ARTICLE
11 AS AMENDED
RELATING TO
MEDICAL ASSISTANCE RECOVERIES
SECTION 1. Title 27 of the General Laws entitled “INSURANCE”
is hereby amended
by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
57.1
MEDICAL
ASSISTANCE INTERCEPT ACT
27-57.1-1.
Interception of insurance payments.-- (a)
Every domestic insurer or
insurance company authorized to issue policies of liability
insurance pursuant to this title, and
also any workers' compensation insurer, within thirty (30)
days prior to the making of any
payment equal to or in excess of five hundred dollars ($500)
to any claimant, for third party for
personal injury or workers' compensation benefits under a
contract of insurance, shall review
information provided by the executive office of health and human
services pursuant to section 27-
57.1-4, indicating whether the claimant has received
medical assistance in accordance with
chapter 40-8.
(b) If the insurer
determines from the information provided by the executive office of
health and human services pursuant to section 27-57.1-4 that
the claimant or payee has not
received medical assistance, the insurer may make the payment
to the claimant in accordance
with the contract of the insurance.
(c) If the insurer
determines from the information provided by the executive office of
health and human services pursuant to section 27-57.1-4 that
the claimant or payee has received
medical assistance, the insurer shall, except to the extent
payments are subject to liens, written
notices, or interests described in section 27-57.1-3,
withhold from payment the amount to the
extent of the distribution for medical assistance as a
result of the accident or loss, dating back to
the date of the incident, pay that amount to the executive
office of health and human services and
pay the balance to the claimant or other persons entitled
to it. The executive office of health and
human services shall provide written notice to the claimant
and his or her attorney, if any. The
notice shall reflect the date, name, social security number,
case number, amount of the payment
being withheld to reimburse the state, reason for payment
and opportunity to request a hearing as
provided for in subsection 27-57.1-1(e). Any insurer or
insurance company, its directors, agents,
and employees and central reporting organizations and
their respective employees authorized by
an insurer to act on its behalf that releases
information in accordance with the provisions of this
chapter, or who withholds an amount from payment based upon
the latest information supplied by
the executive office of health and human services
pursuant to section 27-57.1-4 and disburses in
accordance with section 27-57.1-3, shall be immune from any
liability to the claimant, payee lien
holder, payee who provided written notice, or security
interest holder. Any withholding from
payments in accordance with this chapter and payment made to
the executive office of health and
human services is further subject to the provisions of
section 40-6-9, regarding rights of
assignment and subrogation by medical assistance recipients.
Said payments to the executive
office of health and human services shall be for
reimbursement of distributed medical assistance
incurred as a result of the accident or loss, dating back to
the date of the incident.
(d) Workers’
compensation claimants who receive medical assistance, provided in
accordance with chapter 40-8, shall be subject to the provisions
of this chapter. However, the
workers’ compensation reimbursement payments made to the
executive office of health and
human services in accordance with this chapter shall be
limited to that set forth in chapter 28-33
and section 40-6-10.
(e) Any claimant
aggrieved by any action taken under this section may within thirty (30)
days of the mailing of the notice to the claimant in
subsection (c) of this section, request a hearing
from the executive office of health and human services.
Any payments made by an insurer
pursuant to this chapter shall be made to the executive office
of health and human services,
should there be no request for a hearing within thirty (30)
days of receipt of notice, or within ten
(10) business days of a
decision after a hearing and in accordance with the decision of any
hearing that takes place as provided for in this subsection.
27-57.1-2. Notice
of interception of insurance settlements.-- In
any case where the
executive office of health and human services has intercepted an
insurance payment, that office
shall notify the recipient.
27-57.1-3. Certain liens not affected. -- Nothing in this
chapter affects the validity or
priority of liens or written notices of health care providers,
attorney fees, holders of security
interests, or the assignment of rights under section 40-6-9 or
section 40-6-10. Funds subject to
liens, written notices, or security interests shall be paid
to the lien or interest holder. Funds
available to be paid pursuant to chapter 27-57 for the payment
of child support shall supersede
any payment made pursuant to this chapter.
27-57.1-4.
