The Florida Estate Planning and Probate Law Blog is focused on recent federal and state case law and planning ideas.

FIDUCIARY ACCESS LAW IN FLORIDA



On March 10, 2016, Governor Scott signed in law the “Fiduciary Access Law.”  Effective July 1, 2016, the law allows custodians to turn over "data, text, images, videos, sounds, codes, computer programs, software, databases" and other files. Under the law, Internet service providers and other custodians can grant access to fiduciaries who submit written requests with certified death certificates, letters of administration and other documents that show proof of power of attorney. They can request usernames, addresses and other unique subscriber information to identify accounts or ask for a court order to show the fiduciary requires disclosure to administer the estate.

The new law allows account holders to designate authorized users and specify what content they can access. It also permits custodians, like telecom companies that store files, to share that content with fiduciaries or guardians. Many internet companies already have these policies in place.