7737. (a) All securities purchased by the trustor for deposit in trust and all money received from the trustor for deposit in trust shall be placed in trust with a trustee within 30 days of their receipt by the funeral establishment pursuant to a trust agreement executed by the funeral establishment, the trustor, and the trustee. The trust agreement shall provide that the trustee shall hold the money or securities in trust for the purposes for which it was deposited.
(b) The trust agreement shall provide that the trustee, upon the signature of a majority of the trustees, shall deliver the corpus of the trust and any income accrued in the trust, including interest, dividends, and capital gains, as follows:
(1) To the funeral establishment upon the filing of a certified copy of the death certificate or other satisfactory evidence of the death of the beneficiary, together with satisfactory evidence that the funeral establishment has furnished the merchandise and services. In the case of a trust agreement between any of the trustees set forth in Section 7736 and a recipient of public assistance under subdivision (a) of Section 11158 of, or paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 12152 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, and if the value limitations of those sections are not exceeded, the trust agreement may further provide that it is irrevocable.
(2) To the trustor or legally appointed representative of the trustor at any time before the funeral establishment has furnished the merchandise and services provided for in the contract if the trustor or the legally appointed representative demands in writing the return of the corpus of the trust, together with any income accrued in the trust, less a revocation fee not to exceed the amount reserved pursuant to Section 7735, provided, however, that if and when the trustor becomes otherwise eligible, or in order to become eligible, for public social services, as provided in Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the trustor may agree, at the trustor’s option, that the trust shall be irrevocable in order to avail themselves of the provisions of Section 11158 or 12152 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(3) In accordance with the Unclaimed Property Law (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 1500) of Title 10 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure), funds held in a preneed funeral trust or similar account or plan escheat to the state if the conditions in Section 1518.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure are satisfied.
(4) A funeral establishment shall report and pay or deliver, or cause the trustee to release for payment or delivery, to the Controller all unclaimed preneed funeral trust funds, as determined pursuant to Section 1518.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The amount to be paid or delivered shall be the corpus of the trust, together with any income accrued, less a revocation fee not to exceed the amount reserved pursuant to Section 7735.
(c) (1) A funeral establishment that intends to cease engaging in business operations, as authorized under this chapter, by reason of dissolution, closure, sale, or revocation may transfer its preneed funeral agreements to another funeral establishment only if that successor funeral establishment is licensed pursuant to this chapter and the transfer satisfies the requirements of paragraph (2).
(2) A funeral establishment shall not transfer its preneed funeral agreements to another funeral establishment that is located 60 or more miles away without prior written approval of the beneficiaries or trustors, or legal representatives of the beneficiaries or trustors, and the trustee.
(d) (1) All funds, including accrued income, maintained in a preneed funeral trust or similar account or plan held by a trustee for a funeral establishment that has been dissolved, sold, or closed, or had its license revoked shall be returned to the beneficiary, the trustor, or the legal representative of either the beneficiary or trustor according to either of the following:
(A) If the funeral establishment does not transfer its preneed funeral agreements to a licensed successor funeral establishment pursuant to subdivision (c), all funds, without deduction of a revocation fee, shall be returned within 30 days of the beneficiary, trustor, or their legal representative providing written notice to the trustee, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 7737.1, to return those funds.
(B) If the funeral establishment transfers its preneed funeral agreements to a licensed successor funeral establishment pursuant to subdivision (c), the funds shall be returned within 30 days of the beneficiary, trustor, or their legal representative canceling the agreement pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 7737.1.
(2) If, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the funeral establishment or trustee is unable to locate the beneficiary or trustor, or the legal representative of either the beneficiary or trustor, or if the beneficiary or trustor, or their legal representative, does not provide written direction to the trustee to return the funds to them within six months of receiving the notice in subdivision (b) of Section 7737.1, the funeral establishment shall report and pay or deliver or cause the trustee to release for payment or delivery all funds together with accrued income, and these funds shall escheat to the state in accordance with the Unclaimed Property Law (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 1500) of Title 10 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure), except that the revocation fee pursuant to Section 7735 shall not be retained by the funeral establishment.
(3) If the preneed funeral agreement is canceled pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), the revocation fee pursuant to Section 7735 of the Business and Professions Code shall not be retained by the funeral establishment.
(e) The escheatment of preneed funeral trust funds to the Controller shall release the funeral establishment from the obligation of furnishing the personal property, funeral merchandise, or services originally arranged in the preneed agreement associated with the trust. However, if the funeral establishment provided personal property, or funeral merchandise or services to the beneficiary after funds have been escheated, the funeral establishment shall be entitled to recover the escheated funds upon submission to the Controller of a death certificate and a statement detailing the personal property or funeral merchandise or services provided pursuant to Section 1560 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(f) Nothing in this section, the Unclaimed Property Law (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 1500) of Title 10 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure), or any other law or regulation shall require escheatment of any funds received by a funeral establishment, cemetery, or other person from property or funeral merchandise or services provided under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 8600) of Part 3 of Division 8 of the Health and Safety Code.
(g) A trustee or a funeral establishment shall not charge the trust, a trustor, or a beneficiary any fees or costs associated with a search or verification conducted pursuant to this section. However, a trustee or funeral establishment may incorporate fees or costs associated with a search or verification as part of the administration of the trust pursuant to Section 7735.
(h) The delivery of the corpus of the trust and the income accrued to the trust to the funeral establishment, the trustor, the beneficiary, or the Controller pursuant to this article shall relieve the trustee of any further liability with regard to those funds.
(i) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2023.
(Repealed (in Sec. 1) and added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 514, Sec. 2. (AB 293) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, by its own provisions.)