The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 8 : Banking and Insurance

Chapter 200 : Consumer Protection

Subchapter 008 : Protection from Financial Exploitation

• § 10802. Definitions

  As used in this subchapter:

  (1) “Account” means any deposit, share, custodial, trust, or transaction account, whether held individually or jointly, and whether checking, savings, money market, certificate of deposit, prepaid, or similar, that is established, maintained, or administered by a covered entity, through which the covered entity accepts, holds, disburses, or transfers funds of a customer. The term includes accounts held for the benefit of another, including fiduciary, guardianship, conservatorship, power of attorney, and representative payee accounts, to the extent the account is maintained by a covered entity.

  (2) “Associated third party” means:

  (A) a parent, spouse, adult child, sibling, or other family member of a customer whom a covered entity reasonably believes is closely associated with the customer;

  (B) an individual the customer has authorized to be contacted by the customer’s covered entity;

  (C) a co-owner, additional authorized signatory, or beneficiary on a customer’s account or an agent for the customer under a power of attorney; or

  (D) a licensed attorney, trustee, conservator, guardian, or other fiduciary selected by a court or governmental agency to manage some or all of the financial affairs of the customer.

  (3) “Covered entity” means a bank, trust company, or savings institution as defined in subdivision 11101(32) of this title or a credit union as defined in subdivision 30101(5) of this title. The term also includes the subsidiaries and affiliates that provide financial services for such entity, as well as the directors, officers, employees, or agents of such entity.

  (4) “Customer” means any person who establishes, maintains, or is a beneficiary of an account with a covered entity, including any person who owns, controls, or has a present or contingent legal or beneficial interest in funds held in the account, whether acting directly or through an agency, fiduciary, or representative.

  (5) “Financial exploitation” means:

  (A) the wrongful or unauthorized taking, withholding, appropriation, transfer, expenditure, or use of a customer’s money, assets, or property; or

  (B) any act or omission by a person, including by a fiduciary or other representative of the customer, whether acting under a power of attorney, guardianship, conservatorship, trust, or similar authority, that:

  (i) obtains or attempts to obtain control over the customer’s money, assets, or property through deception, intimidation, coercion, or undue influence, for the purpose or effect of depriving the customer of the ownership, use, benefit, or possession of the customer’s money, assets, or property; or

  (ii) converts or misuses the customer’s money, assets, or property so as to deprive the customer of the ownership, use, benefit, or possession of the customer’s money, assets, or property. (Added 2025, No. 106 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. May 20, 2026.)