HB 0607

CS

CHAMBER ACTION

1	The Committee on Judiciary recommends the following:
2
3	Committee Substitute
4	Remove the entire bill and insert:
5	A bill to be entitled
6	An act relating to assets held in benefit plans; amending
7	s. 222.22, F.S.; exempting from legal process in favor of
8	creditors or other claimants assets held in qualified
9	tuition programs, in certain medical savings accounts, or
10	in Coverdell education savings accounts; amending s.
11	710.102, F.S.; redefining the term "benefit plan" and
12	defining the term "qualified minor's trust" as used in the
13	Florida Uniform Transfers to Minors Act; amending s.
14	710.104, F.S.; including benefit plans in the types of
15	property that a custodian may be named to receive on
16	behalf of a minor; amending s. 710.108, F.S.; allowing a
17	benefit plan to be transferred to a custodian of a minor
18	who does not have a conservator by an obligor of the
19	minor; increasing a monetary threshold limitation on
20	certain transfers; amending s. 710.116, F.S.; allowing a
21	minor's custodian, without a court order, to transfer
22	custodial property to a qualified minor's trust; providing
23	implications of the transfer; amending s. 733.808, F.S.;
24	providing for the disposition of benefits under a benefit
25	plan after the death of an owner of or a participant in
26	the plan; amending s. 744.301, F.S.; revising provisions
27	relating to the powers of natural guardians; providing an
28	effective date.
29
30	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
31
32	Section 1.  Section 222.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to
33	read:
34	222.22  Exemption of assets in qualified tuition programs,
35	medical savings accounts, and Coverdell education savings
36	accounts moneys in the Prepaid College Trust Fund or in a
37	Medical Savings Account from legal process.--
38	(1)(a)  Moneys paid into or out of, the assets of, and the
39	income of any validly existing qualified tuition program
40	authorized by s. 529 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
41	amended, including, but not limited to, the Florida Prepaid
42	College Trust Fund advance payment contracts under s. 1009.98
43	and Florida Prepaid College Trust Fund participation agreements
44	under s. 1009.981 the Florida Prepaid College Trust Fund by or
45	on behalf of a purchaser or qualified beneficiary pursuant to an
46	advance payment contract made under part IV of chapter 1009,
47	which contract has not been terminated, are not liable to
48	attachment, levy, garnishment, or legal process in the state in
49	favor of any creditor of or claimant against any program
50	participant, purchaser, owner or contributor, or program
51	beneficiary the purchaser or beneficiary of such advance payment
52	contract.
53	(2)(b)  Moneys paid into or out of, the assets of, and the
54	income of a medical savings account authorized under s. 220 of
55	the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, are not liable to
56	attachment, levy, garnishment, or legal process in this state in
57	favor of any creditor of or claimant against any account
58	participant, purchaser, owner or contributor, or account
59	beneficiary.
60	(3)  Moneys paid into or out of, the assets of, and the
61	income of any Coverdell education savings account, also known as
62	an educational IRA, established or existing in accordance with
63	s. 530 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, are not
64	liable to attachment, levy, garnishment, or legal process in
65	this state in favor of any creditor of or claimant against any
66	account participant, purchaser, owner or contributor, or account
67	beneficiary. the Prepaid College Trust Fund by or on behalf of a
68	benefactor or designated beneficiary pursuant to a participation
69	agreement made under s. 1009.981, which agreement has not been
70	terminated, are not liable to attachment, garnishment, or legal
71	process in the state in favor of any creditor of the purchaser
72	or beneficiary of such participation agreement.
73	(2)  Moneys paid into or out of a Medical Savings Account
74	by or on behalf of a person depositing money into such account
75	or a qualified beneficiary are not liable to attachment,
76	garnishment, or legal process in the state in favor of any
77	creditor of such person or beneficiary of such Medical Savings
78	Account.
79	Section 2.  Section 710.102, Florida Statutes, is amended
80	to read:
81	710.102  Definitions.--As used in this act, the term:
82	(1)  "Adult" means an individual who has attained the age
83	of 21 years.
84	(2)  "Benefit plan" means a retirement plan and may
85	include, but is not limited to, any pension, profit-sharing,
86	stock-bonus, or stock-ownership plan or individual retirement
87	account an employer's plan for the benefit of an employee or
88	partner.
89	(3)  "Broker" means a person lawfully engaged in the
90	business of effecting transactions in securities or commodities
91	for the person's own account or for the account of others.
92	(4)  "Conservator" means a person appointed or qualified by
93	a court to act as general, limited, or temporary guardian of a
94	minor's property or a person legally authorized to perform
95	substantially the same functions.
