Title 15, Estates and Probate

Notice; Hearing. Whenever it shall appear to be to the advantage or best interests of the estate to exchange any property of the decedent for other property, the Superior Court may authorize such exchange, upon such terms and conditions as it may prescribe, which may include the …

Property Exempt From Execution; Mandatory Setting Apart of Homestead Property Previously Selected by Spouses. The decedent's surviving spouse and minor children are entitled to remain in possession of the homestead, the wearing apparel of the family, the household furniture, and …

When the petition referred to in Section 2401 or the petition referred to in Section 2409(a) of this Title is filed, the Clerk of the Superior Court of Guam shall set it for hearing, and notice thereof shall be given in the manner provided in Section 3401 of this Title. SOURCE: P…

(a) If the homestead selected by the husband and wife, or either of them, during their coverture, and recorded while both were living, was selected from the community property, or from property to which Section 1101 of this Title is applicable, or from the separate property of th…

Over Homestead Exemption; Appraiser's Report; Appointment of New Appraiser; Notice and Hearing. (a) If the homestead selected, designated and recorded prior to the decedent's death is returned in the inventory appraised not over the amount of the homestead exemption as provided i…

From Which Selected; Duration; Subjection to Administration. (a) If no homestead has been selected, designated and recorded, or in case the homestead was selected by the surviving spouse out of the separate property of the decedent, the decedent not having joined therein, the Sup…

When property other than a homestead selected and recorded during the lifetime of the decedent, is set apart to the use of the decedent's COL120106 EXEMPT PROPERTY, FAMILY ALLOWANCE family, in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, such property, if the decedent left a s…

A person succeeding, by purchase or otherwise, to the interest of a surviving spouse in a homestead which has been declared in the lifetime of the decedent, shall have the same right to apply to the Superior Court for an order setting aside the homestead to him as is conferred by…

Payment; Time of Commencement. The decedent's surviving spouse, minor children, and adult children who are physically or mentally incapacitated from earning a living and were actually dependent in whole or in part upon the decedent for support, are entitled to such reasonable all…

Modification; No Stay on Appeal. (a) The allowance provided in Section 2415 of this Title may be granted by the Superior Court before the inventory is filed, in which case it shall continue until modified by the Superior Court. After the inventory is filed the Superior Court may …

Support. If any person otherwise eligible for the allowance provided in Section 2415 of this Title has a reasonable maintenance derived from other sources, and there are other persons entitled to such allowance, the allowance shall be granted only to those who have not such maint…

The costs of all proceedings provided for in this Chapter must be paid by the estate as expenses of administration. SOURCE: Probate Code of Guam (1970), § 683. ---------- COL120106

The term personal representative, as used in this Chapter, shall mean the executor, the administrator with the will annexed, or the adminis- trator, but shall not mean a special administrator unless the special administrator's powers are made general pursuant to the provisions of…

Decedent's Creditors and Mail Notice; Written Notices of Debt, if Timely, Treated as Claims if Subsequently Perfected. (a) The personal representative, promptly after letters are issued, shall cause to be published in a daily newspaper of general circulation in the territory of G…

Give Notice Promptly; Time to Present Claims; Effect of Death, Resignation or Removal of Personal Representative. The notice to the creditors of the decedent required by Section 2503 of this Title shall be published in not fewer than three (3) consecutive issues of a daily newspa…

COL120106 An affidavit showing due publication of the notice to creditors required by Section 2503 of this Title must be filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court not more than thirty (30) calendar days after the completion of the publication. The affidavit shall contain a copy …

Judge; Action on Claim if Rejected. If the personal representative is a creditor of the decedent, he shall file his claim with the Clerk of the Superior Court, who must present it for allowance or rejection to a judge of the Superior Court. Its allowance by the judge is sufficien…

If a judge of the Superior Court files or presents a claim against the estate of a decedent, the administration of which is pending before him, and the personal representative allows the claim, such judge must designate, in writing, another judge of the Superior Court who, upon t…

Representative, Guardian, etc.; Time; Contents. A claim may be filed by the surviving spouse, or by the personal representative or guardian of the estate of the surviving spouse, for the payment of the debts of the deceased spouse described in Section 1009 of this Title. Such cla…

Property; Claims; Contents. If any community property is administered in the estate, the surviving spouse or the personal representative or guardian of the estate of the surviving spouse may file a claim against the estate for the payment of the debts of the surviving spouse for …

Vouchers. Every claim which is due, when filed or presented, must be supported by the affidavit of the claimant or some one on the claimant's behalf, that the amount is justly due, that no payments have been made thereon which are not credited, and that there are no offsets to th…

Copy; Secured Claims. If the claim is founded on a written instrument, the original need not be filed or presented, but a copy thereof with all endorsements must be attached to the claim. The original instrument must be exhibited to the personal representative or to the Superior …

