Florida Senate - 2011 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 648 Barcode 587788 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RCS . 03/22/2011 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Committee on Banking and Insurance (Bennett) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Before line 36 4 insert: 5 Section 1. Section 90.5021, Florida Statutes, is created to 6 read: 7 90.5021 Fiduciary lawyer-client privilege.— 8 (1) For the purpose of this section, a client acts as a 9 fiduciary when serving as a personal representative or a trustee 10 as defined in ss. 731.201 and 736.0103, an administrator ad 11 litem as defined in s. 733.308, a curator as described in s. 12 733.501, a guardian or guardian ad litem as defined in s. 13 744.102, a conservator as defined in s. 710.102, or an attorney 14 in fact as described in chapter 709. 15 (2) A communication between a lawyer and a client acting as 16 a fiduciary is privileged and protected from disclosure under s. 17 90.502 to the same extent as if the client were not acting as a 18 fiduciary. In applying s. 90.502 to a communication under this 19 section, only the person or entity acting as a fiduciary is 20 considered a client of the lawyer. 21 (3) This section does not affect the exception to the 22 lawyer-client privilege which is provided for crime or fraud as 23 set forth in s. 90.502(4)(a). 24 25 Between lines 103 and 104 26 insert: 27 Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 28 733.212, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 29 733.212 Notice of administration; filing of objections.— 30 (2) The notice shall state: 31 (b) The name and address of the personal representative and 32 the name and address of the personal representative’s attorney, 33 and that the fiduciary lawyer-client privilege in s. 90.5021 34 applies with respect to the personal representative and any 35 attorney employed by the personal representative. 36 37 Between lines 125 and 126 38 insert: 39 Section 9. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of 40 section 736.0813, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 41 736.0813 Duty to inform and account.—The trustee shall keep 42 the qualified beneficiaries of the trust reasonably informed of 43 the trust and its administration. 44 (1) The trustee’s duty to inform and account includes, but 45 is not limited to, the following: 46 (a) Within 60 days after acceptance of the trust, the 47 trustee shall give notice to the qualified beneficiaries of the 48 acceptance of the trust,andthe full name and address of the 49 trustee, and that the fiduciary lawyer-client privilege in s. 50 90.5021 applies with respect to the trustee and any attorney 51 employed by the trustee. 52 (b) Within 60 days after the date the trustee acquires 53 knowledge of the creation of an irrevocable trust, or the date 54 the trustee acquires knowledge that a formerly revocable trust 55 has become irrevocable, whether by the death of the settlor or 56 otherwise, the trustee shall give notice to the qualified 57 beneficiaries of the trust’s existence, the identity of the 58 settlor or settlors, the right to request a copy of the trust 59 instrument,andthe right to accountings under this section, and 60 that the fiduciary lawyer-client privilege in s. 90.5021 applies 61 with respect to the trustee and any attorney employed by the 62 trustee. 63 64 Paragraphs (a) and (b) do not apply to an irrevocable trust 65 created before the effective date of this code, or to a 66 revocable trust that becomes irrevocable before the effective 67 date of this code. Paragraph (a) does not apply to a trustee who 68 accepts a trusteeship before the effective date of this code. 69 70 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 71 And the title is amended as follows: 72 Delete lines 2 - 24 73 and insert: 74 An act relating to estates; creating s. 90.5021, F.S.; 75 creating a fiduciary lawyer-client privilege; 76 providing that the lawyer-client privilege applies to 77 the communications between a lawyer and a client that 78 is a fiduciary; providing that the act does not affect 79 the crime or fraud exception to the lawyer-client 80 privilege; amending s. 732.102, F.S.; revising 81 provisions relating to the intestate share of a 82 surviving spouse; creating s. 732.615, F.S.; providing 83 a right to reform the terms of a will to correct 84 mistakes; creating s. 732.616, F.S.; providing a right 85 to modify the terms of a will to achieve tax 86 objectives; creating s. 733.1061, F.S.; providing for 87 a court to award fees and costs in reformation and 88 modification proceedings either against a party’s 89 share in the estate or in the form of a personal 90 judgment against a party individually; amending s. 91 732.5165, F.S.; clarifying that a revocation of a will 92 is subject to challenge on the grounds of fraud, 93 duress, mistake, or undue influence; amending s. 94 732.518, F.S.; specifying that a challenge to the 95 revocation of a will may not be commenced before the 96 testator’s death; amending s. 733.212, F.S.; requiring 97 a notice of administration to state that the fiduciary 98 lawyer-client privilege applies with respect to the 99 personal representative and his or her attorney; 100 amending s. 736.0207, F.S.; clarifying when a 101 challenge to the revocation of a revocable trust may 102 be brought; amending s. 736.0406, F.S.; providing that 103 the creation of a trust amendment or trust restatement 104 and the revocation of a trust are subject to challenge 105 on the grounds of fraud, duress, mistake, or undue 106 influence; amending s. 736.0813, F.S.; providing that 107 the fiduciary lawyer-client privilege applies to 108 communications between a trustee and an attorney 109 employed by the trustee; amending s. 744.441,