HB 522-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2011 SESSION
01/04
HOUSE BILL 522-FN
AN ACT relative to elder abuse.
SPONSORS: Rep. Katsakiores, Rock 5; Rep. Ferrante, Rock 5; Rep. J. O'Connor, Rock 5
This bill declares that any person convicted of a felony for elder abuse shall not be appointed to serve as guardian, executor, or administrator of the victim’s will. Under this bill, such person shall also not inherit under a will.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11-0523
01/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT relative to elder abuse.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subdivision; Elder Abuse. Amend RSA 554 by inserting after section 35 the following new subdivision:
554:36 Appointment Prohibited.
I. Any person convicted of a felony under RSA 631:8 shall be disqualified from being appointed or serving as a guardian, limited guardian, conservator, limited conservator, executor, administrator, fiduciary, personal representative, attorney-in-fact, or health care surrogate as to the victim of the offense or the victim’s estate.
II. Prior to appointing a person to a position listed in paragraph I, the court shall cause a state criminal background check to be performed on the potential appointee for the purposes of determining whether the person is subject to the prohibition established in paragraph I.
III. Any interested person or entity, as defined in RSA 464-A:2, XIII, shall have standing to contest the appointment or continued service of a person subject to the prohibition established in paragraph I.
IV. The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to amend existing principal and agent law relating to the validity of actions taken by persons acting without or in excess of their authority.
554:37 Forfeiture Required. If the husband, wife, heir-at-law, beneficiary under a will, joint tenant with the right of survivorship or the beneficiary under any insurance policy takes the life of the decedent, or victimizes the decedent by the commission of any felony under RSA 631:8 and is convicted therefor, the person so convicted forfeits all interest in and to the property of the decedent, including any interest he or she would receive as surviving joint tenant, and the property interest or insurable interest so forfeited descends to the decedent’s other heirs-at-law, beneficiaries, or joint tenants, unless otherwise disposed of by the decedent. If there are no other heirs-at-law, beneficiaries, or joint tenants of the decedent as to all or part of the interest forfeited, the forfeited interest shall escheat to the state under RSA 471-C.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2012.
LBAO
11-0523
Revised 01/27/11
HB 522 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to elder abuse.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch states this bill may increase state general fund expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2012 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or state, county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill would add RSA 554:36 to prohibit a person convicted of a felony from serving as a guardian, executor, or administrator to the victim of the offense or the victim’s estate. The Branch would be required to conduct a state criminal background check on each potential appointee. Lastly, RSA 554:37 would prohibit a perpetrator from inheriting from the decedent. The Branch does not believe many people would be prohibited from serving or from inheriting under RSA 554. The Branch expects there will be increased costs associated with causing a state criminal background check be completed on any individual seeking to serve as a guardian, executor, or administrator of an estate as there are thousands of estates filed each year. The Branch does not have an exact fiscal impact but expects the costs associated with the background checks to exceed $10,000 a year.