Information to be provided by the executive office of health and human
services.-- (a) The executive office of health and human
services shall periodically within each
year furnish the insurance companies and insurers subject
to this section with a list or compilation
of claimants, who have received medical assistance, as a
result of the accident or loss which is the
basis of the claim and who have been identified and matched
through the centralized database
provided for in this chapter. The information provided to the
insurance companies and insurers
shall be the names of individuals, with last known
addresses, who as of the date of the list or
compilation have received medical assistance in excess of five
hundred dollars ($500).
(b) In order to
facilitate the efficient and prompt reporting of those
medical assistance
recipients in one centralized location, it is the duty and
responsibility of the insurance companies
doing business in the state to utilize one centralized
database, to which the executive office of
health and human services shall report and administer. Any
insurer receiving information
identifying an individual as a medical assistance recipient shall
maintain the confidentiality of
that information. Minimal data elements shall be shared
with an agency contracted by the
executive office of health and human services which maintains a
centralized database of
insurance claims. The contracted centralized database is
required to keep confidential any
personal and personnel information; records sufficient to
identify an applicant for or recipient of
medical assistance; preliminary drafts, notes, impressions, memoranda,
working papers, and work
products; as well as any other records, reports, opinions,
information, and statements deemed
confidential pursuant to state or federal law or regulation, or
rule of court. That data shall not be
disclosed to the insurer. Matched results are returned to the
executive office of health and human
services through its contracted agency. Proper quality
assurance shall be performed by the
contracted agency to insure the claim is open and collect additional
information from the insurer
including but not limited to contact information.
SECTION 2. Sections 27-57-1, 27-57-2 and 27-57-4 of the
General Laws in Chapter 27-
57 entitled "Child
Support Intercept Act" are hereby amended to read as follows:
27-57-1.
Interception of insurance payments. -- (a) Every domestic insurer or
insurance company authorized to issue policies of liability
insurance pursuant to this title, and
also any workers' compensation insurer, shall, within
thirty (30) days prior to the making of any
payment equal to or in excess of three thousand dollars
($3,000) five hundred dollars ($500) to
any claimant who is a resident of the state of
or loss that occurred in the state of for
personal injury or workers'
compensation benefits under a contract of insurance, review
information provided by the
department of administration, division of taxation, human
service, office of child support
services, child
support enforcement pursuant to section 27-57-4 indicating whether the claimant
owes past-due child support.
(b) If the insurer
determines from the information provided by the department pursuant
to section 27-57-4 that the claimant or payee does not
owe past-due support, the insurer may
make the payment to the claimant in accordance with the
contract of the insurance.
(c) If the insurer
determines from the information provided by the department pursuant
to section 27-57-4 that the claimant or payee owes
past-due child support, the insurer shall,
except to the extent payments are subject to liens, written
notices, or interests described in section
27-57-3, withhold from payment the amount of past-due support
and pay that amount to the
family court which shall credit the person's child support
obligation account for the amount so
paid, and the insurer shall pay the balance to the
claimant or other person entitled to it; provided,
that the .
The insurer or insurance company shall provide written notice by regular
mail to the
claimant and his or her attorney, if any, and notice by e-mail
or other electronic means, to the
department of the payment to the family court. The payment shall
be deposited in the registry of
the family court for a period of forty-five (45) days,
or if an application for review has been filed
pursuant to subsection (d), until further order of the
court. The notice shall reflect the date, name,
social security number, case number, and amount of the
payment. Any insurer or insurance
company, its directors, agents, and employees and central
reporting organizations and their
respective employees, authorized by an insurer to act on
its behalf, who release information in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter, or who withhold
amounts from payment based
upon the latest information supplied by the department
pursuant to section 27-57-4 and makes
disbursements in accordance with section 27-57-3, shall be in
compliance and shall be immune
from any liability to the claimant, payee lienholder, payee who provided written notice, or
security interest holder for taking that action.
(d) Any claimant
aggrieved by any action taken under this section may within thirty (30)
days of the making of the notice to the claimant in
subsection (c) of this section, seek judicial
review in the family court, which may, in its
discretion, issue a temporary order prohibiting the
disbursement of funds under this section, pending final adjudication.
27-57-2. Notice
provided to obligors of interception of insurance settlements. -- In
any case where the department of administration,
division of taxation human services, office of
child support services, child support enforcement unit has intercepted an insurance payment,
the
department shall notify the obligor parent of this action upon
crediting the obligor's account.
