California Legal Codes and Statutes

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Part 7 - EFFECT OF HOMICIDE OR ABUSE OF AN ELDER OR DEPENDENT ADULT

California Probate Code — §§ 250-259

Sections (10)

Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 293, Sec. 4. (AB 139) Effective January 1, 2016.

(a)A person who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent is not entitled to any of the following:

(1)Any property, interest, or benefit under a will of the decedent, or a trust created by or for the benefit of the decedent or in which the decedent has an interest, including any general or special power of appointment conferred by the will or trust on the killer and any nomination of the killer as executor, trustee, guardian, or conservator or custodian made by the will or trust.

(2)Any property of the decedent by intestate succession.

(3)Any of the decedent’s quasi-community property the killer would otherwise acquire under Section 101 or 102 upon the death of the decedent.

(4)Any property of the decedent under Division 5 (commencing with Section 5000).

(5)Any property of the decedent under Part 3 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 6.

(b)In the cases covered by subdivision (a):

(1)The property interest or benefit referred to in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) passes as if the killer had predeceased the decedent and Section 21110 does not apply.

(2)Any property interest or benefit referred to in paragraph

(1)of subdivision (a) which passes under a power of appointment and by reason of the death of the decedent passes as if the killer had predeceased the decedent, and Section 673 does not apply.

(3)Any nomination in a will or trust of the killer as executor, trustee, guardian, conservator, or custodian which becomes effective as a result of the death of the decedent shall be interpreted as if the killer had predeceased the decedent.

Enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79.

A joint tenant who feloniously and intentionally kills another joint tenant thereby effects a severance of the interest of the decedent so that the share of the decedent passes as the decedent’s property and the killer has no rights by survivorship. This section applies to joint tenancies in real and personal property, joint and multiple-party accounts in financial institutions, and any other form of coownership with survivorship incidents.

Enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79.

A named beneficiary of a bond, life insurance policy, or other contractual arrangement who feloniously and intentionally kills the principal obligee or the person upon whose life the policy is issued is not entitled to any benefit under the bond, policy, or other contractual arrangement, and it becomes payable as though the killer had predeceased the decedent.

Enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79.

In any case not described in Section 250, 251, or 252 in which one person feloniously and intentionally kills another, any acquisition of property, interest, or benefit by the killer as a result of the killing of the decedent shall be treated in accordance with the principles of this part.

Enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79.

(a)A final judgment of conviction of felonious and intentional killing is conclusive for purposes of this part.

(b)In the absence of a final judgment of conviction of felonious and intentional killing, the court may determine by a preponderance of evidence whether the killing was felonious and intentional for purposes of this part. The burden of proof is on the party seeking to establish that the killing was felonious and intentional for the purposes of this part.

Enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79.

This part does not affect the rights of any person who, before rights under this part have been adjudicated, purchases from the killer for value and without notice property which the killer would have acquired except for this part, but the killer is liable for the amount of the proceeds or the value of the property.

Enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79.

An insurance company, financial institution, or other obligor making payment according to the terms of its policy or obligation is not liable by reason of this part, unless prior to payment it has received at its home office or principal address written notice of a claim under this part.

Enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79.

This part does not apply where the decedent was killed before January 1, 1985; and the law applicable prior to January 1, 1985, continues to apply where the decedent was killed before January 1, 1985.

Added by Stats. 1992, Ch. 178, Sec. 29.5. Effective January 1, 1993.

A person who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent is not entitled to bring an action for wrongful death of the decedent or to benefit from the action brought by the decedent’s personal representative. The persons who may bring an action for wrongful death of the decedent and to benefit from the action are determined as if the killer had predeceased the decedent.

Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 308, Sec. 9. (SB 647) Effective January 1, 2012.

(a)Any person shall be deemed to have predeceased a decedent to the extent provided in subdivision (c) where all of the following apply:

(1)It has been proven by clear and convincing evidence that the person is liable for physical abuse, neglect, or financial abuse of the decedent, who was an elder or dependent adult.

(2)The person is found to have acted in bad faith.

(3)The person has been found to have been reckless, oppressive, fraudulent, or malicious in the commission of any of these acts upon the decedent.

(4)The decedent, at the time those acts occurred and thereafter until the time of his or her death, has been found to have been substantially unable to manage his or her financial resources or to resist fraud or undue influence.

(b)Any person shall be deemed to have predeceased a decedent to the extent provided in subdivision (c) if that person has been convicted of a violation of Section 236 of the Penal Code or any offense described in Section 368 of the Penal Code.

(c)Any person found

liable under subdivision (a) or convicted under subdivision (b) shall not (1) receive any property, damages, or costs that are awarded to the decedent’s estate in an action described in subdivision (a) or (b), whether that person’s entitlement is under a will, a trust, or the laws of intestacy; or (2) serve as a fiduciary as defined in Section 39, if the instrument nominating or appointing that person was executed during the period when the decedent was substantially unable to manage his or her financial resources or resist fraud or undue influence. This section shall not apply to a decedent who, at any time following the act or acts described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), or the act or acts described in subdivision (b), was substantially able to manage his or her financial resources and to resist fraud or undue influence within the meaning of subdivision (b) of Section 1801 of the Probate Code and subdivision (b) of Section 39 of the Civil Code.

(d)For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1)“Physical abuse” as defined in Section 15610.63 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(2)“Neglect” as defined in Section 15610.57 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(3)“False imprisonment” as defined in Section 368 of the Penal Code.

(4)“Financial abuse” as defined in Section 15610.30 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(e)Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the severance and transfer of an action or proceeding to a separate civil action pursuant to Section 801.