96	(5)  "Court" means the circuit court.
97	(6)  "Custodial property" means any interest in property
98	transferred to a custodian under this act and the income from
99	and proceeds of that interest in property.
100	(7)  "Custodian" means a person so designated under s.
101	710.111 or a successor or substitute custodian designated under
102	s. 710.121.
103	(8)  "Financial institution" means a bank, trust company,
104	savings institution, or credit union, chartered and supervised
105	under state or federal law.
106	(9)  "Legal representative" means an individual's personal
107	representative or conservator.
108	(10)  "Member of the minor's family" means the minor's
109	parent, stepparent, spouse, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle,
110	or aunt, whether of the whole or half blood or by adoption.
111	(11)  "Minor" means an individual who has not attained the
112	age of 21 years.
113	(12)  "Person" means an individual, corporation,
114	organization, or other legal entity.
115	(13)  "Personal representative" means an executor,
116	administrator, successor personal representative, or special
117	administrator of a decedent's estate or a person legally
118	authorized to perform substantially the same functions.
119	(14)  "Qualified minor's trust" means a trust that meets
120	the requirements of s. 2503(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of
121	1986, as amended.
122	(15)(14)  "State" includes any state of the United States,
123	the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and
124	any territory or possession subject to the legislative authority
125	of the United States.
126	(16)(15)  "Transfer" means a transaction that creates
127	custodial property under s. 710.111.
128	(17)(16)  "Transferor" means a person who makes a transfer
129	under this act.
130	(18)(17)  "Trust company" means a financial institution,
131	corporation, or other legal entity, authorized to exercise
132	general trust powers.
133	Section 3.  Subsection (1) of section 710.104, Florida
134	Statutes, is amended to read:
135	710.104  Nomination of custodian.--
136	(1)  A person having the right to designate the recipient
137	of property transferable upon the occurrence of a future event
138	may revocably nominate a custodian to receive the property for a
139	minor beneficiary upon the occurrence of the event by naming the
140	custodian followed in substance by the words: "as custodian for
141	...  (name of minor)  ... under the Florida Uniform Transfers to
142	Minors Act." The nomination may name one or more persons as
143	substitute custodians to whom the property must be transferred,
144	in the order named, if the first nominated custodian dies before
145	the transfer or is unable, declines, or is ineligible to serve.
146	The nomination may be made in a will, a trust, a deed, an
147	instrument exercising a power of appointment, or in a writing
148	designating a beneficiary of contractual rights, including, but
149	not limited to, the right to a benefit plan, which is registered
150	with or delivered to the payor, issuer, or other obligor of the
151	contractual rights.
152	Section 4.  Section 710.108, Florida Statutes, is amended
153	to read:
154	710.108  Transfer by obligor.--
155	(1)  Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a person not
156	subject to s. 710.106 or s. 710.107 who holds property,
157	including, but not limited to, a benefit plan, of a minor not
158	having a conservator, or who owes a liquidated debt to, a minor
159	not having a conservator, may make an irrevocable transfer to a
160	custodian for the benefit of the minor pursuant to s. 710.111.
161	(2)  If a person having the right to do so under s. 710.104
162	has nominated a custodian under that section to receive the
163	custodial property, the transfer must be made to that person.
164	(3)  If no custodian has been nominated under s. 710.104,
165	or all persons so nominated as custodian die before the transfer
166	or are unable, decline, or are ineligible to serve, a transfer
167	under this section may be made to an adult member of the minor's
168	family or to a trust company unless the property exceeds $15,000
169	$10,000 in value.
170	Section 5.  Section 710.116, Florida Statutes, is amended
171	to read:
172	710.116  Use of custodial property.--
173	(1)  A custodian may deliver or pay to the minor or expend
174	for the minor's benefit so much of the custodial property as the
175	custodian considers advisable for the use and benefit of the
176	minor, without court order and without regard to the duty or
177	ability of the custodian personally or of any other person to
178	support the minor, or to any other income or property of the
179	minor which may be applicable or available for that purpose.
180	(2)  A custodian may, without court order, transfer all or
181	part of the custodial property to a qualified minor's trust. A
182	transfer of property pursuant to this subsection terminates the
183	custodianship to the extent of the property transferred.
184	(3)(2)  On petition of an interested person or the minor if
185	the minor has attained the age of 14 years, the court may order
186	the custodian to deliver or pay to the minor or expend for the
187	minor's benefit so much of the custodial property as the court
188	considers advisable for the use and benefit of the minor.
189	(4)(3)  A delivery, payment, or expenditure under this
190	section is in addition to, not in substitution for, and does not
191	affect any obligation of a person to support the minor.
