| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to claims to escheated property; amending |
| 3 | s. 717.12405, F.S.; entitling certain Holocaust victims or |
| 4 | related victims as lineal descendants of certain persons |
| 5 | to make claims to certain escheated property; requiring |
| 6 | the Department of Financial Services to allow such |
| 7 | descendants to meet certain standards of proof |
| 8 | substantiating lineage and valid claims for escheated |
| 9 | property; prohibiting dismissal of certain actions for |
| 10 | failure to comply with statutes of limitation or laches; |
| 11 | providing an effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Section 1. Section 717.12405, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 16 | to read: |
| 17 | 717.12405 Claims by estates.-- |
| 18 | (1) An estate or any person representing an estate or |
| 19 | acting on behalf of an estate may claim unclaimed property only |
| 20 | after the heir or legatee of the decedent entitled to the |
| 21 | property has been located. Any estate, or any person |
| 22 | representing an estate or acting on behalf of an estate, that |
| 23 | receives unclaimed property before the heir or legatee of the |
| 24 | decedent entitled to the property has been located, is |
| 25 | personally liable for the unclaimed property and must |
| 26 | immediately return the full amount of the unclaimed property or |
| 27 | the value thereof to the department in accordance with s. |
| 28 | 717.1341. |
| 29 | (2)(a) For the purpose of escheated property, if any |
| 30 | lineal descendant of a decedent's great-grandparents was a |
| 31 | Holocaust victim as defined in s. 626.9543(3)(a), including such |
| 32 | victims in countries cooperating with the discriminatory |
| 33 | policies of Nazi Germany, such lineal descendant is entitled to |
| 34 | make a claim for any escheated property in which the lineal |
| 35 | descendant may have a legitimate interest. The department shall |
| 36 | allow any such descendant to meet a reasonable and not unduly |
| 37 | restrictive standard of proof to substantiate his or her lineage |
| 38 | and a valid claim for the escheated property. |
| 39 | (b) Notwithstanding any law or agreement among any parties |
| 40 | to a claim for escheated property, any action brought by a |
| 41 | Holocaust victim, or by a beneficiary, heir, or descendant of a |
| 42 | Holocaust victim, seeking any escheated property or the proceeds |
| 43 | from escheated property may not be dismissed for failure to |
| 44 | comply with any applicable statute of limitations or laches. |
| 45 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |