Title 53, Chapter 4, Section 63
( 53-4-63)
(a) Unless otherwise directed, the debts of the testator shall be
paid out of the residuum. Unless otherwise provided in the will, a
residuary gift or any part thereof, including a residuary gift to a
surviving spouse in lieu of year's support, shall be deemed a gift
of the net residuum or part thereof remaining after all debts and
expenses of administration, including taxes, have been paid. (b) If the residuum proves to be insufficient for the payment of the
testator's debts and the expenses of administration, then general
testamentary gifts shall abate pro rata to make up the deficiency.
If general testamentary gifts are insufficient, then demonstrative
testamentary gifts shall abate in the same manner. If both general
and demonstrative gifts are insufficient, then specific gifts shall
abate in the same manner. (c) After the estate assets in the executor's hands are exhausted, a
creditor may proceed against each beneficiary for that beneficiary's
pro rata share of the debts to the extent a testamentary gift has
been distributed to that beneficiary. (d) Realty and personalty shall be equally liable for the payment of
debts. (e) Unless otherwise expressly directed in the will, nothing in this
Code section shall be deemed to limit any rights to reimbursement
for federal estate taxes, generation-skipping transfer taxes, or any
other taxes that may be available to personal representatives under
federal law. |