Senate Bill 2068c1

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 2068

    By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Grant





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  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to trusts and trust powers;

  3         amending s. 737.306, F.S.; revising standards

  4         governing when a successor trustee is not under

  5         a duty to institute an action against a prior

  6         trustee or the prior trustee's estate; creating

  7         s. 737.2035, F.S.; providing for costs and

  8         attorney's fees in trust proceedings; providing

  9         applicability; amending s. 660.41, F.S.;

10         excluding certain banks or associations and

11         trust companies from a prohibition against

12         exercising certain powers and duties and acting

13         within certain capacities in this state;

14         providing effective dates.

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16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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18         Section 1.  Subsection (3) of section 737.306, Florida

19  Statutes, is amended, and subsection (5) is added to that

20  section, to read:

21         737.306  Personal liability of trustee.--

22         (3)  A successor trustee succeeding a trustee who was

23  also the grantor of the trust is not personally liable for any

24  action taken or omitted to be taken by any such prior trustee;

25  nor does any such successor trustee have a duty to institute

26  any action against any such prior trustee, or file any claim

27  against any such prior trustee's estate, for any of the prior

28  trustee's acts or omissions as trustee under any of the

29  following circumstances:.  This subsection applies only with

30  respect to a trust that is revocable during the time that the

31  grantor serves as trustee.

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 2068
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  1         (a)  The successor trustee succeeds a trustee who was

  2  also the grantor of a trust that was revocable during the time

  3  that the grantor served as trustee;

  4         (b)  As to any beneficiary who has waived any

  5  accounting required by s. 737.303, but only as to the periods

  6  included in such waiver;

  7         (c)  As to any beneficiary who has released the

  8  successor trustee from such duty to institute any action or

  9  file any claim;

10         (d)  As to any person who is not a beneficiary within

11  the meaning of s. 737.303(4)(b); or

12         (e)  As to any beneficiary described in s.

13  737.303(4)(b):

14         1.  If a super majority of the reasonably ascertainable

15  current income or principal beneficiaries described in s.

16  737.303(4)(b)1. and a super majority of the reasonably

17  ascertainable remainder beneficiaries described in s.

18  737.303(4)(b)2. have released the successor trustee;

19         2.  If the beneficiary has not delivered a written

20  request to the successor trustee to institute an action or

21  file a claim against the prior trustee within 6 months after

22  the date of the successor trustee's acceptance of the trust,

23  if the successor trustee has notified the beneficiary in

24  writing of its acceptance in accordance with s. 737.303(1) and

25  such writing advises the beneficiary that, unless the

26  beneficiary delivers such written request within 6 months

27  after the date of acceptance, his or her right to proceed

28  against the successor trustee will be barred pursuant to this

29  section; or

30         3.  For any action or claim that the beneficiary is

31  barred from bringing against the prior trustee.

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 2068
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  1         (5)  For the purposes of this section, a super majority

  2  of beneficiaries means at least two-thirds in interest of the

  3  beneficiaries if the interests of the beneficiaries are

  4  reasonably ascertainable; otherwise it means at least

  5  two-thirds in number of the beneficiaries. A release or waiver

  6  under this section may be exercised by a legal representative

  7  or natural guardian of the beneficiary without the filing of

  8  any proceeding or approval of any court. Nothing in subsection

  9  (3) affects any liability of the prior trustee or the right of

10  the successor trustee or any beneficiary to pursue an action

11  or claim against the prior trustee.

12         Section 2.  Section 737.2035, Florida Statutes, is

13  created to read:

14         737.2035  Costs and attorney's fees in trust

15  proceedings.--

16         (1)  In all trust proceedings, costs may be awarded as

17  in chancery actions.

18         (2)  Any attorney who has rendered services to a trust

19  may apply to the court for an order awarding attorney's fees,

20  and, after notice and service upon the trustee and all

21  beneficiaries entitled to an accounting under s. 737.303, the

22  court shall enter its order on the fee application.

23         (3)  When costs and attorney's fees are to be paid out

24  of the trust, the court may in its discretion direct from what

25  part of the trust they shall be paid.

26         Section 3.  Section 2 applies only to the services of

27  an attorney which are rendered on or after July 1, 1999.

