NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1971 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 247

SENATE BILL 75

 

 

AN ACT TO AMEND THE UNIFORM GIFTS TO MINORS ACT TO PROVIDE FOR SUCH GIFTS BY WILL.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1.  Chapter 33 of the General Statutes is hereby amended by inserting a new section, G.S. 33-69.1 immediately following G.S. 33-69 and immediately preceding G.S. 33-70, to read as follows:

"§ 33-69.1.  Gifts by will. — (a) Subject to the provisions of this section, any person authorized by G.S. 31-1 to make a will may make a gift by will of a security, money, or life insurance to a person who is a minor at the time the will takes effect.

(b)        The will must contain an expressed intention of the donor to make a gift to a minor named therein pursuant to the North Carolina Uniform Gifts to Minors Act and must, by appropriate reference, incorporate in said will all of the provisions of the North Carolina Uniform Gifts to Minors Act as they exist at the time of the signing of the will by donor.

(c)        The custodian must be designated in donor's will and must be an adult member of the minor's family, a guardian of the minor, an attorney at law, or a trust company. If the donor designates an ineligible person as custodian, or if the person designated renounces, resigns, becomes incapacitated, dies, or for any other reason fails to act or ceases to serve as custodian before the minor attains the age of twenty-one (21) years, the guardian of the minor shall be successor custodian. If the minor has no guardian, the successor custodian shall be appointed by the court upon its own motion or upon petition as provided in G.S. 33-74. A successor custodian shall have all the rights, powers, duties and immunities of a custodian designated in a manner prescribed in this Article.

(d)        The custodian shall give bond to secure the amount by which the fair market value of any gift made by one donor exceeds ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) per donee. Gifts other than money shall be valued in accordance with the values as finally determined for federal estate tax purposes for the estate of donor or, if no federal estate tax return is filed for donor's estate, in accordance with the values as finally determined for North Carolina inheritance tax purposes for the estate of donor, or if no such determination is made, the fair market value at the date of the donor's death. The valuation so made shall be conclusive for purposes of this subsection.

(e)        If the donor by will attempts to make a gift pursuant to this section to a donee who is not a minor at the time the gift takes effect, the gift shall not be void but shall take effect as to the full amount of the gift. The personal representative of the donor's estate shall cause the subject of the gift to be delivered to the donee as in the case of other legacies or bequests.

(f)         (1)        If the subject of the gift is a security in registered form, the personal representative of donor's estate shall cause the security to be registered in the name of the custodian designated in donor's will or in the name of a successor custodian, followed, in substance, by the words: 'as custodian for _________ (name of minor) under the North Carolina Uniform Gifts to Minors Act.'

(2)        If the subject of the gift is a security not in registered form, the personal representative of donor's estate shall cause the subject of the gift to be delivered to the person designated as custodian in donor's will or to a successor custodian, accompanied by a statement of gift in the following form, in substance, signed by the personal representative of donor's estate and the person designated as custodian or who is serving as successor custodian:

GIFT UNDER THE NORTH CAROLINA UNIFORM GIFTS TO MINORS ACT

I, (name of personal representative), personal representative of the estate of _________, deceased, hereby deliver to (name of custodian) as custodian for (name of minor), under the North Carolina Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, the following security(ies):

(Insert an appropriate description of the security or securities delivered sufficient to identify it or them).

Dated this _________ day of _________, 19____.

(signature of personal representative of donor's estate)

(name of custodian) hereby acknowledges receipt of the above described security(ies) as custodian for the above minor under the North Carolina Uniform Gifts to Minors Act.

Dated this _________ day of _________, 19____.

(signature of custodian or successor custodian)

(3)        If the subject of the gift is money, the personal representative of donor's estate shall pay or deliver it to the custodian designated in donor's will or to a successor custodian accompanied by a statement of gift, in the following form, signed by the personal representative of donor's estate and the person designated as custodian or who is serving as successor custodian:

GIFT UNDER THE NORTH CAROLINA UNIFORM GIFTS TO MINORS ACT

I, (name of personal representative), personal representative of the estate of _________, deceased, hereby deliver to (name of custodian) as custodian for (name of minor), under the North Carolina Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, the sum of $_________.

Dated this _________ day of _________, 19___.

(signature of personal representative of donor's estate)

(name of custodian) hereby acknowledges receipt of the sum of $_________ as custodian for the above minor under the North Carolina Uniform Gifts to Minors Act.

Dated this _________ day of _________, 19____

(signature of custodian or successor custodian)

(4)        If the subject of the gift is life insurance, the personal representative of donor's estate shall cause the ownership of the policy to be registered in the name of the person designated in donor's will as custodian or in the name of the successor custodian, followed, in substance, by the words: 'as custodian for (name of minor) under the North Carolina Uniform Gifts to Minors Act,' and such policy of life insurance shall be delivered to the person in whose name it is thus registered as custodian or successor custodian.

(g)        The personal representative of donor's estate shall promptly do all things within his power to put the subject of the gift in the possession and control of the custodian designated in donor's will, but neither the failure of said personal representative to comply with this subsection, nor the designation of an ineligible person as custodian nor renunciation by the person designated as custodian shall affect the consummation of the gift.

(h)        The receipt of the custodian or successor custodian for the subject of the gift shall constitute a full acquittance of the donor's personal representative with respect to the property so delivered.

(i)         A will may contain any number of gifts under the provisions of this section, but any one gift may be made to only one minor and only one person may be custodian of that gift. For the purposes of this Section, all gifts to a single donee by a single donor shall be to the same custodian and shall be treated as a single gift.

(j)         The custodian or successor custodian shall not be deemed to be a testamentary trustee, but shall hold, manage, administer, and dispose of the custodial property pursuant to the provisions of this Article."

Sec. 1.1.  G.S. 33-76(b) is hereby rewritten to read as follows:

"(b)      This Article provides an alternative method for making inter vivos or testamentary gifts to minors and shall not be construed as providing an exclusive method."

Sec. 2.  All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 3.  This act shall become effective October 1, 1971.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 28th day of April, 1971.