Florida Statute 736.0110
“Others treated as qualified beneficiaries”
What it means
Most trust rights in Florida belong to “qualified beneficiaries” — the people close enough to the money to receive notices, accountings, and a seat in court. §736.0110 extends those rights to watchers who are not beneficiaries in the ordinary sense.
A charitable organization expressly designated to receive distributions from a charitable trust is treated as a qualified beneficiary. So is the person appointed to enforce a pet trust (§736.0408) or a noncharitable purpose trust (§736.0409). And the Florida Attorney General may assert a qualified beneficiary's rights over any charitable trust with its principal place of administration in this state.
- A charity expressly designated to receive distributions under a charitable trust holds qualified-beneficiary rights — notice, accountings, standing.
- The charity qualifies if it is a current distributee, next in line when current interests end, or would take if the trust terminated on the date its status is determined.
- The enforcer of an animal trust (§736.0408) or purpose trust (§736.0409) also has the rights of a qualified beneficiary.
- The Attorney General may assert a qualified beneficiary's rights as to any charitable trust with its principal place of administration in Florida, with standing in any judicial proceeding.
- When the Attorney General acts, the office has exclusive authority to represent the general public and unnamed charitable beneficiaries — other states' officials have no standing.
How it plays out
A charitable trust has no individual beneficiary watching the trustee, so this section builds the audience. When our office administers a trust with a charitable share, we treat the named charity as a qualified beneficiary from day one — notices, annual accountings, consents — because under §736.0110 that is exactly what it is. Charities do read those accountings, and the Attorney General's standing means even a trust with no named charity at all is not unpoliced.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 736.0110 does real work:
Questions people ask
