The court would set a date for a hearing to determine who should be directed to apply for the letters testamentary or of administration, or the court could refuse to issue letters on the estate. A will would have to be presented within six months after the letters on the estate are published, or within thirty days after an action is filed to contest the will, whichever occurs later. If no notice has been given of the granting of the letters, a will would have to be presented within one year after the testator's death. If the will is not presented within these time periods, it could not be admitted to probate. The proposed legislation would not allow any actions to be brought upon a bond of a personal representative more than one year after the personal representative's discharge.
Current law allows for actions to be brought up to two years after the discharge.
Claims on a decedent's estate would have to be made within six months after the date of the first published notice of the letters of the estate, or, if notice was served upon or mailed to the claimant, within two months after the date of service or mailing, or else such claim would be forever barred. Claims could be filed against the estate without personally serving the personal representative if the claims are acknowledged in writing. The decedent's surviving spouse and children would be entitled to money out of the estate for their maintenance during the period of administration of the estate. The amount of maintenance would be determined by the court and would be based on the surviving spouse's standard of living and the estate's assets. This right would be in addition to the homestead allowance.