Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C Sec. 6-212 – Rights at death
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1. Multiple-party account. Except as otherwise provided in this Part, on death of a party sums on deposit in a multiple-party account belong to the surviving party or parties. If 2 or more parties survive and one is the surviving spouse of the decedent, the amount to which the decedent, immediately before death, was beneficially entitled under section 6?211 belongs to the surviving spouse. If 2 or more parties survive and none is the surviving spouse of the decedent, the amount to which the decedent, immediately before death, was beneficially entitled under section 6?211 belongs to the surviving parties in equal shares and augments the proportion to which each survivor, immediately before the decedent’s death, was beneficially entitled under section 6?211, and the right of survivorship continues between the surviving parties.
[PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C Sec. 6-212
- Account: means a contract of deposit between a depositor and a financial institution and includes a checking account, savings account, certificate of deposit and share account. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C Sec. 6-201
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Beneficiary: means a person named as one to whom sums on deposit in an account are payable on request after death of all parties or for whom a party is named as trustee. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C Sec. 6-201
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Financial institution: means an organization authorized to do business under state or federal laws relating to financial institutions and includes a bank, trust company, savings bank, building and loan association, savings and loan company or association and credit union. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C Sec. 6-201
- Multiple-party account: means an account payable on request to one or more of 2 or more parties, whether or not a right of survivorship is mentioned. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C Sec. 6-201
- Party: means a person who, by the terms of an account, has a present right, subject to request, to payment from the account other than as a beneficiary or agent. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C Sec. 6-201
- POD designation: means the designation of:
A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C Sec. 6-201Request: means a request for payment complying with all terms of the account, including special requirements concerning necessary signatures and regulations of the financial institution. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C Sec. 6-201 Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners. Sums on deposit: means the balance payable on an account, including interest and dividends earned, whether or not included in the current balance, and any deposit life insurance proceeds added to the account by reason of death of a party. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C Sec. 6-201 Tenancy in common: A type of property ownership in which two or more individuals have an undivided interest in property. At the death of one tenant in common, his (her) fractional percentage of ownership in the property passes to the decedent Terms of the account: includes the deposit agreement and other terms and conditions, including the form, of the contract of deposit. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 18-C Sec. 6-201
2. POD designation. In an account with a POD designation:
A. On death of one of 2 or more parties, the rights in sums on deposit are governed by subsection 1; and [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
B. On death of the sole party or the last survivor of 2 or more parties, sums on deposit belong to the surviving beneficiary or beneficiaries. If 2 or more beneficiaries survive, sums on deposit belong to them in equal and undivided shares, and there is no right of survivorship in the event of death of a beneficiary thereafter. If no beneficiary survives, sums on deposit belong to the estate of the last surviving party. [PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
[PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
3. No POD designation; no right of survivorship. Sums on deposit in a single-party account without a POD designation, or in a multiple-party account that, by the terms of the account, is without right of survivorship, are not affected by death of a party, but the amount to which the decedent, immediately before death, was beneficially entitled under section 6?211 is transferred as part of the decedent’s estate. A POD designation in a multiple-party account without right of survivorship is ineffective. For purposes of this section, designation of an account as a tenancy in common establishes that the account is without right of survivorship.
[PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
4. Liability for unpaid requests for payment. The ownership right of a surviving party or beneficiary, or of the decedent’s estate, in sums on deposit is subject to requests for payment made by a party before the party’s death, whether paid by the financial institution before or after death or unpaid. The surviving party or beneficiary, or the decedent’s estate, is liable to the payee of an unpaid request for payment. The liability is limited to a proportionate share of the amount transferred under this section, to the extent necessary to discharge the request for payment.
[PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. A, §2 (NEW). PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. F, §1 (AFF). PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF).