Revises provisions relating to personal financial administration. (BDR 12-901)

Existing law governs the administration of trusts and estates. (Titles 12 and 13 of NRS) Sections 1, 1.1, 1.3, 1.6, 4, 5, 11 and 17 of this bill revise certain terms and make technical corrections relating to the administration of trusts and estates. Existing law sets forth an order of priority for the appointment of an administrator to administrate the intestate estate of a decedent and authorizes any person legally qualified to serve as the administrator. (NRS 139.040) Section 1.2 of this bill: (1) revises the order of priority for the appointment of an administrator to administrate the intestate estate of a decedent; (2) provides that a person may be legally qualified to serve as an administrator upon a finding of good cause based on certain evidence; and (3) authorizes the court to appoint certain persons under certain circumstances. Section 1.5 of this bill makes a conforming change to an internal reference caused by the revisions relating to the order of priority and appointment in section 1.2. Section 1.4 of this bill authorizes a court to appoint one or more persons to serve as personal representative or appoint an independent representative under certain circumstances. Existing law establishes the Independent Administration of Estates Act, which allows a personal representative to administer most aspects of the estate of a decedent without court supervision. (NRS 143.300-143.815) Section 2 of this bill provides that only a personal representative who is named in the will or certain other persons who meet the criteria to be legally qualified as an administrator of an intestate estate may administer an estate. Existing law authorizes any interested person to petition for modification or revocation of the authority of a personal representative. (NRS 143.360) Section 3 of this bill requires the court, when determining whether to revoke the authority of a personal representative, to give preference to any interested person based on the order of priority set forth for the appointment of an administrator for an intestate estate. Under existing law, a court is authorized to enter an order for the summary administration of an estate if the court deems summary administration advisable and the gross value of the estate does not exceed $300,000, after deducting any encumbrances. (NRS 145.040) Sections 6 and 7 of this bill increase that amount to $500,000. Sections 8 and 9 of this bill increase the monetary amount for an estate to be set aside without administration from $100,000 to $150,000. Section 10 of this bill makes a conforming change to similarly increase the affidavit of entitlement limit for a surviving spouse. Existing law requires certain civil actions to recover damages from another person to be commenced within certain periods. (NRS 11.190) Section 12 of this bill provides that an action against certain persons based on a breach of fiduciary duty, not involving fraud or intentional misrepresentation, must be commenced within 2 years. Section 18 of this bill authorizes a trustee to make an outright distribution to a beneficiary without requiring the trustee to first create a new trust under certain circumstances. Section 19 of this bill makes a conforming change to indicate that certain terms apply to the outright distribution. Section 20 of this bill grants a trustee the power to reimburse a settlor for tax payments. Section 21 of this bill requires certain documentation to be provided to beneficiaries of a trust. Section 22 of this bill specifies the circumstances under which the laws of this State govern the administration of a trust. Section 23 of this bill provides for the circumstances under which an account must be deemed approved and final by a trust adviser or trust protector. Section 32 of this bill repeals the provisions of existing law which set forth a preference for relatives of the whole blood over relatives of the half blood for certain purposes relating to the administration of an estate.