736.0401 Methods of creating trust.—A trust may be created by: (1) Transfer of property to another person as trustee during the settlor’s lifetime or by will or other disposition taking effect on the settlor’s death; (2) Declaration by the owner of property that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee; or (3) Exercise of a power of appointment in […]
736.0402 Requirements for creation.— (1) A trust is created only if: (a) The settlor has capacity to create a trust. (b) The settlor indicates an intent to create the trust. (c) The trust has a definite beneficiary or is: 1. A charitable trust; 2. A trust for the care of an animal, as provided in s. 736.0408; or 3. A trust for a […]
736.0403 Trusts created in other jurisdictions; formalities required for revocable trusts.— (1) A trust not created by will is validly created if the creation of the trust complies with the law of the jurisdiction in which the trust instrument was executed or the law of the jurisdiction in which, at the time of creation, the settlor was […]
736.0404 Trust purposes.—A trust may be created only to the extent the purposes of the trust are lawful, not contrary to public policy, and possible to achieve. History.—s. 4, ch. 2006-217; s. 4, ch. 2018-35.
736.0405 Charitable purposes; enforcement.— (1) A trust may be created for charitable purposes. Charitable purposes include, but are not limited to, the relief of poverty; the advancement of arts, sciences, education, or religion; and the promotion of health, governmental, or municipal purposes. (2) If the terms of a charitable trust do not indicate a particular charitable purpose or […]
736.0406 Effect of fraud, duress, mistake, or undue influence.— If the creation, amendment, or restatement of a trust is procured by fraud, duress, mistake, or undue influence, the trust or any part so procured is void. The remainder of the trust not procured by such means is valid if the remainder is not invalid for other […]
736.0407 Evidence of oral trust.—Except as required by s. 736.0403 or a law other than this code, a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument but the creation of an oral trust and its terms may be established only by clear and convincing evidence. History.—s. 4, ch. 2006-217.
736.0408 Trust for care of an animal.— (1) A trust may be created to provide for the care of an animal alive during the settlor’s lifetime. The trust terminates on the death of the animal or, if the trust was created to provide for the care of more than one animal alive during the settlor’s lifetime, on […]
736.0409 Noncharitable trust without ascertainable beneficiary.—Except as otherwise provided in s. 736.0408 or by another provision of law, the following rules apply: (1) A trust may be created for a noncharitable purpose without a definite or definitely ascertainable beneficiary or for a noncharitable but otherwise valid purpose to be selected by the trustee. The trust may not […]
736.0410 Modification or termination of trust; proceedings for disapproval of nonjudicial acts.— (1) In addition to the methods of termination prescribed by ss. 736.04113-736.0414, a trust terminates to the extent the trust expires or is revoked or is properly distributed pursuant to the terms of the trust. (2) A proceeding to disapprove a proposed modification or termination under […]
736.04113 Judicial modification of irrevocable trust when modification is not inconsistent with settlor’s purpose.— (1) Upon the application of a trustee of the trust or any qualified beneficiary, a court at any time may modify the terms of a trust that is not then revocable in the manner provided in subsection (2), if: (a) The purposes of the […]
736.04114 Limited judicial construction of irrevocable trust with federal tax provisions.— (1) Upon the application of a trustee or any qualified beneficiary of a trust, a court at any time may construe the terms of a trust that is not then revocable to define the respective shares or determine beneficiaries, in accordance with the intention of the […]
736.04115 Judicial modification of irrevocable trust when modification is in best interests of beneficiaries.— (1) Without regard to the reasons for modification provided in s. 736.04113, if compliance with the terms of a trust is not in the best interests of the beneficiaries, upon the application of a trustee or any qualified beneficiary, a court may at […]
736.04117 Trustee’s power to invade principal in trust.— (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: (a) “Absolute power” means a power to invade principal that is not limited to specific or ascertainable purposes, such as health, education, maintenance, and support, regardless of whether the term “absolute” is used. A power to invade principal for purposes such as […]
736.0412 Nonjudicial modification of irrevocable trust.— (1) After the settlor’s death, a trust may be modified at any time as provided in s. 736.04113(2) upon the unanimous agreement of the trustee and all qualified beneficiaries. (2) Modification of a trust as authorized in this section is not prohibited by a spendthrift clause or by a provision in the […]
736.0413 Cy pres.— (1) If a particular charitable purpose becomes unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve, or wasteful, the court may apply the doctrine of cy pres to modify or terminate the trust by directing that the trust property be applied or distributed, in whole or in part, in a manner consistent with the settlor’s charitable purposes. (2) A […]
736.0414 Modification or termination of uneconomic trust.— (1) After notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the trustee of a trust consisting of trust property having a total value less than $50,000 may terminate the trust if the trustee concludes that the value of the trust property is insufficient to justify the cost of administration. (2) Upon application of a […]
736.0415 Reformation to correct mistakes.—Upon application of a settlor or any interested person, the court may reform the terms of a trust, even if unambiguous, to conform the terms to the settlor’s intent if it is proved by clear and convincing evidence that both the accomplishment of the settlor’s intent and the terms of the trust […]
736.0416 Modification to achieve settlor’s tax objectives.—Upon application of any interested person, to achieve the settlor’s tax objectives the court may modify the terms of a trust in a manner that is not contrary to the settlor’s probable intent. The court may provide that the modification has retroactive effect. History.—s. 4, ch. 2006-217.
736.0417 Combination and division of trusts.— (1) After notice to the qualified beneficiaries, a trustee may combine two or more trusts into a single trust or divide a trust into two or more separate trusts, if the result does not impair rights of any beneficiary or adversely affect achievement of the purposes of the trusts or trust, […]
