Senate Bill S6711

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S6711        REVISED MEMO 05/12/2016

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the estates, powers and trusts law,
to authorize a spouse to waive or release his or her right of election
after the death of his or her spouse

 PURPOSE :

To allow a surviving spouse to waive his or her right of election in
the estate of his or her spouse after their death.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one amends Estates, Powers and Trusts Law § 5-1.1-A(e)(1) to
authorize a spouse to waive his or her right of election after the
death of his or her spouse.

Section two provides that the act shall take effect 30 days after
enactment.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Current law provides spouses with what is called a "right of election"
in the estate of a deceased spouse. This right of election prevents
spouses from being completely disinherited. While current law permits
spouses to waive the right of election, the right of election can only
              

be waived while both spouses are alive.

The inability of the surviving spouse to waive the right of election
after the passing of the decedent can unnecessarily delay the
administration of an estate. A surviving spouse has an absolute right
to exercise the right of election until six months from the date of
issuance of letters testamentary or letters of administration by the
surrogate's court, but no more than 2 years after the death of the
deceased spouse. As long as there is a potential for the exercise of a
right of election, the other beneficial interests in an estate will
remain uncertain until the right of election issues are resolved. The
potential for the exercise of a right of election can also create
uncertainty with regard to the need to file an estate tax return and
with regard to the amount of tax that may be due. The current law also
creates a level of uncertainty for Medicaid planning. This proposal,
which would simply provide a surviving spouse with the option to waive
the right of election after the death of the deceased spouse, could
largely resolve these issues.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
30 days after enactment