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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to protection of specified adults; 2
creating s. 415.10341, F.S.; defining terms; providing 3
legislative findings and intent; authorizing financial 4
institutions, under certain circumstances, to delay a 5
disbursement or transaction from an account of a 6
specified adult; requiring the financial institution 7
to make certain information available upon request by 8
certain entities; specifying that a delay on a 9
disbursement or transaction expires on a certain date; 10
authorizing the financial institution to extend the 11
delay under certain circumstances; authorizing a court 12
of competent jurisdiction to shorten or extend the 13
delay; providing construction; requiring f inancial 14
institutions to take certain actions before placing a 15
delay on a disbursement or transaction; providing 16
construction; providing an effective date. 17
18
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19
20
Section 1. Section 415.10341, Fl orida Statutes, is created 21
to read: 22
415.10341 Protection of specified adults. — 23
(1) As used in this section, the term: 24
(a) "Financial exploitation" means the wrongful or 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
unauthorized taking, withholding, appropriation, or use of 26
money, assets, or prop erty of a specified adult; or any act or 27
omission by a person, including through the use of a power of 28
attorney, guardianship, or conservatorship of a specified adult, 29
to: 30
1. Obtain control over the specified adult's money, 31
assets, or property through de ception, intimidation, or undue 32
influence to deprive him or her of the ownership, use, benefit, 33
or possession of the money, assets, or property; or 34
2. Divert the specified adult's money, assets, or property 35
to deprive him or her of the ownership, use, be nefit, or 36
possession of the money, assets, or property. 37
(b) "Financial institution" means a state financial 38
institution or a federal financial institution as those terms 39
are defined under s. 655.005(1). 40
(c) "Specified adult" means a natural person 70 y ears of 41
age or older, or a vulnerable adult as defined in s. 415.102. 42
(d) "Trusted contact" means a natural person 18 years of 43
age or older whom the account owner has expressly identified and 44
recorded in a financial institution's books and records as the 45
person who may be contacted about the account. 46
(2) The Legislature finds that many persons in this state, 47
because of age or disability, are at increased risk of financial 48
exploitation and loss of their assets, funds, investments, and 49
investment accounts. The Legislature further finds that 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
specified adults in this state are at a statistically higher 51
risk of being targeted for financial exploitation, regardless of 52
diminished capacity or other disability, because of their 53
accumulation of substantial assets and wealth compared to 54
younger age groups. In enacting this section, the Legislature 55
recognizes the freedom of specified adults to manage their 56
assets, make investment choices, and spend their funds, and 57
intends that such rights may not be infringed absent a 58
reasonable belief of financial exploitation as provided in this 59
section. The Legislature therefore intends to provide for the 60
prevention of financial exploitation of such persons. The 61
Legislature intends to encourage the constructive involvement of 62
financial institutions that take action based upon the 63
reasonable belief that specified adults who have accounts with 64
such financial institutions have been or are the subject of 65
financial exploitation. The Legislature intends to balance the 66
rights of specified adults to direct and control their assets, 67
funds, and investments and to exercise their constitutional 68
rights consistent with due process with the need to provide 69
financial institutions the ability to place narrow, time -limited 70
restrictions on these right s in an effort to decrease specified 71
adults' risk of loss due to abuse, neglect, or financial 72
exploitation. 73
(3) If a financial institution reports suspected financial 74
exploitation of a specified adult pursuant to s. 415.1034, it 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
may delay a disbursement or transaction from an account of a 76
specified adult or an account for which a specified adult is a 77
beneficiary or beneficial owner if all of the following apply: 78
(a) The financial institution immediately initiates an 79
internal review of the facts and circ umstances that caused an 80
employee of the financial institution to report suspected 81
financial exploitation. 82
(b) Not later than 3 business days after the date on which 83
the delay was first placed, the financial institution: 84
1. Notifies in writing all parties authorized to transact 85
business on the account and any trusted contact on the account, 86
using the contact information provided for the account, with the 87
exception of any party an employee of the financial institution 88
reasonably believes has engaged in, is engaging in, has 89
attempted to engage in, or will attempt to engage in the 90
suspected financial exploitation of the specified adult. The 91
notice, which may be provided electronically, must provide the 92
reason for the delay. 93
2. Creates and maintains for at least 5 years after the 94
date of the delayed disbursement or transaction a written or 95
electronic record of the delayed disbursement or transaction 96
that includes, at minimum, the following information: 97
a. The date on which the delay was first placed. 98
b. The name and address of the specified adult. 99
c. The business location of the financial institution. 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
d. The name and title of the employee who reported 101
suspected financial exploitation of the specified adult pursuant 102
to s. 415.1034. 103
e. The facts and circumstances that caused the employee to 104
report suspected financial exploitation. 105
(4) The financial institution must make the information 106
required in subparagraph (3)(b)2. available for review upon 107
request by the departme nt, any law enforcement agency conducting 108
an investigation under s. 415.104, or any state or federal 109
agency with regulatory authority over the financial institution. 110
(5) A delay on a disbursement or transaction under 111
subsection (3) expires 5 business day s after the date on which 112
the delay was first placed. However, the financial institution 113
may extend the delay for up to 7 additional calendar days if the 114
financial institution's review of the available facts and 115
circumstances continues to support the reaso nable belief that 116
financial exploitation of the specified adult has occurred, is 117
occurring, has been attempted, or will be attempted. The length 118
of the delay may be shortened or extended at any time by a court 119
of competent jurisdiction. This subsection doe s not prevent a 120
financial institution from terminating a delay after 121
communication with the parties authorized to transact business 122
on the account and any trusted contact on the account. 123
(6) Before placing a delay on a disbursement or 124
transaction pursuant to this section, a financial institution 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
must do all of the following: 126
(a) Develop training policies or programs reasonably 127
designed to educate employees on issues pertaining to financial 128
exploitation of specified adults. 129
(b) Conduct training for all employees at least annually 130
and maintain a written record of all trainings conducted. 131
(c) Develop, maintain, and enforce written procedures 132
regarding the manner in which suspected financial exploitation 133
is reviewed internally, including, if applicable, the manner in 134
which suspected financial exploitation is required to be 135
reported to supervisory personnel. 136
(7) Absent a reasonable belief of financial exploitation 137
as provided in this section, this section does not otherwise 138
alter a financial institution' s obligations to all parties 139
authorized to transact business on an account and any trusted 140
contact named on such account. 141
(8) This section does not create new rights for or impose 142
new obligations on a financial institution under other 143
applicable law. 144
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 145