Makes certain technical amendments to the estates, powers and trusts law and the surrogate's court procedure act to reflect the provisions of the marriage equality act.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A3387
SPONSOR: O'Donnell
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the estates, powers and trusts law and the surrogate's
court procedure act, in relation to making technical corrections related
to marriage equality
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The Marriage Equality Act enacted as Chapter 95 of 2011 provides that
marriages of same-sex and different-sex couples are to be treated equal-
ly in all respects under the law. This bill makes conforming changes to
the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law and the Surrogate's Court Procedure
Act to reflect the provisions of the Act.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
The bill makes the following changes to the EPTL and the SCPA:
1. EPTL Sections 4-1.1(a)(6) and 4-1.1(a)(7) are amended to remove the
phrases "paternal" and "maternal" grandparent and instead adds the
language "of one parental side" and "the other parental side".
2. EPTL Section 6-2.2(d) is amended by adding "spouses, husbands, or
wives".
3. SCPA Sections 1001(1) and 1310(3) are amended by replacing "the
father or mother" with "either parent".
4. SCPA Section 1704(2) and 1752(3) are amended by replacing "father and
mother" with "parents".
 
JUSTIFICATION:
It is necessary to revise the EPTL and the SCPA to coordinate with the
Marriage Equality Act which became a law on June 24, 2011. The intent of
the Legislation is clear - all provisions of law should be interpreted
neutrally with respect to marriage. There are relationships that flow
naturally from the marital relationship, such as lineal and lateral
family relationships. This bill ensures that the legislature's intent in
enacting the Marriage Equality Act to provide gender equality regarding
the rights of all married couples is also logically continued in the
relationships of parties to a same sex marriage and their children in
dispositions of estates.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.5476 2015-16, (referred to Senate Judiciary)
A.7100 (2013-14, passed Assembly both years)
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3387
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 27, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. O'DONNELL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the estates, powers and trusts law and the surrogate's
court procedure act, in relation to making technical corrections
related to marriage equality
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraphs 6 and 7 of paragraph (a) of section 4-1.1 of
2 the estates, powers and trusts law, as amended by chapter 595 of the
3 laws of 1992, are amended to read as follows:
4 (6) One or more grandparents or the issue of grandparents (as herein-
5 after defined), and no spouse, issue, parent or issue of parents, one-
6 half to the surviving [paternal] grandparent or grandparents of one
7 parental side, or if neither of them survives the decedent, to their
8 issue, by representation, and the other one-half to the surviving
9 [maternal] grandparent or grandparents of the other parental side, or if
10 neither of them survives the decedent, to their issue, by represen-
11 tation; provided that if the decedent was not survived by a grandparent
12 or grandparents on one side or by the issue of such grandparents, the
13 whole to the surviving grandparent or grandparents on the other side, or
14 if neither of them survives the decedent, to their issue, by represen-
15 tation, in the same manner as the one-half. For the purposes of this
16 subparagraph, issue of grandparents shall not include issue more remote
17 than grandchildren of such grandparents.
18 (7) Great-grandchildren of grandparents, and no spouse, issue, parent,
19 issue of parents, grandparent, children of grandparents or grandchildren
20 of grandparents, one-half to the great-grandchildren of the [paternal]
21 grandparents of one parental side, per capita, and the other one-half to
22 the great-grandchildren of the [maternal] grandparents of the other
23 parental side, per capita; provided that if the decedent was not
24 survived by great-grandchildren of grandparents on one side, the whole
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04185-01-7
A. 3387 2
1 to the great-grandchildren of grandparents on the other side, in the
2 same manner as the one-half.
3 § 2. Paragraph (d) of section 6-2.2 of the estates, powers and trusts
4 law, as amended by chapter 480 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read
5 as follows:
6 (d) A disposition of real property, or a disposition on or after Janu-
7 ary first, nineteen hundred ninety-six of the shares of stock of a coop-
8 erative apartment corporation allocated to an apartment or unit together
9 with the appurtenant proprietary lease, to persons who are not legally
10 married to one another but who are described in the disposition as
11 husband and wife, spouses, husbands, or wives creates in them a joint
12 tenancy, unless expressly declared to be a tenancy in common.
13 § 3. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 1001 of the surrogate's
14 court procedure act, as amended by chapter 595 of the laws of 1992, is
15 amended to read as follows:
16 (d) [the father or mother] either parent,
17 § 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of section 1310 of the surrogate's
18 court procedure act, as amended by chapter 514 of the laws of 1993, is
19 amended to read as follows:
20 (c) [the father or mother] either parent,
21 § 5. Subdivision 2 of section 1704 of the surrogate's court procedure
22 act, as amended by chapter 404 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read
23 as follows:
24 2. The names of the [father and the mother] parents whose consent to
25 the adoption of a child would have been required pursuant to section one
26 hundred eleven of the domestic relations law or who was entitled to
27 notice of an adoption proceeding pursuant to section one hundred
28 eleven-a of the domestic relations law, and whether or not they are
29 living or have had their parental rights terminated pursuant to section
30 three hundred eighty-three-c, section three hundred eighty-four or
31 section three hundred eighty-four-b of the social services law or
32 section six hundred thirty-one of the family court act, and if living,
33 their domiciles, the name and address of the person with whom the infant
34 resides and the names and addresses of the nearest distributees of full
35 age who are domiciliaries, if both [father and mother] parents are dead.
36 § 6. Subdivision 3 of section 1752 of the surrogate's court procedure
37 act, as amended by chapter 198 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read
38 as follows:
39 3. the names of the [father, the mother] parents, children, adult
40 siblings if eighteen years of age or older, the spouse and primary care
41 physician if other than a physician having submitted a certification
42 with the petition, if any, of the person who is intellectually disabled
43 or a person who is developmentally disabled and whether or not they are
44 living, and if living, their addresses and the names and addresses of
45 the nearest distributees of full age who are domiciliaries, if both
46 parents are dead;
47 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.