Agencies or Instrumentalities thereof. (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this Section, the following claims must be filed or presented within the time limited in the notice required by Section 2503 of this Title or as extended by the provi- sions of Sections 25…

Liability Insurance. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the presentation or filing of a claim shall not be required and a civil action may be maintained by a claimant to establish, to the limits of the insurance protection only, a liability of the dece- dent for …

No claim which is barred by the statute of limitations shall be allowed or approved by the personal representative, or by the Superior Court. When a claim is presented to the Superior Court for allowance or COL120106 approval, the Superior Court of Guam may, in its discretion, ex…

Effect of Insurance Coverage In Actions for Damages; Continuance of Pending Action. (a) (1) If an action is pending against the decedent at the time of his death, the plaintiff must in like manner file his claim with the Clerk of the Superior Court or present it to the personal r…

COL120106 When a claim is filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court of Guam before being presented to the personal representative, it shall be filed in duplicate. The Clerk of the Superior Court of Guam shall immediately deliver personally or send, by registered mail, to the per…

When a claim is presented to the personal representative before filing, the personal representative must endorse thereon his allowance or rejection, with the date thereof. If the personal representative allows the claim, it must be presented to a judge of the Superior Court for a…

Notaries; Action On Timely Claim After Time. If, when a claim has been filed without presentation, the personal representative refuses or neglects to file his allowance or rejection for ten (10) calendar days after the claim has been filed, or if, when a claim has been presented …

Claim of Surviving Spouse; Allowance; Discharge. (a) Every claim allowed by the personal representative and approved by the Superior Court shall be ranked among the acknowledged debts of the estate, to be paid in due course of administration; but the validity thereof may be conte…

Period; Lis Pendens; Service. When a claim is rejected either by the personal representative or by the Superior Court, written notice of such rejection shall be given by the personal representative to the holder of the claim or to the person filing or presenting it, and the holde…

The time during which there is a vacancy in the administration is not included in any limitation prescribed in Section 2537 of this Title for bringing suit upon a rejected claim. SOURCE: California Probate Code, § 715 (as amended).

Mortgage or Lien. COL120106 No holder of a claim against an estate shall maintain an action thereon, unless the claim is first filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court or presented to the personal representative, except in the following case: an action may be brought by the hol…

The personal representative or the judge of the Superior Court of Guam may allow or approve a claim in part, in which case the personal representative or judge must state in his allowance or approval the amount for which it is allowed or approved. If the creditor refuses to accep…

Referee; Powers of Court; Effect. If the personal representative doubts the correctness of any claim filed or presented, or if the claim has been rejected in whole or in part, or if the claim may at the option of the claimant be deemed rejected as provided in Section 2533 of this…

After the lapse of sixty (60) calendar days from the issuance of letters, the personal representative, with the approval of the Superior Court, may compromise, compound or settle any claim or demand by or against the estate or any suit brought by or against the personal represent…

If it shall appear to be to the advantage of the estate for the personal representative to accept a deed of property which is subject to a mortgage or other lien, in lieu of foreclosure of such mortgage or other lien, the Superior Court may authorize, upon such terms and conditio…

Petition; Notice; Authorization. If it shall appear to be to the advantage of the estate for the personal representative to give a partial satisfaction of a mortgage or other lien, the Superior Court may authorize such partial satisfaction upon such terms and conditions as may be…

When a judgment is recovered, with costs, against a personal representative, the personal representative shall be individually liable for such costs, but they must be allowed to the personal representative in his administration accounts, unless it appears that the suit or proceed…

A judgment against a personal representative, upon any claim for money, against the estate of the personal representative's decedent, when it becomes final, conclusively establishes the validity of the claim for the amount of the judgment; and the judgment must be that the person…

A judgment against a person who dies after trial and submission of his case to a judge sitting without a jury for decision or after a verdict is not a lien on the real property of the decedent, but is payable in due course of administration. SOURCE: California Probate Code, § 731…

Redemption. When a judgment has been entered against the decedent, no execution shall issue thereon after the decedent's death, except as provided in the Code of Civil Procedure. A judgment against the dece- dent for the recovery of money must be filed or presented in the same ma…

No greater rate of interest shall be paid upon any claim, after its allowance by the personal representative and its approval by the Superior Court of Guam, than is allowed upon judgments; and if the estate is insolvent, no greater rate of interest shall be paid upon any debt, fr…

If a claim is payable in a particular kind of money or currency, it shall, if allowed, be payable only in such money or currency. SOURCE: Probate Code of Guam (1970), § 734.

If there are subsisting liens or encumbrances on the homestead, and the funds of the estate are adequate to pay all claims against the estate, the claims secured by such liens and encumbrances, whether filed or presented or not, if known or made known to the personal representati…

When a testator devises land subject to a mortgage or other lien, other property specifically devised or bequeathed shall not be sold for the purpose of exonerating the encumbered property, unless a contrary intention can be gathered from the terms of the will, read in the light …