(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), each person who is designated as a successor of the decedent in a certified copy of any affidavit issued under Section 13202 is personally liable to the extent provided in Section 13207 to any person having a superior right by testate or intestate succession from the decedent.
(b) In addition to any other liability the person has under this section and Sections 13204, 13206, and 13207, if the person fraudulently executed or filed the affidavit under this chapter, the person is liable to the person having a superior right for three times the fair market value of the property. For the purposes of this subdivision, the “fair market value of the property” is the fair market value, determined as of the time the certified copy of the affidavit was issued under Section 13202, of the property the person liable took under the certified copy of the affidavit to which the other person has a superior right, less any liens and encumbrances on the property at that time.
(c) An action to impose liability under this section is forever barred three years after the certified copy of the affidavit is issued under Section 13202, or three years after the discovery of the fraud, whichever is later. The three-year period specified in this subdivision is not tolled for any reason.
(Amended by Stats. 1991, Ch. 1055, Sec. 49.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018