27-57-4. Information
to be provided by the department of administration, division
of taxation, child support enforcement Information to be provided by the department of
human services, office of child support services, child
support enforcement. -- (a) The
department shall periodically within each year furnish the
insurance companies and insurers
subject to this section with a list or compilation of names
of individuals, with last known
addresses, who as of the date of the list or compilation owe
past due support in excess of five
hundred dollars ($500) as shown on the administration,
division of taxation, child support enforcement human services, office of child support services,
child support enforcement computer system ("CSE
system"). For the purposes of this section, the
terms used in this section have the meaning and definitions
specified in section15-16-2.
(b) In order to
facilitate the efficient and prompt reporting of those arrearages in one
centralized location, it is the duty and responsibility of the
insurance companies doing business in
the state to utilize one centralized database to which
the department shall report and administer.
SECTION 3. Section 28-33-27 of the General Laws in Chapter
28-33 entitled "Workers'
Compensation -
Benefits" is hereby amended to read as follows:
28-33-27.
Immunity of claims from assignment or liability for debt.
-- (a) No claims
or payments due for compensation under chapters 29 -- 38
of this title or under any alternative
scheme permitted by sections 28-29-22 -- 28-29-24 shall be
assignable, or subject to attachment,
or liable in any way for any debts, except as set forth
in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) A lien in favor of
the department of labor and training and/or the department of
human services executive
office of health and human services shall attach by operation of law to
any benefits due and payable under chapters 29 -- 38 of
this title, or under any alternative scheme
by sections 28-29-22 -- 28-29-24, to the extent that
those payments have been made by the
department of labor and training and/or the department
of human services executive office of
health and human services to or on behalf of an injured employee or his or her dependents, but
only to the extent that the employee would be entitled to
receive benefits under the provision of
these chapters. Any such lien is subject to the
provisions of section 40-6-10.
SECTION 4. Sections 40-6-9 and 40-6-10 of the General Laws
in Chapter 40-6 entitled
"Public Assistance
Act" are hereby amended to read as follows:
40-6-9. Assignment
of child, spousal and medical support rights Assignment and
subrogation for recovery of child, spousal and medical support
rights. -- (a) An
applicant for
or recipient of public assistance under this chapter or under
title XIX of the federal Social
Security Act, 42 U.S.C. section 1396 et seq., for and
on behalf of himself or herself and for and
on behalf of a child or children, shall be deemed,
without the necessity of signing any document
for purposes of recovery, to have made an assignment and given a right of
subrogation to the
executive office of health and human services and/or the department of human services, as
applicable, of any and
all rights and interests in any cause of action, past, present, or future, that
the applicant or recipient may have against any person
failing to or obligated to provide for the
support, maintenance, and medical care of the applicant,
recipient, and/or minor child or children,
for the period of time that assistance is being paid by the
executive office of health and human
services and/or the department;
. The executive office of health and human services and/or the
department shall be subrogated to any and all rights, title, and
interest the applicant or recipient
may have against any and all property belonging to the
obligated or non-supporting person in the
enforcement of any claim for child, spousal, and medical support,
whether liquidated through
court order or not. The applicant or recipient shall also
be deemed, without the necessity of
signing any document, to have appointed the executive
office of health and human services
and/or the department of human services as his or her true
and lawful attorney in fact to act in his
or her name, place, and stead to perform the specific
act of instituting suit to establish paternity or
secure support and medical care, collecting any and all
amounts due and owing for child, spousal,
and medical support, endorsing any and all drafts,
checks, money orders, or other negotiable
instruments representing support payments which are received by executive
office of health and
human services and/or the department, and retaining any portion thereof permitted under
federal
and state statutes as reimbursement for financial and
medical assistance previously paid to or for
the recipient, child, or children.
(b) An applicant for or
a recipient of medical assistance provided by executive office of
health and human services and/or the department pursuant to this chapter, chapter 5.1,
or chapter
8 of this title or title XIX of the federal Social
Security Act, 42 U.S.C. section 1396 et seq., for
and on behalf of himself or herself, and for and on
behalf of any other person for whom he or she
may legally assign rights to any medical support or any
other medical care, shall be deemed,
without the necessity of signing any document for purposes
of reimbursement, to have made an
assignment and given a right of subrogation to executive
office of health and human services
and/or the department of human services of any and all
rights and interests that he, she, or such
other person may have: (1) to payment for any medical
support; and (2) to payment for any
medical care from any third party.
