00 HOUSE BILL NO. 196 01 "An Act relating to the handling of matters after a person's death." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03  * Section 1. AS 13.12.517 is amended to read: 04 Sec. 13.12.517. Penalty clause for contest. A provision in a will purporting to 05 penalize an interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings 06 relating to the estate is enforceable even [UNENFORCEABLE] if probable cause 07 exists for instituting proceedings. 08  * Sec. 2. AS 13.16.680(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) Thirty days after the death of a decedent, any person indebted to the 10 decedent or having possession of tangible personal property or an instrument 11 evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action belonging to the decedent shall 12 make payment of the indebtedness or deliver the tangible personal property or an 13 instrument evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action to a person claiming 14 to be the successor of the decedent upon being presented an affidavit made by or on 15 behalf of the successor stating that 01 (1) the [VALUE OF THE] entire estate, wherever located, less liens 02 and encumbrances, consists only of not more than  03 (A) vehicles subject to registration under AS 28.10.011 with  04 a total value that does not exceed $100,000; and  05 (B) personal property, other than vehicles described in (A)  06 of this paragraph, that does not exceed $25,000 [$15,000]; 07 (2) 30 days have elapsed since the death of the decedent; 08 (3) no application or petition for the appointment of a personal 09 representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction; and 10 (4) the claiming successor is entitled to payment or delivery of the 11 property. 12  * Sec. 3. AS 13.16.700 is amended to read: 13 Sec. 13.16.700. Settlement directed by court. When a judge receives 14 information that a person has died in the judge's judicial district leaving an estate with  15 property limited to the property described under AS 13.16.680(a)(1) [OF $15,000] 16 or less and no qualified person has appeared to take charge of the assets, the judge 17 may immediately appoint a person, corporation, or attorney to settle the estate in the 18 manner provided for in AS 13.16.680 - 13.16.695. 19  * Sec. 4. AS 13.33.101 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 20 (d) The money or other benefits paid under a provision for a nonprobate 21 transfer on death in a life insurance contract or a retirement plan are not subject to 22 (1) the debts of the individual who was insured under the life insurance 23 contract or who was a participant in the retirement plan; or 24 (2) the claims of the creditors of the individual who was insured under 25 the life insurance contract or who was a participant in the retirement plan. 26 (e) The provisions of (d) of this section apply even if 27 (1) the provision for a nonprobate transfer on death is contained in the 28 life insurance contract or the retirement plan and designates the person to whom the 29 money or other benefits are to be paid if the person who is the owner or insured under 30 the life insurance policy or the participant in the retirement plan does not select a 31 beneficiary; 01 (2) the life insurance contract, retirement plan, or a provision for a 02 nonprobate transfer on death in the life insurance contract or retirement plan, makes 03 the money or other benefits payable, directly or indirectly, to 04 (A) a decedent's estate or the personal representative of a 05 decedent's estate; in this subparagraph, "personal representative" has the 06 meaning given in AS 13.06.050; 07 (B) a trustee of a trust established under a will; or 08 (C) a trustee of a trust instrument that is separate from the life 09 insurance contract or retirement plan and that designates the ultimate 10 beneficiary; 11 (3) a trust to which the money or other benefits are payable may be 12 amended, revoked, or both amended and revoked, or is funded or unfunded; or 13 (4) the settlor of the trust to which the money or other benefits are 14 payable has reserved all rights of ownership in the life insurance contract or under the 15 retirement plan. 16 (f) The provisions of (d) of this section do not limit the rights of the owner of 17 a life insurance contract to pledge or assign by contract the money or other benefits 18 from a life insurance contract as collateral for the debts of the owner. 19 (g) In (d) of this section, 20 (1) "life insurance contract" means a life insurance policy, an annuity 21 contract, an endowment contract, and a contract entered into by an insurance company 22 in connection with, supplemental to, or in settlement of a life insurance policy, an 23 annuity contract, or an endowment contract; 24 (2) "retirement plan" means 25 (A) a retirement plan that is qualified under 26 U.S.C. 401(a), 26 26 U.S.C. 403(a), 26 U.S.C. 403(b), 26 U.S.C. 408, 26 U.S.C. 408A, or 26 27 U.S.C. 409 (Internal Revenue Code); and 28 (B) the amounts held in the teachers' retirement system under 29 AS 14.25, judicial retirement system under AS 22.25, public employees' 30 retirement system under AS 39.35, or elected public officers' retirement system 31 under former AS 39.37. 01  * Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 02 read: 03 APPLICABILITY. (a) AS 13.16.680(a), as amended by sec. 2 of this Act, and 04 AS 13.16.700, as amended by sec. 3 of this Act, apply to a decedent if the decedent dies on or 05 after the effective date of this Act. 06 (b) AS 13.33.101(d), (e), (f), and (g), as added by sec. 4 of this Act, apply to 07 provisions for a nonprobate transfer on death in a life insurance contract or a retirement plan 08 that are made before, on, or after the effective date of this Act. In this subsection, "life 09 insurance contract" and "retirement plan" have the meanings given in AS 13.33.101(g), added 10 by sec. 4 of this Act.