Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 1A of chapter 191 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1984 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out clause 6 and inserting in place thereof the following clause:-

6. A direction in a will or instrument of trust to pay taxes caused by, resulting from, or imposed by reason of the death of the testator or donor, as the case may be, out of the decedent's probate estate or trust estate or other property, shall not include, unless the will or instrument of trust or a provision of such tax laws specifically provides otherwise, taxes levied or assessed under the tax laws of the United States or of the commonwealth or of any foreign state or commonwealth (i) on generation-skipping transfers or (ii) on any qualified terminable interest property in which the decedent had a qualifying income interest for life.

SECTION 2. Section 2 of chapter 192 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out clause (iii) and inserting in place thereof the following two clauses:- (iii) without testimony if it is executed, attested and made self-proved by affidavits of the testator and the witnesses, each affidavit being made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where executed, and under official seal. The same signature shall be sufficient for the execution, or attestation and the affidavit. The form and content shall be substantially as follows:

I, the undersigned testator, do hereby declare that I sign (or direct another to sign for me) and execute this instrument as may last will, that I sign it willingly (or willingly direct another to sign for me) in the presence of each of said witnesses, and that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes herein expressed.

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i1 `ts

i2 Testator

We, the undersigned witnesses, each do hereby declare in the presence of the aforesaid testator that the testator signed (or directed another to sign for him and said person signed for him) and executed this instrument as his last will in the presence of each of us, that he signed it willingly (or willingly directed another to sign it for him), that each of us hereby signs this will as witness in the presence of the testator, and that to the best of our knowledge the testator is eighteen (18) years of age or over, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence. `ts

i1

i2 (Witness) `t+1

i1

i2 (Witness) `t+1 `t( STATE OF `t+1 COUNTY OF `t)

Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by the said testator and witnesses this day of A.D. `t+1

i1 (Signed) `t+1

i1 (Seal)

i2 Official Capacity

; or (iv) without testimony if the probate of such instrument is assented to in writing by the widow or husband of the deceased, if any, and by all the heirs at law and next of kin.

SECTION 3. The second paragraph of section 24 of chapter 206 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- Except as otherwise provided herein, if there are other persons interested to whom such notice has not been given by delivery or registered mail, or if the interests of persons unborn, unascertained or legally incompetent to act in their own behalf are not represented except by the accountant, the court shall appoint as guardian ad litem a competent and disinterested person to represent such interests and persons, and such guardian ad litem shall without further notice or action by the court also represent with respect to such account all interested persons who may be born after the date of his appointment.

SECTION 4. Said section 24 of said chapter 206, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the second paragraph the following paragraph:-

The requirement of the appointment of a guardian ad litem to represent the interests of any person where a legally competent person entitled to notice herein has a power to appoint the entire property administered by the accountant to (1) himself, his creditors, his estate or creditors of his estate or (2) to any other class of appointees which is broader than the class of those persons who would take in default of the exercise of such power, or who has, at all times during the accounting period, a right to withdraw all of such property may be waived by the court in its discretion.