(c) In addition to the
assignments and subrogation rights provided in subsections (a) and
(b) of this section, an
applicant for or a recipient of financial assistance provided by the executive
office of health and human services and/or department pursuant to this chapter, whenever the
assistance is necessary by reason of accident, injury, or
illness for which a third party may be
liable, for and on behalf of himself or herself, and for and
on behalf of any other person for whom
he or she may legally act, shall be deemed, without the
necessity of signing any document, to
have assigned and subrogated to the executive
office of health and human services and/or the
department of human services, from amounts recovered or
recoverable from any third party, an
amount of money equal to the amount of financial assistance
provided as a result of the accident,
illness, or injury.
(d) With respect to an
assignment and subrogation rights established pursuant to this
section, an applicant or recipient shall provide to the
executive office of health and human
services and/or the
department of human services and/or the division of taxation within the
department of administration all relevant information regarding the rights assigned and
subrogated rights, and
shall execute any documents relating thereto, in accordance with rules and
regulations to be adopted by the executive office of health
and human services and/or the
department.
(e) With respect to any
assignment of rights and subrogation rights for medical or
financial support or recoveries under this section, the
executive office of health and human
services and/or the
department of human services shall be considered to have acquired the rights
of such individual to payment by any third party for such
medical care and support, and financial
support.
(f) An applicant for
or a recipient of medical assistance provided by the executive office
of health and human services in accordance with chapter
40-8 shall also be subject to the
provisions of chapter 27-57.1. Funds available to be paid for
the payment of child support shall
supersede any payment made pursuant to this chapter and chapter
27-57.1.
40-6-10. Effects
of assistance on receipt of workers' compensation benefits. -- (a) No
individual shall be entitled to receive assistance provided
under this chapter or chapter 5.1 of this
title and/or medical assistance under chapter 8 of this
title for any period beginning on or after
July 1, 1982, with respect to which benefits are paid
or payable to individuals under any workers'
compensation law of this state, any other state, or the federal
government, on account of any
disability caused by accident or illness. In the event that
workers' compensation benefits are
subsequently awarded to an individual with respect to which the
individual has received
assistance payments under this chapter or chapter 5.1 of this
title and/or medical assistance under
chapter 8 of this title, then the department executive
office of health and human services shall be
subrogated to the individual's rights in the award to the extent
of the amount of the payments
and/or medical assistance paid to or on behalf of the
individuals.
(b) Whenever an
employer or insurance carrier has been notified by the department
executive office of health and human services that an individual is an applicant for or a recipient
of assistance payments under this chapter or chapter 5.1
of this title, and/or medical assistance
under chapter 8 of this title, for a period during which
the individual is or may be eligible for
benefits under the Workers' Compensation Act, chapters 29--38
of title 28, the notice shall
constitute a lien in favor of the department executive
office of health and human services, upon
any pending award, order, or settlement to the individual
under the Workers' Compensation Act.
The employer or his or her insurance carrier shall be
required to reimburse the department of
human services executive
office of health and human services the amount of the assistance
payments and/or medical assistance paid to or on behalf of the
individual for any period for which
an award, order, or settlement is made.
(c) Whenever an individual
becomes entitled to or is awarded workers' compensation for
the same period with respect to which the individual has
received assistance payments under this
chapter or chapter 5.1 of this title and/or medical
assistance under chapter 8 of this title, and
whenever notice of the receipt of assistance payments has been
given to the division of workers'
compensation of the department of labor and training of this state
and/or the workers'
compensation commission, the division or commission is hereby
required to and shall incorporate
in any award, order, or approval of settlement, an order
requiring the employer or his or her
insurance carrier to reimburse the department executive
office of health and human services the
amount of the assistance payments and/or medical assistance
paid to or on behalf of the
individual for the period for which an award, order, or
settlement is made.
(d) Any claims or
payments to a recipient of medical assistance provided by the executive
office of health and human services in accordance with
chapter 40-8 shall also be subject to the
provisions of chapter 28-33-27. Funds available to be paid for
the payment of child support shall
supersede any payment made pursuant to this chapter and chapter
27-57.1.
SECTION 5. Section 40-8-15 of the General Laws in Chapter
40-8 entitled "Medical
Assistance" is hereby
amended to read as follows:
40-8-15. Lien on deceased recipient's estate for assistance.
