(a) Notwithstanding § 30-2-317, where no executor or administrator of a deceased shareholder or depositor has qualified and given notice of the qualifications of the executor or administrator to the credit union, it may, in its discretion and at any time after thirty (30) days from the death of the shareholder or depositor, pay out of all accounts or contents of safe deposit boxes maintained with it by the shareholder in an individual capacity all sums that do not exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) in the aggregate:

(1) To the executor named in any will known to the credit union; or

(2) In the absence of knowledge of a purported will naming a surviving executor to:

(A) A creditor for expenses of the funeral;

(B) A creditor for the expenses of the last illness;

(C) The surviving spouse; and

(D) The next of kin; and

(3) In the case of conflicting claims, the order of priority shall be that set out in subdivision (a)(2).

(b) The receipt of any guardian, administrator or executor, duly appointed or qualified by the courts of this state or any other state, acknowledging the payment or transfer of funds, standing in the name of the person whose estate the fiduciary represents, in the form of shares or deposits in credit unions, shall be a good and sufficient acquittance for the payment or transfer and shall constitute a valid defense in favor of the credit unions against the demands or claims of all parties.

(c) No credit union shall be liable for damages, penalty or tax by reason of any payment made pursuant to this section.