The Florida Senate

90.602  Testimony of interested persons.--

(1)  No person interested in an action or proceeding against the personal representative, heir at law, assignee, legatee, devisee, or survivor of a deceased person, or against the assignee, committee, or guardian of a mentally incompetent person, shall be examined as a witness regarding any oral communication between the interested person and the person who is deceased or mentally incompetent at the time of the examination.

(2)  This section does not apply when:

(a)  A personal representative, heir at law, assignee, legatee, devisee, or survivor of a deceased person, or the assignee, committee, or guardian of a mentally incompetent person, is examined on his or her own behalf regarding the oral communication.

(b)  Evidence of the subject matter of the oral communication is offered by the personal representative, heir at law, assignee, legatee, devisee, or survivor of a deceased person, or the assignee, committee, or guardian of a mentally incompetent person.

(3)  For the purpose of this section, a "mentally incompetent person" is one who because of mental illness, mental retardation, senility, excessive use of drugs or alcohol, or other mental incapacity, is incapable of either managing his or her property or caring for himself or herself, or both.

History.--s. 1, ch. 76-237; s. 1, ch. 77-77; s. 22, ch. 78-361; s. 1, ch. 78-379; s. 2, ch. 88-33; s. 481, ch. 95-147.