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The Florida Senate

2012 Florida Statutes

Title XL REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY
Chapter 709 POWERS OF ATTORNEY AND SIMILAR INSTRUMENTS Entire Chapter
SECTION 2120
Refusal to accept power of attorney.
F.S. 709.2120
709.2120 Refusal to accept power of attorney.—
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2):
(a) A third person must accept or reject a power of attorney within a reasonable time. A third person who rejects a power of attorney must state in writing the reason for the rejection.
(b) Four days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, are presumed to be a reasonable time for a financial institution to accept or reject a power of attorney with respect to:
1. A banking transaction, if the power of attorney expressly contains authority to conduct banking transactions pursuant to s. 709.2208(1); or
2. A security transaction, if the power of attorney expressly contains authority to conduct security transactions pursuant to s. 709.2208(2).
(c) A third person may not require an additional or different form of power of attorney for authority granted in the power of attorney presented.
(2) A third person is not required to accept a power of attorney if:
(a) The third person is not otherwise required to engage in a transaction with the principal in the same circumstances;
(b) The third person has knowledge of the termination or suspension of the agent’s authority or of the power of attorney before exercising the power;
(c) A timely request by the third person for an affidavit, English translation, or opinion of counsel under s. 709.2119(4) is refused by the agent;
(d) Except as provided in paragraph (b), the third person believes in good faith that the power is not valid or that the agent does not have authority to perform the act requested; or
(e) The third person makes, or has knowledge that another person has made, a report to the local adult protective services office stating a good faith belief that the principal may be subject to physical or financial abuse, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment by the agent or a person acting for or with the agent.
(3) A third person who, in violation of this section, refuses to accept a power of attorney is subject to:
(a) A court order mandating acceptance of the power of attorney; and
(b) Liability for damages, including reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, incurred in any action or proceeding that confirms, for the purpose tendered, the validity of the power of attorney or mandates acceptance of the power of attorney.
History.—s. 22, ch. 2011-210.