Authors: Nicholas P. Milcarek, CFE, CAMS & Jeremy T. Clifton, CRCM, CAMS
On April 6, 2026, the Georgia General Assembly passed House Bill 945, which Governor Brian Kemp has since signed into law with an effective date of July 1, 2026. The law allows financial institutions in Georgia to place a temporary hold on a transaction when there is reasonable cause to believe it may involve the financial exploitation of an "eligible adult" — meaning any person 65 or older or a disabled adult over 18 years of age. A transaction hold may be applied to the eligible adult's own account, any account on which they are a beneficiary, or an account belonging to a suspected exploiter. The transaction hold can be placed on incoming and outgoing transactions and multiple holds can be placed on one account if necessary. Upon placing a transaction hold, the institution must issue written notice (can be provided electronically complying with E-SIGN) within three business days to all authorized account parties and any designated trusted contact, unless those individuals are suspected of involvement. An initial hold lasts 15 business days and may be extended by an additional 15 days if the institution's review continues to support a reasonable belief of exploitation. During the extended 15-day period, the institution may choose to obtain a court order to further extend the hold if EFE persists. The law provides civil, criminal, and administrative immunity to institutions and employees who act in good faith and exercise reasonable care.
The law requires that financial institutions have policies and procedures in place related to financial exploitation and transaction holds as well as train employees on these policies and procedures. Institutions should start by updating existing policies & procedures (e.g., BSA, EFE, and/or fraud policies) or developing a new program that will include in part, who can initiate a transaction hold, what must be documented, how the notice requirement will be met, and the process of establishing a trusted contact. The institution must conduct training and retain records of such training. Training could include training for frontline staff on the eligible adult definition, red flags that establish reasonable cause, and the escalation path to your BSA Officer or other responsible parties.
Institutions may request that customers establish a trusted contact during the account opening process. Trusted contacts do not have to be joint owners, Power of Attorney (POAs), or even certify themselves as trusted contracts. However, the institution would be expected to obtain enough information to generally be able to get in contact with and reasonably identify the trusted contact before discussing financial matters. Institutions may proactively contact customers to establish trusted contacts for vulnerable adults with active or previously identified higher risk activity.
Previous requirements for mandatory reporters of elder financial exploitation in Georgia are still in effect, such as filing APS reports on exploited adults and contacting law enforcement. It is expected that if transaction holds are placed the situation will be reviewed for possible SAR filing as required. Federal BSA obligations are still in place and FinCEN's 2022 Advisory (FIN-2022-A002) continues to require that SARs reference Field 38(d) and the key term "EFE FIN-2022-A002" in both Field 2 and the narrative. Institutions should remain vigilant of social-engineering scams, money mule schemes, pig butchering, and familial/caretaker abuse and file SARs if applicable.
Resources
Georgia HB 945:
https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB945/2025
Guidance for Identifying and Reporting Vulnerable Adult Exploitation:
Elder Abuse | Office of the Attorney General
Georgia Department of Banking & Finance- Transaction Hold Guidance:
https://dbf.georgia.gov/document/document/georgia-transaction-hold-guidance/download
On April 6, 2026, the Georgia General Assembly passed House Bill 945, which Governor Brian Kemp has since signed into law with an effective date of July 1, 2026. The law allows financial institutions in Georgia to place a temporary hold on a transaction when there is reasonable cause to believe it may involve the financial exploitation of an "eligible adult" — meaning any person 65 or older or a disabled adult over 18 years of age. A transaction hold may be applied to the eligible adult's own account, any account on which they are a beneficiary, or an account belonging to a suspected exploiter. The transaction hold can be placed on incoming and outgoing transactions and multiple holds can be placed on one account if necessary. Upon placing a transaction hold, the institution must issue written notice (can be provided electronically complying with E-SIGN) within three business days to all authorized account parties and any designated trusted contact, unless those individuals are suspected of involvement. An initial hold lasts 15 business days and may be extended by an additional 15 days if the institution's review continues to support a reasonable belief of exploitation. During the extended 15-day period, the institution may choose to obtain a court order to further extend the hold if EFE persists. The law provides civil, criminal, and administrative immunity to institutions and employees who act in good faith and exercise reasonable care.
The law requires that financial institutions have policies and procedures in place related to financial exploitation and transaction holds as well as train employees on these policies and procedures. Institutions should start by updating existing policies & procedures (e.g., BSA, EFE, and/or fraud policies) or developing a new program that will include in part, who can initiate a transaction hold, what must be documented, how the notice requirement will be met, and the process of establishing a trusted contact. The institution must conduct training and retain records of such training. Training could include training for frontline staff on the eligible adult definition, red flags that establish reasonable cause, and the escalation path to your BSA Officer or other responsible parties.
Institutions may request that customers establish a trusted contact during the account opening process. Trusted contacts do not have to be joint owners, Power of Attorney (POAs), or even certify themselves as trusted contracts. However, the institution would be expected to obtain enough information to generally be able to get in contact with and reasonably identify the trusted contact before discussing financial matters. Institutions may proactively contact customers to establish trusted contacts for vulnerable adults with active or previously identified higher risk activity.
Previous requirements for mandatory reporters of elder financial exploitation in Georgia are still in effect, such as filing APS reports on exploited adults and contacting law enforcement. It is expected that if transaction holds are placed the situation will be reviewed for possible SAR filing as required. Federal BSA obligations are still in place and FinCEN's 2022 Advisory (FIN-2022-A002) continues to require that SARs reference Field 38(d) and the key term "EFE FIN-2022-A002" in both Field 2 and the narrative. Institutions should remain vigilant of social-engineering scams, money mule schemes, pig butchering, and familial/caretaker abuse and file SARs if applicable.
Resources
Georgia HB 945:
https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB945/2025
Guidance for Identifying and Reporting Vulnerable Adult Exploitation:
Elder Abuse | Office of the Attorney General
Georgia Department of Banking & Finance- Transaction Hold Guidance:
https://dbf.georgia.gov/document/document/georgia-transaction-hold-guidance/download
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