North Dakota Code 30.1-31-12 – (6-215) Rights of creditors and others
1. If other assets of the estate are insufficient, a transfer resulting from a right of survivorship or P.O.D. designation under sections 30.1-31-02 through 30.1-31-20 is not effective against the estate of a deceased party to the extent needed to pay claims against the estate and statutory allowances to the surviving spouse and children.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 30.1-31-12
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- 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
- children: includes children by birth and by adoption. See North Dakota Code 1-01-18
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
- written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37
- year: means twelve consecutive months. See North Dakota Code 1-01-33
2. A surviving party or beneficiary who receives payment from an account after death of a party is liable to account to the personal representative of the decedent for a proportionate share of the amount received to which the decedent, immediately before death, was beneficially entitled under section 30.1-31-08, to the extent necessary to discharge the claims and allowances described in subsection 1 remaining unpaid after application of the decedent’s estate. A proceeding to assert the liability may not be commenced unless the personal representative has received a written demand by the surviving spouse, a creditor, a child, or a person acting for a child of the decedent. The proceeding must be commenced within one year after death of the decedent.
3. A surviving party or beneficiary against whom a proceeding to account is brought may join as a party to the proceeding a surviving party or beneficiary of any other account of the decedent.
4. Sums recovered by the personal representative must be administered as part of the decedent’s estate. This section does not affect the protection from claims of the personal representative or estate of a deceased party provided in section 30.1-31-19 for a financial institution that makes payment in accordance with the terms of the account.