-- (a) (1) Upon the death of
a recipient of medical assistance under Title XIX of
the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §
1396 et seq., the total sum
of medical assistance so paid on behalf of a recipient who was fifty-
five (55) years of age or older at the time of receipt of
the assistance shall be and constitute a lien
upon the estate, as defined herein in
subdivision (a)(2) below, of the recipient in favor of the
department of human services executive office of health and human services. The lien shall
not be
effective and shall not attach as against the estate of a
recipient who is survived by a spouse, or a
child who is under the age of twenty-one (21), or a child
who is blind or permanently and totally
disabled as defined in Title XVI of the federal Social
Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1381 et seq. The
lien shall not be effective and shall not attach as
against a recipient's estate, which has been
admitted for probate administration unless the department has
filed a claim for reimbursement in
the probate court in accordance with § 33-11-5 or other
applicable law. The lien shall
attach
against property of a recipient, which is included or
includible in the decedent’s probate estate,
regardless of whether or not a probate proceeding has been
commenced in the probate court by
the executive office of health and human services or by
any other party. Provided, however, that
such lien shall only attach and shall only be effective
against the recipient’s real property
included or includible in the recipient’s probate estate if
such lien is recorded in the land evidence
records and is in accordance with subsection 40-8-15(f).
Decedents who have received medical
assistance are subject to the assignment and subrogation
provisions of sections 40-6-9 and 40-6-
10.
(2) For purposes
of this section, the term "estate" with respect to a deceased
individual
shall include all real and personal property and other
assets included or includable within the
individual's probate estate
(b) The department
executive office of health and human services is authorized to
promulgate regulations to implement the terms, intent, and
purpose of this section and to require
the legal representative(s) and/or the heirs-at-law of
the decedent to provide reasonable written
notice to the department executive office of
health and human services of the death of a recipient
of medical assistance who was fifty-five (55) years of
age or older at the date of death, and to
provide a statement identifying the decedent's property and
the names and addresses of all
persons entitled to take any share or interest of the estate
as legatees or distributees thereof.
(c) The amount of
medical assistance reimbursement imposed under this section shall
also become a debt to the state from the person or entity
liable for the payment thereof.
(d) Upon payment of the
amount of reimbursement for medical assistance imposed by
this section, the director secretary of the department
of human services executive office of health
and human services, or his or her designee, shall issue a written discharge of lien.
(e) Upon application
to the director and a determination by the director that the lien is
either inapplicable or that no reimbursement for medical
assistance is due with respect to the
estate, the director shall issue a written discharge of
lien.
(f) Provided,
however, that no lien created under this section shall attach nor become
effective upon any real property unless and until a statement of
claim is recorded naming the
debtor/owner of record of the property as of the date and time of
recording of the statement of
claim, and describing the real property by a description
containing all of the following: (1) tax
assessor's plat and lot; and (2) street address. The statement
of claim shall be recorded in the
records of land evidence in the town or city where the real
property is situated. Notice of said lien
shall be sent to the duly appointed executor or
administrator, the decedent’s legal representative,
if known, or to the decedent’s next of kin or heirs at
law as stated in the decedent’s last
application for medical assistance.
(g)(f) The
department of human services executive office of health and human
services
shall establish procedures, in accordance with the
standards specified by the secretary,
Department of Health and Human Services, under which
the department of human services
executive office of health and human services shall waive, in whole or in part, the lien and
reimbursement established by this section if such lien and
reimbursement would work an undue
hardship, as determined by the department executive
office of health and human services, on the
basis of the criteria established by the secretary in
accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(b)(3).
(g) Upon the filing
of a petition for admission to probate of a decedent’s will or for
administration of a decedent’s estate, when the decedent was
fifty-five (55) years or older at the
time of death, a copy of said petition and a copy of the
death certificate shall be sent to the
executive office of health and human services. Within thirty
(30) days of a request by the
executive office of health and human services, an executor or
administrator shall complete and
send to the executive office of health and human services
a form prescribed by that office and
shall provide such additional information as the office may
require. In the event a petitioner fails
to send a copy of the petition and a copy of the death
certificate to the executive office of health
and human services and a decedent has received medical
assistance for which the executive office
of health and human services is authorized to recover,
no distribution and/or payments, including
administration fees, shall be disbursed. Any person and /or entity
that receives a distribution of
assets from the decedent’s estate shall be liable to the
executive office of health and human
services to the extent of such distribution.
