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section (a) "$200❞ and inserting in lieu thereof "$600”.

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SEC. 6. Section 2 of title IV of the District of Columbia 3 Revenue Act of 1937, as amended (D.C. Code, sec. 404 102) is further amended by adding at the end of subsection 5 (d) thereof the following: "When the only assets of a 6 decedent's estate requiring administration consist of not more 7 than two motor vehicles, the Commissioner of the District 8 of Columbia may upon proof satisfactory to him that all 9 debts and taxes owed by the decedent have been paid or 10 provided for, transfer the title to such motor vehicles to the person or persons entitled thereto or their nominee; and in 12 such case, no administration of the decedent's estate, or other 13 proceedings, need be had. In the event that any of the per

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sons entitled to the transfer of title hereunder shall be a 15 minor, the custodian or the legal guardian of said minor may 16 nominate transferees on behalf of such minor."

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SEC. 7. Section 20-334 of the District of Columbia Code 18 (relating to the order of preference of persons entitled to

19 administer estates) is amended

(1) by striking out in clause (3) of subsection (a) "the father shall be preferred; and, where there is no father, the mother shall be preferred", and inserting

in lieu thereof "the father or mother shall be preferred”;

and

(2) by deleting in such subsection (a), clause

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numbered (5), (9), and (10), and redesignating

clauses numbered (6), (7), and (8) as (5), (6), and (7), respectively.

SEO. 8. Section 20-1106 of the District of Columbia

5 Code (relating to the authority of the court regarding sales 6 of realty) is amended—

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(1) by inserting in the third sentence immediately after the word "or" the following: ", except where

consents have been filed with the court as hereinafter provided,"; and

(2) by adding the following: "Upon a proper showing by the fiduciary of an estate that the personal estate of a decedent is insufficient to meet all of the aforesaid

charges and that all or part of the decedent's real estate

must be sold to pay all or part of the said charges, the court may order the sale of all or part of said real estate without reference to the auditor, provided all persons who have an interest in the real estate to be sold shall

have filed with the court their consents to the sale

thereof. In the event a person having an interest in the said real estate is not sui juris, the court may accept on his behalf the consent of a fiduciary duly appointed for

the estate of said person, or may appoint a guardian ad

24 litem who shall have the right to file a consent on behalf

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of said person"; and

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(3) by adding at the end of the section heading, immediately following the word "report", a semicolon

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and "sales without reference to the auditor".

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SEC. 9. The item relating to section 20-1106 in the

5 analysis of chapter 11 is amended by inserting immediately

6 before the period at the end of the word "report", a semi

7 colon and "sales without reference to the auditor".

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SEC. 10. Section 18-511 of the District of Columbia 9 Code (relating to the appointment of a guardian ad litem) 10 is amended by striking out "shall" and inserting in lieu 11 thereof "may".

Passed the House of Representatives May 10, 1971.

Attest:

W. PAT JENNINGS,

Clerk.

THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,
Washington, D.C., June 8, 1971.

Hon. THOMAS F. EAGLETON,

Chairman, Committee on the District of Columbia,

U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR EAGLETON: The Commissioner of the District of Columbia has for report S. 1369, a bill "To amend the District of Columbia Code to increase the jurisdictional amount for the administration of small estates, to increase the family allowance, to provide simplified procedures for the settlement of estates, and to eliminate provisions which discriminate against women in administering estates," and a similar bill, H.R. 7931, "To amend the District of Columbia Code with respect to the administration of small estates, and for other purposes," as passed by the House of Representatives on May 10, 1971. Both bills are substantially similar to legislation submitted to the Congress by the Commissioner on January 26, 1971.

Section 1 of the bills provides that each may be cited as the "District of Columbia Administration of Estates Act". Sections 2, 3, and 4 amend sections 20-2101, 20-2102, and 20-2106 of the District of Columbia Code to increase from $500 to $2,500 the jurisdictional amount under which small estates may be administered pursuant to the simplified procedures of chapter 21 of the Code. Section 20-2107 of the District of Columbia Code is also amended to increase from $500 to $2,500 the maximum penalty for the filing of a false affidavit or for violations of an order of the Probate Court. Section 20-2105 of the District of Columbia Code is amended by section 4 of the bills to eliminate the present fee schedule for services rendered in connection with the administration of a small estate, and to authorize the court having jurisdiction over probate matters to set the fees which may be charged by the Register of Wills.

Under existing law the surviving spouse or minor children of a person who dies leaving an estate consisting only of personal property of a value not exceeding $500 may petition the Probate Court for an order which, among other things, eliminates the necessity of a formal administration of the estate or the probate of a will. Also under existing law the person entitled to be preferred in the appointment of an administrator may, in the case of a person who dies intestate leaving an estate consisting only of personal property of a value not in excess of $500, and there is no surviving spouse or minor child, similarly petition the Probate Court for an order waiving formal administration and permitting an expeditious settlement of the estate.

