Fla. Stat. § 736.0404 - Commentary to Florida Trust Code

Legal Commentary on Fla. Stat. § 736.0404

Fla. Stat. § 736.0404 limits the allowed purposes of a trust. A trust cannot be created unless that trust is created for a purpose that is lawful, within the scope of public policy, and possible to achieve. Thus, an attempt to create a trust for the purpose of funding murders would not be allowed. Similarly, one could not create a trust for the purpose of funding a dinner with Alexander the Great, as this would be impossible to achieve.

This requirement cannot be overridden by the terms of a trust. Fla. Stat. § 736.0105(c).

Text of Fla. Stat. § 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 of Fla. Stat. § 736.0404

Fla. Stat. § 736.0203 became law on July 1, 2007 as part of the Florida Trust Code. It originally contained a second sentence, which was removed in 2018. The original text of the statute read:

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. A trust and its terms must be for the benefit of its beneficiaries.

This original version of the statute section was taken word-for-word from the Uniform Trust Code.

This article is part of the PTM Legal Commentary to the Florida Trust Code. Click here to navigate through the entire commentary.