404.570. Rights of creditors, surviving spouse and unmarried minor children--action for accounting by distributee of nonprobate transfer.

MISSOURI STATUTES AND CODES

404.570. Rights of creditors, surviving spouse and unmarried minor children--action for accounting by distributee of nonprobate transfer.

Rights of creditors, surviving spouse and unmarried minorchildren--action for accounting by distributee of nonprobatetransfer.

404.570. 1. If a deceased beneficiary's probate estate isnot sufficient to pay claims, taxes and expenses ofadministration, including statutory allowances to the survivingspouse and unmarried minor children, the persons that receive anonprobate transfer of the beneficiary's custodial property undersections 404.560 and 404.565 shall be liable to account to thedeceased beneficiary's personal representative for a pro ratashare of the value received from the personal custodianship thatthe decedent owned beneficially immediately before death to theextent necessary to discharge the claims and charges remainingunpaid after application of the funds and property in thedecedent's estate. This subsection does not apply to a deathbenefit paid pursuant to a life or accidental death insurancepolicy held by the custodian; and it does not apply tosurvivorship rights in custodial property held as tenants by theentireties.

2. Only decedent's personal representative may enforce theobligation of the beneficiary's custodial distributees under thissection by bringing an action for accounting, but no proceedingto assert this liability shall be commenced unless the personalrepresentative has received a written demand therefor by acreditor, surviving spouse or one acting for an unmarried minorchild of the deceased beneficiary, and no proceeding shall bebrought for accounting under this section more than two yearsfollowing the beneficiary's death. Sums recovered by thepersonal representative shall be administered as part of thedecedent's estate.

3. After an action for accounting has been commenced underthis section, any party to the proceeding may join and bring intothe action for accounting distributees of custodial property fromother personal custodianships of the decedent, parties andbeneficiaries of multiple-party accounts in which the decedentwas an account party, beneficiaries of other types of nonprobatetransfers who by law are liable to contribute to the satisfactionof creditor claims in a similar proceeding for accounting, andpersons who succeed to property not subject to probateadministration that was subject to satisfaction of the decedent'sdebts during the decedent's lifetime, including the decedent'sinterest in property distributed at the decedent's death by atrustee of a revocable trust created by the decedent and propertyheld as a joint tenant with rights of survivorship, but only tothe extent of decedent's contribution to the value of the jointproperty.

4. This section shall not affect the right of the personalcustodian to execute a direction of the beneficiary to make apayment or to make a nonprobate transfer on death of thebeneficiary, or to make that person liable to the beneficiary'sestate, unless before the payment or transfer, the personalcustodian has been served with process in a proceeding brought bythe deceased beneficiary's personal representative and thepersonal custodian has had a reasonable time to act on it.

5. This section does not create a lien on any property thatis the subject of a nonprobate transfer, except as a lien may beperfected by way of attachment, garnishment or judgment in anaccounting proceeding authorized by this section.