| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to public records; amending s. 733.604, |
| 3 | F.S.; providing exemptions from public records |
| 4 | requirements for certain estate inventories and |
| 5 | accountings; requiring custodians to disclose certain |
| 6 | inventories or accountings to certain persons or by court |
| 7 | order; providing retroactive application; providing for |
| 8 | review and repeal of the exemptions; providing a statement |
| 9 | of public necessity; providing a contingent effective |
| 10 | date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 733.604, Florida |
| 15 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 16 | 733.604 Inventories and accountings; public records |
| 17 | exemptions Inventory.-- |
| 18 | (1)(a) Unless an inventory has been previously filed, a |
| 19 | personal representative shall file a verified inventory of |
| 20 | property of the estate, listing it with reasonable detail and |
| 21 | including for each listed item its estimated fair market value |
| 22 | at the date of the decedent's death. Unless otherwise ordered by |
| 23 | the court for good cause shown, the inventory or amended or |
| 24 | supplementary inventory is subject to inspection only by the |
| 25 | clerk of the court, the clerk's representative, the personal |
| 26 | representative, the personal representative's attorney, and |
| 27 | other interested persons. |
| 28 | (b)1. Any inventory of an estate, whether initial, |
| 29 | amended, or supplementary, filed with the clerk of the court in |
| 30 | conjunction with the administration of an estate pursuant to |
| 31 | part V of chapter 732 is confidential and exempt from s. |
| 32 | 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. |
| 33 | 2. Any inventory of an elective estate, whether initial, |
| 34 | amended, or supplementary, filed with the clerk of the court in |
| 35 | conjunction with an election made in accordance with part II of |
| 36 | chapter 732 is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. |
| 37 | 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. |
| 38 | 3. Any accounting, whether interim, final, amended, or |
| 39 | supplementary, filed in an estate proceeding is confidential and |
| 40 | exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State |
| 41 | Constitution. |
| 42 | 4. Any inventory or accounting made confidential and |
| 43 | exempt by subparagraph 1., subparagraph 2., or subparagraph 3. |
| 44 | shall be disclosed by the custodian for inspection or copying: |
| 45 | a. To the personal representative; |
| 46 | b. To the personal representative's attorney; |
| 47 | c. To an interested person as defined in s. 731.201; or |
| 48 | d. By court order upon a showing of good cause. |
| 49 | 5. These exemptions apply to any inventory or accounting |
| 50 | filed before, on, or after July 1, 2009. |
| 51 | 6. This paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset |
| 52 | Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed |
| 53 | on October 2, 2014, unless reviewed and saved from repeal |
| 54 | through reenactment by the Legislature. |
| 55 | Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public |
| 56 | necessity to exempt from public records requirements all |
| 57 | inventories of property of estates of decedents, including |
| 58 | amended and supplementary inventories, and all inventories of |
| 59 | elective estates of surviving spouses, whether initial, amended, |
| 60 | or supplementary. In addition, in order to preserve the privacy |
| 61 | of information that would otherwise be available in an |
| 62 | accounting filed in an estate proceeding, the Legislature finds |
| 63 | that it is a public necessity that all accountings, whether |
| 64 | interim, final, amended, or supplementary, filed in the estate |
| 65 | proceeding be made exempt from public records requirements. The |
| 66 | Legislature finds that the public disclosure of estate |
| 67 | inventories and accountings would make public financial |
| 68 | information of the decedent that would produce undue harm to the |
| 69 | heirs of the decedent or beneficiaries of the decedent's estate. |
| 70 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009, if |
| 71 | House Bill 599 or similar legislation is adopted in the same |
| 72 | legislative session or an extension thereof and becomes law. |