Uniform Probate Code - Adoption By The States

Adoption By The States

Although the UPC was intended for adoption by all 50 states, the original 1969 version of the code was adopted in its entirety by only sixteen states: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah. The remaining states have adopted various portions of the code in a piecemeal fashion. In any case, even among the adopting jurisdictions, there are variations from state to state, some of which are significant. A person attempting to determine the law in a particular state should check the code as actually adopted in that jurisdiction and not rely on the text of the UPC as promulgated by NCCUSL. In general, the UPC has not been as successful a standardization of the law as the Uniform Commercial Code has been.

In Payne v. Stalley, 672 So. 2d 822 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995), a lawyer relied on the official text of the Uniform Probate Code and failed to check the statute as it had been adopted in Florida. As a result, the lawyer missed a filing deadline on a $3,760,909.49 claim. As the Florida appellate court pointed out, "e cannot rewrite Florida probate law to accommodate a Michigan attorney more familiar with the Uniform Probate Code." Id. at 823.