14-3714. Persons dealing with personal
representative; protection
A person who in good faith either assists or deals with another person acting as a
personal representative, on the basis of a copy of letters certified by or under the
direction of the court or an officer thereof within sixty days of the transaction, is
protected as if the personal representative properly exercised his power and even though
the authority of that person as personal representative has been terminated. The fact
that a person knowingly deals with one who purports to act as a personal representative
does not alone require the person to inquire into the existence of a power, the propriety
of its exercise, or the current authority of the purported personal
representative. Except for restrictions on powers of supervised personal representatives
which are endorsed on letters as provided in section 14-3504, no provision in any will or
order of court purporting to limit the power of a personal representative is effective
except as to persons with actual knowledge thereof. A person is not bound to see to the
proper application of estate assets paid or delivered to a personal representative. The
protection here expressed extends to instances in which some procedural irregularity or
jurisdictional defect occurred in proceedings leading to the issuance of letters,
including a case in which the alleged decedent is found to be alive. The protection here
expressed is not by substitution for that provided by comparable provisions of the laws
relating to commercial transactions and laws simplifying transfers of securities by
fiduciaries. If property is wrongfully transferred by a person acting as a personal
representative to a person who is not in good faith, any person who subsequently
purchases the property in good faith is protected as if the original transferee dealt in
good faith.
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