A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide for the deposit of assets of a ward's estate into any financial institution and to make other clarifying changes.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 35A‑1232 reads as rewritten:
"§ 35A‑1232.  Exclusion of deposited money in computing amount of bond.
(a)	When it appears that the ward's estate includes  assets that  have been or will be deposited  or invested in an account with a financial institution upon condition that the  assets will not be withdrawn except on authorization of the court, the court may, in its discretion, order that the  assets be so deposited or invested and exclude such deposited  assets from the computation of the amount of the bond or reduce the amount of the bond in respect of such  assets to such an amount as it may deem reasonable.
(b)	The applicant for letters of  guardianship, or a general guardian or guardian of the estate, may deliver to any such financial institution any such  assets in the applicant's or the guardian's possession or may allow such  financial institution to retain any such  assets already deposited or invested with it; in either event, the applicant or guardian shall secure and file with the court a written receipt including the agreement of the  financial institution, duly acknowledged by an authorized officer of the  financial institution, that the  assets shall not be allowed to be withdrawn except on authorization of the court. (c)	The term "account with a financial institution" as used in this section means any account in a bank, savings and loan  association, credit union, trust company, or registered securities broker or dealer.
(d)	The term  "assets" as used in this section includes, but is not limited to, cash, stock, bonds, and other forms of securities in the ward's estate and does not include the income earned by  those assets, which may be withdrawn without any authorization of the court.
(e)	The term "income" as used in this section means interest and ordinary dividends but does not include capital gains. Income that is not withdrawn shall be added to principal annually."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2009.