Florida Senate - 2020 SENATOR AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1404
Ì792956UÎ792956
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Floor: WD/2R .
03/06/2020 10:39 AM .
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Senator Perry moved the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Between lines 505 and 506
4 insert:
5 Section 11. Subsection (7) of section 497.459, Florida
6 Statutes, is amended to read:
7 497.459 Cancellation of, or default on, preneed contracts;
8 required notice.—
9 (7) NOTICE TO PURCHASER OR LEGALLY AUTHORIZED PERSON.—
10 (a) To ensure the performance of unfulfilled preneed
11 contracts, if any obligation of the preneed licensee remains to
12 be fulfilled under the contract, then upon the occurrence of the
13 earliest of any of the following events, a preneed licensee
14 shall provide to the purchaser or to the beneficiary’s legally
15 authorized person written notice of the preneed licensee’s
16 intent to distribute funds as described herein or otherwise in
17 accordance with the terms of the preneed contract, if any such
18 terms exist obligation of the preneed licensee remains to be
19 fulfilled under the contract:
20 1. Five years have passed since the confirmed death of the
21 beneficiary.
22 2.1. Fifty years have passed after the date of execution of
23 the preneed contract by the purchaser.
24 3.2. The beneficiary of the preneed contract attained, or
25 would have attained if living, attains the age of 105 years of
26 age or older.
27 3. The social security number of the beneficiary of the
28 preneed contract, as shown on the contract, is contained within
29 the United States Social Security Administration Death Master
30 File.
31
32 By July 1, 2021, and at least every 10 years thereafter, a
33 preneed licensee shall complete an analysis of each of its
34 preneed contracts to determine if subparagraph 1., subparagraph
35 2., or subparagraph 3. applies.
36 (b)1. The notice in paragraph (a) must be provided by
37 certified mail, registered mail, or permitted delivery service,
38 return receipt requested, to the last known mailing address of
39 the purchaser or the beneficiary’s legally authorized person,
40 whichever is applicable, as provided to the preneed licensee. If
41 the notice is returned as undeliverable within 30 calendar days
42 after the preneed licensee sent the notice, the preneed licensee
43 trustee shall perform a diligent search and inquiry to obtain a
44 different address for the purchaser or the beneficiary’s legally
45 authorized person, whichever is applicable. For purposes of this
46 subparagraph, any address known and used by the purchaser or the
47 beneficiary’s legally authorized person, whichever is
48 applicable, for sending regular mailings or other communications
49 from the purchaser or the beneficiary’s legally authorized
50 person, whichever is applicable, to the preneed licensee or any
51 address produced through a current address service or searchable
52 database shall be included with other addresses produced from
53 the diligent search and inquiry, if any. If the preneed
54 licensee’s trustee’s diligent search and inquiry produces an
55 address different from the notice address, the preneed licensee
56 trustee shall mail a copy of the notice by certified mail,
57 registered mail, or permitted delivery service, return receipt
58 requested, to any and all addresses produced as a result of the
59 diligent search and inquiry.
60 2. If the purchaser or the beneficiary’s legally authorized
61 person, whichever is applicable, fails to respond to such notice
62 within 120 days after delivery of the last mailed notice under
63 subparagraph 1., the funds held in trust must be distributed
64 within 60 days after the end of the 120-day period and in
65 accordance with the terms of the preneed contract, the trust
66 agreement, and any applicable provision provisions of chapter
67 717, as follows:
68 a. The principal deposited into trust must be remitted to
69 the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund.
70 b. Any additional funds in trust must be remitted to the
71 preneed licensee.
72
73 The names of the purchaser and the beneficiary of any preneed
74 contract for which funds were distributed must be provided to
75 the Division of Unclaimed Property at the time such funds are
76 remitted to the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund.
77 (c) A purchaser or a beneficiary that receives the notice
78 required under this subsection retains all rights to fulfillment
79 or cancellation of the preneed contract. Should the distribution
80 described in subparagraph (b)2. occur before the confirmed death
81 of the beneficiary, the licensee remains responsible for the
82 fulfillment, reactivation, or refund of the preneed contract at
83 the option of either the purchaser or beneficiary. If the
84 purchaser or beneficiary requests that the preneed contract be
85 fulfilled, reactivated, or refunded as set forth in this
86 subsection, the licensee is entitled to receive the principal
87 funds on the preneed contract which it previously paid into the
88 Unclaimed Property Trust Fund This subsection does not affect a
89 purchaser’s rights to cancel the preneed contract and receive a
90 refund or a preneed licensee’s obligations to refund established
91 by this chapter.
92 (d) This section does not apply to burial rights or
93 interment rights or to the burial services or the merchandise
94 associated with such burial or interment rights.
95 (e) The licensing authority shall have authority to adopt
96 rules for the review and approval of notice forms used by
97 preneed licensees to provide notice under this subsection.
98
99 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
100 And the title is amended as follows:
101 Delete line 50
102 and insert:
103 made by the act; amending s. 497.459, F.S.; revising
104 conditions under which a preneed licensee must provide
105 certain persons a notice of intent to distribute funds
106 under a preneed contract; requiring preneed licensees
107 to complete a certain analysis at specified intervals;
108 requiring a preneed licensee, rather than the trustee,
109 to conduct a search and inquiry under certain
110 circumstances; specifying the timeframe in which
111 certain funds held in trust must be distributed;
112 specifying the distribution of such funds; requiring
113 that certain names be provided to the Division of
114 Unclaimed Property at a certain time; providing
115 construction and applicability; amending s. 552.081,
116 F.S.; revising