Title of bona fide purchaser from distributee or testamentary · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 12-2.5 Title of bona fide purchaser from distributee or testamentary
beneficiary protected
The entry and filing of a judgment recovered against a distributee or testamentary beneficiary in an action brought under this article does not affect the rights of a prior purchaser, in good faith and for valuable consideration, from such distributee or beneficiary of any property of the decedent which would otherwise be subject to such judgment, unless, in the case of real property, a notice of pendency had been filed prior to such purchase. When the subsequent purchaser is protected, the judgment is enforceable against the judgment debtor to the extent of the net proceeds received by him upon the disposition of the property.
A judgment against a distributee or beneficiary does not defeat an earlier good-faith purchaser for value, unless real property was bought after a notice of pendency was filed. ★ When protected property was sold, judgment may reach the debtor’s net sale proceeds.
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 1 — The Surrogate's Court in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Surrogate's Court: Court Rules & the EPTL; Volume 5 — Your Career: Surrogate's Court in Plain English.