AN ACT to provide for the deposit of MONEY 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 money that has been or will be deposited in an account with a financial institution upon condition that the money   will not be withdrawn except on authorization of the court, the court may, in its discretion, order that the money be so deposited or invested and exclude such deposited money from the computation of the amount of the bond or reduce the amount of the bond in respect of such money 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 money inthe applicant's or the guardian's possession or may allow such financial institution to retain any such money 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duly acknowledged by an authorized officer of the financial institution, that the money shall not be allowed to be withdrawn except on authorization of the court. In so receiving and retaining such money from an applicant for letters of guardianship, the financial institution shall be protected to the same extent as though it had received the same from a general guardian or a guardian of the estate.
(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 "money" as used in this section means the principal of the ward's estate and does not include the income earned by the principal, which may be withdrawn without any authorization of the court."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2009.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 7th day of July, 2009.

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		 Walter H. Dalton
	 President of the Senate

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		 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

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		 Beverly E. Perdue
	 Governor

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2009