(h) Compliance with the
provisions of this section shall be consistent with the
requirements set forth in section 33-11-5 and the requirements of
the affidavit of notice set forth
in section 33-11-5.2. Nothing in these sections shall
limit the executive office of health and
human services from recovery, to the extent of the
distribution, in accordance with all state and
federal laws.
SECTION
6. Chapter 40-8 of the General laws entitled “Medical Assistance” is
hereby
amended by adding thereto the following section:
40-8-9.1.
Notice. -- Whenever an individual who is
receiving medical assistance under
this chapter transfers an interest in real or personal
property, such individual shall notify the
executive office of health and human services within ten (10)
days of the transfer. Such notice
shall be sent to the individual’s local office and the
legal office of the executive office of health
and human services and include, at a minimum, the
individual’s name, social security number or,
if different, the executive office of health and human
services identification number, the date of
transfer and the dollar value, if any, paid or received by the
individual who received benefits
under this chapter. In the event an individual fails to
provide notice required by this section to the
executive office of health and human services and in the event
an individual has received medical
assistance, any individual and/or entity, who knew or should
have known that such individual
failed to provide such notice and who receives any
distribution of value as a result of the transfer,
shall be liable to the executive office of health and human
services to the extent of the value of
the transfer. Moreover, any such individual shall be subject
to the provisions of section 40-6-15
and any remedy provided by applicable state and federal
laws and rules and regulations. Failure
to comply with the notice requirements set forth in the
section shall not affect the marketability of
title to real estate transferred, while the transferor is
receiving medical assistance
SECTION 7. Chapter 33-11 of the General Laws entitled
“Claims Against Decedents’
Estates” is hereby amended
by adding thereto the following section:
33-11-5.2.
Fiduciary’s affidavit regarding notice to creditors and OHHS.
-- In order
to close an estate, whether by accounting or affidavit
of completed administration, the fiduciary
shall submit to the probate court an affidavit in
substantially the following form:
STATE
OF RHODE ISLAND PROBATE
COURT OF THE
ESTATE OF __________________ NO.
________
FIDUCIARY’S
AFFIDAVIT REGARDING NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND TO THE
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES
The
undersigned fiduciary of the above-captioned estate upon oath deposes and says
that
(a) notice
of the commencement of the estate was mailed to all known or reasonably
ascertainable
creditors of the estate, as well as to the executive office of
health and human services when the
decedent was fifty-five (55) years or older, or that (b) no
such notice was required to be mailed
because the estate had no known or reasonably ascertainable
creditors and the decedent was under
the age of fifty-five (55).
Name
Date
Subscribed
and sworn before me this ______ day of _______, 20__.
_______________________________________
Notary
public
SECTION 8. Section 33-22-3 of the General Laws in Chapter
33-22 entitled "Practice in
Probate Courts" is
hereby amended to read as follows:
33-22-3.
Notice given by petitioner on filing of petition and hearing.
-- In addition to
the notice prescribed by section 33-7-9, and to notice by
publication in the manner as prescribed
by section 33-22-11, the petitioner or his or her
attorney shall, at least ten (10) days before the
date set for hearing on the petition, send or cause to be
sent by mail, postage prepaid, addressed to
each person whose name and post office address is by
section 33-22-2(3) required to be set forth
in the petition, as the names and addresses are set
forth therein or as then known to the petitioner,
and when the decedent was fifty-five (55) years or older
to the executive office of health and
human services and in accordance with section 40-8-15, notice of the filing, the nature of the
petition, and of the time and place set for hearing on the
petition, or in lieu thereof a copy of the
newspaper notice published pursuant to the provisions of
section 33-22-11; provided, however,
that in the case of any person entitled to notice
hereunder whose post office address is outside the
continental limits of the
date set for the hearing; and provided further that the
petitioner or his or her attorney shall not be
required to send this notice to any person sui juris who shall at, or prior to, the hearing waive
notice of its pendency in writing either on the petition or
by instrument separately filed. The
petitioner or his or her attorney shall at or prior to the
hearing file or cause to be filed an affidavit
that the notice was given, setting forth the names and
post office addresses of the persons to
whom the notice was sent and the date of mailing of the
notice, together with a copy of the notice.
SECTION 9. This article shall take effect July 1, 2012.