September 2026
Every rule below carries a section number from chapter 736 of the Florida Statutes, the Florida Trust Code, captured from the Legislature's Online Sunshine site on July 16, 2026. Where the code is silent, this guide says so. Where a popular rule is not Florida law, this guide says that too.
What Florida trust law is
Florida's trust statute is the Florida Trust Code, chapter 736, enacted by chapter 2006-217, Laws of Florida, and effective July 1, 2007. It is Florida's version of the Uniform Trust Code, and under section 736.1303 it applies to all trusts created before, on, or after that date, with a handful of provisions that reach only trusts created after it. Because it is a uniform-code state, most national estate-planning articles describe Florida accurately on the basics; the places where Florida departs from the uniform text are listed at the end of this guide. Two statutes outside chapter 736 also govern Florida trusts: the will-execution statute (section 732.502) that a revocable trust must satisfy, and the perpetuities statute (section 689.225) that decides how long a trust may last.
The legal requirements for creating a valid trust in Florida
Section 736.0401 provides three ways to create a trust: a transfer of property to another person as trustee, during life or at death; a declaration by the owner that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee; or the exercise of a power of appointment in favor of a trustee. Section 736.0402 then requires five things, and a trust is created "only if" all five are present:
- the settlor has capacity to create a trust;
- the settlor indicates an intent to create the trust;
- the trust has a definite beneficiary, or is a charitable trust, an animal-care trust under section 736.0408, or a noncharitable-purpose trust under section 736.0409;
- the trustee has duties to perform; and
- the same person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary.
A beneficiary is definite if the beneficiary can be ascertained now or in the future (section 736.0402(2)). The code states no general writing or signature requirement for creating a trust, but two exceptions swallow most of that rule. A trust of an interest in real property must comply with Florida's statute of frauds (section 736.0403(2)(a)). And the testamentary aspects of a revocable trust — the provisions that dispose of the property after the settlor's death — are invalid unless the settlor, if a Florida domiciliary, executed the instrument with the formalities required for a will (section 736.0403(2)(b)).
Execution formalities: witnesses yes, notary no
Because of section 736.0403(2)(b), a Florida revocable living trust is executed like a will. Section 732.502 requires a writing, the settlor's signature at the end (or the settlor's name subscribed by another at the settlor's direction and in the settlor's presence), and at least two attesting witnesses who sign in the presence of the settlor and of each other. Notarization is not required by chapter 736 or by section 732.502 for the trust to be valid; a notary appears in Florida law only in the separate, optional self-proof procedure for wills. Retirement-plan trusts under the Internal Revenue Code are exempt from the will-formality rule (section 736.0403(3)), and the rule applies to trusts created on or after July 1, 2007 (section 736.0403(4)).
Revocable by default
Under section 736.0602(1), "unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend the trust." That default does not apply to trusts created under instruments executed before the code took effect. A trustee who does not know that a trust has been revoked or amended is protected (section 736.0602(7)).
When a Florida trust can be contested, and for how long
Florida has two contest rules and both are precise. Before the settlor dies, section 736.0207(2) bars any action to contest the validity of a revocable trust until the trust becomes irrevocable by its terms or by the settlor's death; the contestant bears the burden of proving invalidity (section 736.0207(1)). After death, section 736.0604 bars an action to contest a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death unless it is commenced within the earlier of the general limitations period in chapter 95, or six months after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument together with a notice of the trust's existence, the trustee's name and address, and the time allowed for commencing a proceeding. The six-month figure is printed in the statute. The four-year figure that appears in many articles is not; it comes, if at all, from chapter 95 by cross-reference. Florida did not enact the uniform code's trustee safe harbor for distributions made while a contest is pending; a trustee's nearest protections are section 736.0602(7) and the certification-of-trust reliance rules in section 736.1017.
The trustee's duties in Florida
Section 736.0801 requires the trustee to administer the trust in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries. Section 736.0804 sets the standard: the trustee "shall administer the trust as a prudent person would, by considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust," exercising reasonable care, skill, and caution. Florida keeps its prudent investor rule outside chapter 736, in section 518.11, which applies to acts and omissions after October 1, 1993. The trustee also owes the duty to keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed and to account, and on termination must "proceed expeditiously to distribute the trust property," retaining a reasonable reserve for debts, expenses, and taxes (section 736.0817).
Appointing, removing, and replacing a trustee
Sections 736.0701 through 736.0706 govern acceptance, bond, cotrustees, vacancies, resignation, and removal. A trustee may resign with 30 days' notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the settlor if living, and cotrustees, or with court approval (section 736.0705(1)); Florida adds a non-uniform first sentence permitting resignation under the trust instrument's own procedure. Removal is under section 736.0706 on petition by the settlor, a cotrustee, or a beneficiary, or on the court's own initiative, for serious breach, lack of cooperation among cotrustees, unfitness or persistent failure to administer effectively, or a substantial change of circumstances where removal serves the beneficiaries' interests.
What rights beneficiaries have in a Florida trust
Qualified beneficiaries are entitled to notice of the trust's existence and the trustee's identity, to a copy of the trust instrument on request, and to accountings; a beneficiary who is not receiving them may petition the circuit court. Beneficiaries may petition for removal under section 736.0706, and the settlor, a cotrustee, or a beneficiary may bring a proceeding on breach of trust. The six-month contest window in section 736.0604 begins only when the trustee actually sends the trust instrument with the required notice — a beneficiary who never received both has not started the clock.
