Florida Statute 736.0405
“Charitable purposes; enforcement”
What it means
A trust may be created for charitable purposes — the statute lists the relief of poverty; the advancement of arts, sciences, education, or religion; and the promotion of health, governmental, or municipal purposes — and says the list is not exclusive.
If a charitable trust names no particular purpose or beneficiary, it does not fail: the court may select one or more, consistent with the settlor's intent so far as it can be ascertained. Subsection (3) gives the settlor, among others, standing to enforce the trust — and denies standing to other states' attorneys general over Florida-administered charitable trusts.
- Charitable purposes include but are not limited to: relief of poverty; advancement of arts, sciences, education, or religion; promotion of health, governmental, or municipal purposes.
- A charitable trust with no stated purpose or beneficiary survives — the court selects one consistent with the settlor's ascertainable intent.
- The settlor has standing to enforce a charitable trust, “among others.”
- Out-of-state attorneys general and public officers have no standing over a charitable trust principally administered in Florida.
- Charitable status matters downstream — qualified-beneficiary rights for designated charities (§736.0110) and cy pres rescue (§736.0413) both build on it.
How it plays out
Two patterns from real files. Gifts “to charity” with no name attached: the section keeps them alive and hands the court the job of choosing — which is why we ask clients to name the organization, an alternate, and the purpose in one sentence, so no judge has to guess. And settlor standing: a living settlor can police a charitable trust personally, but that right cannot be exercised from the grave — afterward, enforcement belongs to designated charities and the Attorney General under §736.0110.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 736.0405 does real work:
Questions people ask
