffidavit on which payment is made be false, and even though payment\npursuant to subdivision 3 was not made in the order of preference\nindicated in that subdivision, provided only that the creditor be dead\nand that the required number of days elapse between death and payment\nand, in the case of a payment under subdivision 2 or subdivision 3 that\nthe affiant in fact bear the stated relationship to the decedent and in\nthe case of a payment under subdivision 4 that the affiant be in fact a\ndistributee or creditor or have paid or incurred the funeral expenses.\n 6. Any person receiving payment pursuant to this section is\naccountable therefor to the fiduciary of the decedent if one be\nappointed or to the public administrator of the county having authority\nto take possession of the money or property constituting the debt except\nthat a surviving spouse entitled to have property set aside to him or to\nher pursuant to EPTL 5-3.1 need not account for such payments to the\nextent of the exemption provided therein, and the amount so received\nshall be credited to such exemption.\n 7. Nothing in this section shall deprive any person of any right which\nhe would otherwise have to receive payment of a debt, except as against\na debtor who has made a payment which is a discharge under subdivision\n5, nor shall anything in this section deprive any debtor of any right to\nmake or refuse payment which it would otherwise have. This section does\nnot limit article 26 of the tax law.\n 8. It shall be lawful for the debtor to pay a debt which does not\nexceed five thousand dollars or any part of such debt, under subdivision\nfour of this section, to the department of social services or a social\nservices district where the debt is money payable on account of a\ndeposit with the debtor for the personal needs of the deceased creditor\nwhile residing in a medical institution or other facility, or otherwise,\nand the deceased creditor is indebted to the department or district on\naccount of medical assistance furnished to or on behalf of the deceased\ncreditor.\n 9. This section applies only to creditors who die on or after\nSeptember 1, 1952.\n