SECTION 31A. Dividend payments to minors; disposition of accounts of decedents

In the case of a deposit standing in the name of a minor having no known guardian, the commissioner, in his discretion if the amount of the deposit does not exceed five hundred dollars, or with the approval of the supreme judicial court, whether or not the amount of the deposit exceeds five hundred dollars, may make any dividend payment, payable under section thirty-one on account of such deposit, to such minor or either of his parents, and such payment shall be a valid discharge to the same extent as if made to the legal representative of such minor. In the case of a deposit standing in the name of a decedent after whose death sixty days have elapsed, if no petition for the allowance of his will or for the administration of his estate has been filed, the commissioner, in his discretion if the amount of the deposit does not exceed five hundred dollars, may make any dividend payment, payable under said section thirty-one on account of such deposit, to the person or persons whom he finds entitled thereto, or the commissioner, with the approval of the supreme judicial court whether or not the amount of the deposit exceeds five hundred dollars, may make any dividend payment, payable under said section thirty-one on account of such deposit, to the person or persons whom the court finds entitled thereto, and in either case such payment shall be a valid discharge to the same extent as if made to the legal representative of the decedent.