Senate Bill 2782

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 91-5-35, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE PARTIES ENTITLED TO NOTICE WHEN A WILL IS ADMITTED TO PROBATE AS A MUNIMENT OF TITLE ONLY WITHOUT NECESSITY OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE ESTATE OR APPOINTMENT OF AN EXECUTOR OR ADMINISTRATOR; TO AMEND SECTION 91-7-151, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CREATE A ONE-YEAR STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS APPLICABLE TO ESTATES; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 15-1-49, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 91-5-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

91-5-35. (1) When a person dies testate owning at the time of death real property in the State of Mississippi and his will purports to devise such realty, then said will may be admitted to probate, as a muniment of title only, by petition signed and sworn to by all beneficiaries named in the will as beneficiaries of the real property that is located in the State of Mississippi, and the spouse of such deceased person, if such spouse is not named as a beneficiary in the will, without the necessity of administration or the appointment of an executor or administrator with the will annexed, provided it be shown by said petition that:

(a) The value of the decedent's personal estate in the State of Mississippi at the time of his or her death, exclusive of any interest in real property, did not exceed the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), exclusive of exempt property; and

(b) All known debts of the decedent and his estate have been paid, including estate and income taxes, if any.

(2) If any beneficiary to any will admitted to probate pursuant to this section shall be under a disability, then the petition may be signed for him by one of his parents or his legal guardian.

(3) The probate of a will under this section shall in no way affect the rights of any interested party to petition for a formal administration of the estate or to contest the will as provided by Section 91-7-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, or the right of anyone desiring to contest a will presented for probate as provided by Section 91-7-21, or as otherwise provided by law.

(4) This section shall apply to wills admitted to probate from and after July 1, 1984, notwithstanding that the testator or testatrix may have died on or before July 1, 1984.

SECTION 2. Section 91-7-151, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

91-7-151. (1) All claims against the estate of deceased persons, whether due or not, shall be registered, probated and allowed in the court in which the letters testamentary or of administration were granted within ninety (90) days after the first publication of notice to creditors to present their claim. Otherwise, the same shall be barred and a suit shall not be maintained thereon in any court, even though the existence of the claim may have been known to the executor or administrator. Where the affidavit is made in good faith and the claim is registered, probated and allowed by the clerk but the affidavit is defective or insufficient, the court may allow the affidavit to be amended so as to conform to the requirements of the statute, at any time before the estate is finally settled; whereupon the probate shall be as effective and the claim as valid against the estate as if the affidavit had been correct and sufficient in the first instance.

(2) All claims and demands not filed against the estate of the deceased person as provided in subsection (1) of this section, or, if later, in which suit has not been brought or revived before the end of twelve (12) months from the date of death of the deceased person, shall be forever barred.

SECTION 3. Section 15-1-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

15-1-49. (1) All actions for which no other period of limitation is prescribed shall be commenced within three (3) years next after the cause of such action accrued, and not after.

(2) In actions for which no other period of limitation is prescribed and which involve latent injury or disease, the cause of action does not accrue until the plaintiff has discovered, or by reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury.

(3) The provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall apply to all pending and subsequently filed actions.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.