Section 5 of the bills amend section 19-101 of the Code to increase from $500 to $2,500 the amount of the family allowance to which a surviving spouse is entitled out of the personal estate of a decedent for the personal use of such spouse and any minor children. This section also increases from $200 to $600 the maximum amount to which the family allowance may be subjected for the payment of funeral expenses. Under present law the allowance is exempt from all other debts and obligations of the decedent.

The small estates and family allowance provisions were enacted into law by the Act approved June 24, 1949 (63 Stat. 269). The Commissioner believes that changes in economic conditions since that time have acted to make the present amounts of $500 unrealistic in terms of present-day values and requirements. The interrelation of the maximum for the administration of a small estate with the family allowance amount, subject only to a specified funeral allowance, appears to make it desirable, in order to more accurately reflect the current cost of living, that an increase in both the small estates maximum and the family allowance now be made.

The proposed increase in the jurisdictional amount for small estates should materially aid in relieving the Probate Court as well as the Office of the Register of Wills of the detailed procedures and the time-consuming processes now required in the administration of all estates having assets of more than $500, and additionally provide a greater number of persons with this relatively inexpensive and expeditious method of winding up the affairs of a decedent. The proposed increase in the family allowance to a more realistic sum of $2,500 should prove to be of significant benefit to the surviving spouse and dependent children whose needs are most immediate and pressing.

While the small estate laws of other States differ substantially in detail, the maximum amounts in many jurisdictions are considerably higher than in the District of Columbia. In the neighboring State of Maryland a simplified procedure is available to facilitate the settlement of estates of decedents who die

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either testate or intestate where the assets of such estates consist only of personal property not exceeding $1,000 in value. In the Commonwealth of Virginia the summary administration of small estates is authorized under procedures which permit a fund not in excess of $2,500, where it is the only estate of the decedent and no qualification is to be had, to be paid into the court upon order of court, and then distributed by further order of the court.

The recommended increases to $2,500 in those sections of the D.C. Code covered by sections 2 through 5 of the bills have the support of the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia. Enactment of these sections should not result in any increased expenditures by the District Government. Section 6 of the bills amends section 2 of title IV of the District of Columbia Revenue Act of 1937 (50 Stat. 680), as amended (D.C. Code, sec. 40-102), to permit the transfer of title to not more than two automobiles registered in the name of a decedent without the necessity of formal administration of the estate in cases where the automobiles are the only assets of the estate requiring administration. This section further provides for the submission of satisfactory proof that all debts and taxes owed by the decedent have been paid or provided for prior to the transfer of title to such motor vehicles, and for the protection of the rights of a minor who may be entitled to the transfer of title.

Both the neighboring States of Maryland and Virginia have statutes with provisions similar to those of section 6 of the bills. The amendments proposed by this section also have the support of the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia.

The bills provide in section 7 for the amendment of section 20–334 of the Code. relating to the order of preference utilized by the Probate Court in granting letters of administration of the estate of a person dying intestate, so as to eliminate provisions requiring the preferential appointment of males over females or a femme sole over a married woman. The Commissioner believes that such preferential distinctions are out-moded and discriminatory, and that the removal of these requirements from the statute are particularly desirable. Sections 8 and 9 of the bills amend section 20-1106 of the District of Columbia Code by adding a fifth sentence thereto to provide for the sale of the real estate of a decedent situated in the District of Columbia without reference to the auditor of the United States District Court. Existing law authorizes the Probate Court to require the sale of the realty of a decedent whenever necessary for the payment of funeral expenses, debts, costs of administration, taxes, and legacies. Prior to approval of the sale of such realty, the auditor of the court must have ascertained and reported the debts and legacies, the deficiency of personal assets. and the real estate necessary to be sold for the payment of such charges and legacies.

Sections 8 and 9 will eliminate the necessity of a reference to the auditor in those cases where it is satisfactorily shown to the court that there is a deficiency of personal estate to pay debts, expenses, taxes, and legacies, and provided consents to the sale are obtained from all interested parties and that all interested parties are sui juris.

Reference to the auditor in all instances where there is a deficiency of personalty is a time-consuming and often expensive process. In most cases there are no objections by the parties in interest where it is evident that such a sale is necessary. The proposed amendment is permissive. Should the court or the Register of Wills entertain any question as to the allegations of the parties involved, reference to the auditor would be required in accordance with present law.

Section 10 of the bills amend section 18-511 of the District of Columbia Code to authorize the court, in its discretion, to appoint a guardian ad litem to repre sent an infant or a person of unsound mind when a will is offered for probate. Under existing law the appointment of a guardian ad litem (who must be an attorney) is mandatory when an infant or person of unsound mind is an interested party to the proceedings. The function of the guardian ad litem is to protect the interest of his ward and to contest the will if he deems it proper and necessary.

In cases where it is obvious that the interest of the ward is protected by admitting the will, such as (1) where a minor or incompetent is the sole beneficiary and hence takes the entire estate and whereas, by intestacy, he would take either less than the entire estate or nothing, or (2) where a minor or incompetent takes the same or a greater share by will than he would by intestacy, the appointment of a guardian ad litem to advise the court that it would not benefit the