(a) It is the duty of the county clerk of the county in which an estate is administered by an executor, administrator, or trustee, upon the issuance of letters of administration, to deliver, or forward by mail, to the commissioner, a statement under the county clerk's seal of office giving the name and date of death of the decedent and the decedent's address at the time of death, and the name and address of the executor, administrator, or trustee qualified, together with the executor's, administrator's or trustee's estimate of the gross value of the estate.
(b) For this service, the county clerk shall be allowed to demand and collect in advance, five dollars ($5.00), which fee shall be in addition to the usual and customary probate fees now allowed by law and shall be paid by the representative of the estate and may be deducted as a part of the cost of administration.
(c) Any county clerk who shall violate any of the provisions of this section shall be subject to a penalty of five hundred dollars ($500), to be recovered by the commissioner, for the benefit of the state, in any court of competent jurisdiction; provided, that the commissioner may, in the commissioner's discretion, waive or reduce the penalty in any case to not less than one hundred dollars ($100), where there appears no manifest intent to evade this part and part 3 of this chapter.