Spendthrift protection and its exceptions
Section 736.0502 permits a spendthrift provision, with a non-uniform applicability sentence for instruments executed before the code's effective date. Section 736.0503 lists the creditors who can reach a beneficiary's interest anyway: a child, spouse, or former spouse with a support order, a judgment creditor who provided services for the protection of the beneficiary's interest in the trust, and claims of the state or the United States to the extent a statute provides. Section 736.0505 governs a settlor's own creditors: a self-settled trust gives the settlor no spendthrift protection, and a creditor can reach the maximum amount distributable for the settlor's benefit. Florida prints no dollar figures in these sections; the withdrawal-power thresholds in section 736.0505(2)(b) are stated by reference to the Internal Revenue Code.
How long a Florida trust can last
Florida's rule against perpetuities is section 689.225. The uniform 90-year wait-and-see period applies by default, but Florida substituted 360 years for trusts created after December 31, 2000 through June 30, 2022, and 1,000 years for trusts created on or after July 1, 2022 (section 689.225(2)(f) and (g)). A Florida dynasty trust is therefore a real instrument, and the 1,000-year period is the one that applies to a trust signed today.
Certification of trust
Under section 736.1017 a trustee may furnish a certification of trust instead of the instrument itself. It states the trust's existence and date, the settlor's identity, the trustee's identity and address, the trustee's powers, whether the trust is revocable and who may revoke it, the signature authority of cotrustees, the trust's taxpayer identification number, and how title should be taken; Florida added a disclosure of any powers of direction in 2021 (section 736.1017(1)(e)). The certification may be "signed or otherwise authenticated by any trustee" (section 736.1017(2)) — a single trustee, not all of them. A person who acts in reliance on it without knowledge that it is incorrect is protected (section 736.1017(6) and (7)). Florida did not enact the uniform provision making a third party liable for demanding the full instrument in bad faith.
What assets should not be placed in a Florida trust, and taxes
Chapter 736 publishes no list of excluded assets. In practice, retirement accounts pass by beneficiary designation rather than retitling; vehicles and small accounts are often left out; and a Florida homestead raises its own questions under the constitution's descent and devise restrictions that a trust cannot override, which is why homestead is the asset to discuss with counsel before funding. Florida imposes no state estate tax and no inheritance tax; the only transfer tax that can reach a Florida trust is the federal estate tax on estates above the federal exemption. The "7-year rule" in many search results is a United Kingdom inheritance-tax concept and is not Florida law.
Types of trusts used in Florida estate plans
A revocable living trust is the working instrument of most Florida estate plans; the trust document names a successor trustee, and the trust's assets pass at death without probate court administration. Irrevocable trusts trade the power to revoke for creditor or tax positioning, subject to the spendthrift exceptions above. A testamentary trust is created by will and takes effect after probate. A special needs trust preserves a beneficiary's public benefits. Land trusts and animal-care trusts (section 736.0408) are Florida-recognized as well. Whatever the type, sections 736.0402 and 736.0403 apply to all of them.
Trust administration after a death: the sequence
The successor trustee accepts under section 736.0701, notifies the qualified beneficiaries, sends the trust instrument with the section 736.0604 notice to start the six-month window, marshals the assets, keeps beneficiaries informed, and distributes expeditiously under section 736.0817. Trust administration is private unless a party petitions the circuit court. That privacy is the practical reason to fund the trust; it is also why the notice and accounting duties matter.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Florida trust need to be notarized? No. It needs two attesting witnesses for its testamentary aspects (sections 736.0403(2)(b), 732.502); notarization is not a validity requirement.
Can the same person be trustee and beneficiary? Yes, so long as that person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary (section 736.0402(1)(e)).
How long does a trustee have to distribute? No fixed number of days; "expeditiously," with a reasonable reserve (section 736.0817).
Can a trust be contested while the settlor is alive? Not while it is revocable (section 736.0207(2)), except by the guardian of an incapacitated settlor's property.
Where Florida departs from the Uniform Trust Code
- The testamentary aspects of a revocable trust must be executed with will formalities (section 736.0403(2)(b)); the uniform code has no such requirement.
- The post-death contest window is six months from delivery of the instrument and notice, or the chapter 95 period if earlier (section 736.0604); no trustee distribution safe harbor was enacted.
- The prudent investor rule sits in section 518.11, not in the trust code.
- The perpetuities period is 360 years for 2001–mid-2022 trusts and 1,000 years thereafter (section 689.225), not the uniform 90.
- The certification of trust adds a powers-of-direction disclosure and omits the uniform bad-faith-demand liability (section 736.1017).
Other states in this series
- California trust law, verified
- Georgia trust law, verified
- New York trust law, verified
- South Carolina trust law, verified
- Texas trust law, verified
Verified sources
All sections were read from the Legislature's Online Sunshine publication of the 2025 Florida Statutes on July 16, 2026, each with its own history line (chapter 736 sections: "s. __, ch. 2006-217" and later amendments; section 736.1017(1)(e) added by ch. 2021-183). Readers who need the verbatim text with capture date and source line for any section can request the Trust Statute Service research package for Florida.
This guide states the statute. It is not legal advice for any particular trust, and it does not replace counsel where a dispute, homestead, a tax question, or an unusual asset is involved.