28         Section 4.  Effective September 1, 1999, section

29  660.41, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

30         660.41  Corporations; certain fiduciary functions

31  prohibited.--All corporations, except banks or associations

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 2068
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  1  and trust companies incorporated under the laws of this state

  2  and having trust powers and except national banking

  3  associations or federal associations located in this state and

  4  having trust powers, are prohibited from exercising any of the

  5  powers or duties and from acting in any of the capacities,

  6  within this state, as follows:

  7         (1)  As personal representative of the estate of any

  8  decedent, whether such decedent was a resident of this state

  9  or not, and whether the administration of the estate of such

10  decedent is original or ancillary; however, if the personal

11  representative of the estate of a nonresident decedent is a

12  corporation duly authorized, qualified, and acting as such

13  personal representative in the jurisdiction of the domicile of

14  the decedent, it may as a foreign personal representative

15  perform such duties and exercise such powers and privileges as

16  are required, authorized, or permitted by s. 734.101.

17         (2)  As receiver or trustee under appointment of any

18  court in this state.

19         (3)  As assignee, receiver, or trustee of any insolvent

20  person or corporation or under any assignment for the benefit

21  of creditors.

22         (4)  As fiscal agent, transfer agent, or registrar of

23  any municipal or private corporation, except that this

24  prohibition shall not be so construed as to prevent banks,

25  associations, and trust companies not located in this state

26  from acting within the state where located as fiscal agent,

27  transfer agent, or registrar of municipal or private

28  corporations of this state.  Nothing herein shall prevent any

29  Florida corporation that is not a bank, association, or trust

30  company and that does not have trust powers from being its own

31  fiscal agent, transfer agent, or registrar concerning its own

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 2068
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  1  affairs, stock, or securities.  Nothing herein shall prevent

  2  any Florida corporation or corporation having its principal

  3  place of business in Florida registered as a transfer agent

  4  with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the

  5  Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the

  6  Federal Reserve System, or the Securities and Exchange

  7  Commission from acting as a transfer agent for any other

  8  private corporation. Nothing in this section or in any other

  9  law of this state shall be construed to prohibit a foreign

10  bank, foreign association, or foreign trust company as trustee

11  of any charitable foundation or endowment, employees' pension,

12  retirement or profit-sharing trust, alone or together with a

13  cotrustee, from:  making loans or committing to make loans to

14  any other person; contracting, in this state or elsewhere,

15  with any person to acquire from such person a part or the

16  entire interest in a loan which such person proposes to make,

17  has heretofore made, or hereafter makes, together with a like

18  interest in any security instrument covering real or personal

19  property in the state proposed to be given or hereafter or

20  heretofore given to such person to secure or evidence such

21  loan; servicing directly or entering into servicing contracts

22  with persons, and enforcing in this state the loans made by it

23  or obligations heretofore or hereafter acquired by it in the

24  transaction of business outside this state or in the

25  transaction of any business authorized or permitted hereby; or

26  acquiring, holding, leasing, mortgaging, contracting with

27  respect to, or otherwise protecting, managing, or conveying

28  property in this state which has heretofore or may hereafter

29  be assigned, transferred, mortgaged, or conveyed to it as

30  security for, or in whole or in part in satisfaction of, a

31  loan or loans made by it or obligations acquired by it in the

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 2068
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  1  transaction of any business authorized or permitted hereby.

  2  However, no such foreign bank, foreign association, or foreign

  3  trust company shall be deemed to be transacting business in

  4  this state, shall be required to qualify so to do, or shall be

  5  deemed to be unlawfully exercising powers or duties, acting in

  6  an unlawful or prohibited capacity, or violating any of the

  7  provisions of this section or of any other law of this state

  8  solely by reason of the performance of any of the acts or

  9  business hereinbefore permitted or authorized hereby; further,

10  nothing herein shall be construed as authorizing or permitting

11  any foreign bank, association, or trust company to maintain an

12  office within this state.

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14  This section does not apply to banks or associations and trust

15  companies incorporated under the laws of this state and having

16  trust powers, banks or associations and trust companies

17  resulting from an interstate merger transaction with a Florida

18  bank pursuant to s. 658.2953 and having trust powers, or

19  national banking associations or federal associations

20  authorized and qualified to exercise trust powers in Florida.

21         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

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    Florida Senate - 1999                           CS for SB 2068
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  1          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  2                         Senate Bill 2068

  3

  4  Deletes the section of the bill amending the exclusions from
    the rule against perpetuities.
  5
    Revises the provisions relating to successor trustee
  6  liability, to provide that a successor trustee is not
    personally liable for the actions of the prior trustee, and
  7  has no duty to institute an action against the prior trustee,
    for any beneficiary who has waived any accounting required by
  8  s. 737.303, F.S., but only as to the period included in the
    waiver.
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    Clarifies the bill's provisions that allow national banking
10  associations and federal associations authorized and qualified
    to exercise trust powers under federal law to exercise such
11  powers under Florida law.

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