AB 948

This bill allows any interest in a farm implement to be transferred without

probate to a designated beneficiary, referred to under the bill as a “TOD beneficiary,”

at the death of the sole owner, or at the death of the last of multiple owners, subject

to any lien or encumbrance against the farm implement, if certain conditions are

met. Under the bill, “farm implement” is defined to mean a tractor or machine,

including any associated accessories, attachments, fuel, and repair parts, used

exclusively and directly in farming, with certain exceptions. In order to pass an

interest in a farm implement without probate under the bill, the owner or owners

must execute a document that designates a TOD beneficiary of the farm implement,

lists all of the owners of the farm implement, and states that the transfer is effective

only upon the death of the owner or owners. Further, under the bill, a document

designating a TOD beneficiary must be executed pursuant to certain formalities,

including that all owners sign the document and that their signatures be witnessed

by two witnesses who, at the time they witnessed the signature, would be competent

to testify as witnesses in court to the facts relating to execution. Any designation of

an interest in a farm implement under the bill may be canceled or changed at any

time by the sole owner or all then surviving owners, without the consent of the TOD

beneficiary, by executing and recording another document that designates a

different TOD beneficiary or no beneficiary.