Senate Bill No. 63–Senator Amodei

 

February 7, 2003

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Judiciary

 

SUMMARY—Permits recording of affidavit of death by surviving spouse who holds homestead in community property or who takes community real property by intestate succession. (BDR 10‑247)

 

FISCAL NOTE:  Effect on Local Government: No.

                           Effect on the State: No.

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

AN ACT relating to property; permitting the recording of an affidavit of death by a surviving spouse who holds a homestead in community property or who takes community real property by intestate succession; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

1-1  Section 1. NRS 111.365 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2  111.365  1.  In the case of real property owned by two or more

1-3  persons as joint tenants , [or] as community property with right of

1-4  survivorship, as a homestead in community property or as

1-5  community property that passes to the surviving spouse by

1-6  intestate succession, it is presumed that all title or interest in and to

1-7  that real property of each of one or more deceased joint tenants or

1-8  the deceased spouse has terminated, and vested solely in the

1-9  surviving joint tenant or spouse or vested jointly in the surviving

1-10  joint tenants, if there has been recorded in the office of the recorder

1-11  of the county or counties in which the real property is situate an

1-12  affidavit, subscribed and sworn to by a person who has knowledge

1-13  of the facts required in this subsection, which sets forth the

1-14  following:

2-1  (a) The family relationship, if any, of the affiant to each

2-2  deceased joint tenant or the deceased spouse;

2-3  (b) A description of the instrument or conveyance by which the

2-4  joint tenancy , [or] right of survivorship or community property

2-5  interest was created;

2-6  (c) A description of the property subject to the joint tenancy ,

2-7  [or] right of survivorship[;] or community property interest; and

2-8  (d) The date and place of death of each deceased joint tenant or

2-9  the deceased spouse.

2-10      2.  Each month, a county recorder shall send all the information

2-11  contained in each affidavit received by him pursuant to subsection 1

2-12  during the immediately preceding month to the Welfare Division of

2-13  the Department of Human Resources in any format and by any

2-14  medium approved by the Welfare Division.

2-15      Sec. 2.  NRS 40.525 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-16      40.525  1.  If title or an interest in real or personal property is

2-17  affected by the death of any person, any other person who claims

2-18  any interest in the real or personal property, if his interest is affected

2-19  by the death of that person, or the State of Nevada, may file in the

2-20  district court of any county in which any part of the real or personal

2-21  property is situated a verified petition setting forth those facts and

2-22  particularly describing the real or personal property, the interest of

2-23  the petitioner and the interest of the deceased therein.

2-24      2.  The clerk shall set the petition for hearing by the court.

2-25  Notice of hearing of the petition must be mailed, by certified mail,

2-26  return receipt requested, postage prepaid, to the heirs at law of the

2-27  deceased person at their places of business or residences, if known,

2-28  and if not, by publication for at least 3 successive weeks in such

2-29  newspaper as the court orders. The clerk shall send a copy of the

2-30  notice of hearing or of the affidavit to the Welfare Division of the

2-31  Department of Human Resources by certified mail, return receipt

2-32  requested, postage prepaid, if the State is not the petitioner, at the

2-33  time notice is mailed to the heirs at law or the notice is published.

2-34  Failure on the part of any such heir at law to contest the petition

2-35  precludes any such heir at law from thereafter contesting the validity

2-36  of the joint interest or its creation or termination.

2-37      3.  The court shall take evidence for or against the petition, and

2-38  may render judgment thereon establishing the fact of the death and

2-39  the termination of the interest of the deceased in the real or personal

2-40  property described in the petition.

2-41      4.  A certified copy of the decree may be recorded in the office

2-42  of the recorder of each county in which any part of the real or

2-43  personal property is situated.

2-44      5.  As an alternative method of terminating the interest of the

2-45  deceased person, if title or an interest in real or personal property

3-1  held in joint tenancy , [or] as community property with right of

3-2  survivorship , as a homestead in community property or as

3-3  community real property that passes to the surviving spouse by

3-4  intestate succession is affected by the death of a joint tenant or

3-5  spouse, any person who has knowledge of the facts may record in

3-6  the office of the county recorder in the county where the property is

3-7  situated an affidavit meeting the requirements of NRS 111.365,

3-8  accompanied by a certified copy of the death certificate of the

3-9  deceased person.

 

3-10  H