192	Section 6.  Section 733.808, Florida Statutes, is amended
193	to read:
194	733.808  Death benefits; disposition of proceeds.--
195	(1)  Death benefits of any kind, including, but not limited
196	to, proceeds of:
197	(a)  An individual life insurance policy;
198	(b)  A group life insurance policy;
199	(c)  A benefit plan as defined in s. 710.102 An employees'
200	trust or under a contract purchased by an employees' trust
201	forming part of a pension, stock bonus, or profit-sharing plan;
202	(d)  An annuity or endowment contract; and
203	(e)  A health or and accident policy,
204
205	may be made payable to the trustee under a trust agreement or
206	declaration of trust in existence at the time of the death of
207	the insured, employee, or annuitant or the owner of or
208	participant in the benefit plan. The death benefits shall be
209	held and disposed of by the trustee in accordance with the terms
210	of the trust as they appear in writing on the date of the death
211	of the insured, employee, or annuitant, owner, or participant.
212	It shall not be necessary to the validity of the trust agreement
213	or declaration of trust, whether revocable or irrevocable, that
214	it have a trust corpus other than the right of the trustee to
215	receive death benefits.
216	(2)  Death benefits of any kind, including, but not limited
217	to, proceeds of:
218	(a)  An individual life insurance policy;
219	(b)  A group life insurance policy;
220	(c)  A benefit plan as defined in s. 710.102 An employees'
221	trust, or under a contract purchased by an employees' trust,
222	forming part of a pension, stock bonus, or profit-sharing plan;
223	(d)  An annuity or endowment contract; and
224	(e)  A health or and accident policy,
225
226	may be made payable to the trustee named, or to be named, in a
227	written instrument that is admitted to probate as the last will
228	of the insured, the owner of the policy, the employee, owner, or
229	participant covered by the plan or contract, or any other
230	person, whether or not the will is in existence at the time of
231	designation. Upon the admission of the will to probate, the
232	death benefits shall be paid to the trustee, to be held,
233	administered, and disposed of in accordance with the terms of
234	the trust or trusts created by the will.
235	(3)  In the event no trustee makes proper claim to the
236	proceeds from the insurance company or other obligor within a
237	period of 6 months after the date of the death of the insured,
238	employee, or annuitant, owner, or participant, or if
239	satisfactory evidence is furnished to the insurance company or
240	obligor within that period that there is, or will be, no trustee
241	to receive the proceeds, payment shall be made by the insurance
242	company or obligor to the personal representative of the person
243	making the designation, unless otherwise provided by agreement
244	with the insurer or obligor during the lifetime of the insured,
245	employee, or annuitant, owner, or participant.
246	(4)  Death benefits payable as provided in subsection (1),
247	subsection (2), or subsection (3), unless paid to a personal
248	representative under the provisions of subsection (3), shall not
249	be deemed to be part of the decedent's estate, and shall not be
250	subject to any obligation to pay the expenses of the
251	administration and obligations of the decedent's estate or for
252	contribution required from a trust under s. 733.607(2) to any
253	greater extent than if the proceeds were payable directly to the
254	beneficiaries named in the trust.
255	(5)  The death benefits held in trust may be commingled
256	with any other assets that may properly come into the trust.
257	(6)  Nothing in This section does not shall affect the
258	validity of any designation of a beneficiary of proceeds
259	previously made that designates as beneficiary the trustee of
260	any trust established under a trust agreement or declaration of
261	trust or by will.
262	Section 7.  Subsection (2) of section 744.301, Florida
263	Statutes, is amended to read:
264	744.301  Natural guardians.--
265	(2)  The natural guardian or guardians are authorized, on
266	behalf of any of their minor children, to:
267	(a)  Settle and consummate a settlement of any claim or
268	cause of action accruing to any of their minor children for
269	damages to the person or property of any of said minor children;
270	(b)  and to Collect, receive, manage, and dispose of the
271	proceeds of any such settlement;
272	(c)  Collect, receive, manage, and dispose and of any other
273	real or personal property distributed from an estate or trust;
274	(d)  Collect, receive, manage, dispose of, and make
275	elections regarding the or proceeds from a life insurance policy
276	or annuity contract payable to, or otherwise accruing to the
277	benefit of, the child; and
278	(e)  Collect, receive, manage, dispose of, and make
279	elections regarding the proceeds of any benefit plan as defined
280	in s. 710.102 of which the minor is a beneficiary, participant,
281	or owner,
282
283	without appointment, authority, or bond during minority, when
284	the amount involved in any instance does not exceed $15,000,
285	without appointment, authority, or bond.
286	Section 8.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.