House Bill 0599c1

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000              CS/HB 599

        By the Committee on Real Property & Probate and
    Representatives Goodlette, Gottlieb and Bilirakis





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the rule against

  3         perpetuities; amending s. 689.225, F.S.;

  4         revising certain criteria for application of

  5         the rule to certain trusts; specifying

  6         exclusivity of application of the rule;

  7         excluding common-law expressions; creating ss.

  8         737.4031, 737.4032, and 737.4033, F.S.;

  9         providing for judicial and nonjudicial

10         modifications of certain trusts under certain

11         circumstances; providing for representation of

12         certain persons in modification actions;

13         specifying nonapplication to certain trusts;

14         providing definitions; providing construction;

15         providing application relating to common law;

16         providing for award of costs and attorney fees

17         in modification proceedings; providing an

18         effective date.

19

20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

21

22         Section 1.  Paragraph (f) is added to subsection (2) of

23  section 689.225, Florida Statutes, and subsection (7) of said

24  section is amended, to read:

25         689.225  Statutory rule against perpetuities.--

26         (2)  STATEMENT OF THE RULE.--

27         (f)  As to any trust created after December 31, 2000,

28  this section shall apply to a nonvested property interest or

29  power of appointment contained in a trust by substituting

30  "1,000 years" in place of "90 years" in each place such term

31  appears in this section unless the terms of the trust require

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000              CS/HB 599

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  1  that all beneficial interests in the trust vest or terminate

  2  within a lesser period.

  3         (7)  RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.--With respect to any matter

  4  relating to the validity of an interest within the rule

  5  against perpetuities, unless a contrary intent appears, it

  6  shall be presumed that the transferor of the interest intended

  7  that the interest be valid. This section is the sole

  8  expression of any rule against perpetuities or remoteness in

  9  vesting in this state.  No common-law rule against

10  perpetuities or remoteness in vesting shall exist with respect

11  to any interest or power regardless of whether such interest

12  or power is governed by this section.

13         Section 2.  Sections 737.4031, 737.4032, and 737.4033,

14  Florida Statutes, are created to read:

15         737.4031  Judicial modification of trusts.--

16         (1)  If the purposes of a trust have been fulfilled or

17  have become illegal or impossible to fulfill or, if because of

18  circumstances not known to or anticipated by the settlor,

19  compliance with the terms of the trust would defeat or

20  substantially impair the accomplishment of a material purpose

21  of the trust or, if a material purpose of the trust no longer

22  exists, upon the application of a trustee of the trust or any

23  beneficiary a court at any time may modify the terms of a

24  trust which is not then revocable to:

25         (a)  Amend or change the terms of the trust, including

26  terms governing distribution of the trust income or principal,

27  or terms governing administration of the trust;

28         (b)  Terminate the trust in whole or in part;

29         (c)  Direct or permit the trustee to do acts that are

30  not authorized or that are prohibited by the terms of the

31  trust; or

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  1         (d)  Prohibit the trustee from performing acts that are

  2  permitted or required by the terms of the trust.

  3         (2)  Upon the application of a trustee of the trust or

  4  any beneficiary, a trust which is not then revocable may be

  5  modified at any time by a court as provided in subsection (1),

  6  and without regard to the reasons for modification provided in

  7  subsection (1), if compliance with the terms of the trust is

  8  not in the best interest of the persons having a beneficial

  9  interest in the trust.

10         (a)  The court shall exercise its discretion to order a

11  modification of the trust under this subsection in a manner

12  that conforms to the extent possible with the intention of the

13  settlor, taking into account the current circumstances and

14  best interests of the beneficiaries.

15         (b)  This subsection shall not apply to a trust created

16  prior to January 1, 2001.

17         (c)  This subsection shall not apply to a trust created

18  after December 31, 2000, if:

19         1.  Under the terms of the trust, all beneficial

20  interests in the trust must vest or terminate within the

21  period prescribed by the rule against perpetuities in s.

22  689.225(2), notwithstanding s. 689.225(2)(f).

23         2.  The terms of the trust expressly prohibit judicial

24  modification.

25         (d)  Modification of a trust, as authorized in this

26  subsection, is not prohibited by a provision in the trust

27  instrument that prohibits amendment or revocation of the trust

28  if the provision does not expressly prohibit judicial

29  modification.

30         (3)  In exercising its discretion to order a

31  modification of a trust under this section, the court shall

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  1  consider the terms and purposes of the trust, the facts and

  2  circumstances surrounding the creation of the trust, and

  3  extrinsic evidence relevant to the proposed modification.

  4         (4)  To the extent the interests of any person with a

  5  beneficial interest in the trust who is unborn or

  6  unascertained, whose identity is not then known for any

  7  reason, or who is a minor or under a legal disability are not

  8  represented by another beneficiary, such person shall be

  9  represented by the person's legal guardian, if any, or, if

10  none, by a guardian ad litem appointed by the court upon the

11  court's own motion or upon application by the trustee or any

12  beneficiary.

13         (5)  The court shall consider spendthrift provisions as

14  a factor in making a decision whether to modify a trust under

15  this section, but the court is not precluded from exercising

16  authority to modify the trust because the trust contains

17  spendthrift provisions.

18         (6)  For purposes of this section:

19         (a)  "Beneficiary" means:

20         1.  All current income or principal beneficiaries,

21  whether the beneficiaries' beneficial interests are

22  discretionary or mandatory.

23         2.  All reasonably ascertainable beneficiaries if all

24  current income interests immediately terminated, determined as

25  if any power of appointment over the trust assets were not

26  exercised.

27         (b)  "Trust" means trust as defined in s. 731.201.

28         (c)  A trust is revocable if revocable by the settlor

29  alone or in conjunction with any other person.  A trust is not

30  revocable for purposes of this section if revocable by the

31

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000              CS/HB 599

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  1  settlor only with the consent of all persons having a

  2  beneficial interest in the property.

  3         (d)  A trust which is revocable shall be treated as

  4  created when the right of revocation terminates.

  5         (7)  The provisions of this section are in addition to,

  6  and not in derogation of, rights under the common law to

  7  modify, amend, or revoke trusts.

  8         737.4032  Nonjudicial modification of trusts.--

  9         (1)  A trust which is not revocable may be modified at

10  any time after the settlor's death, upon the unanimous

11  agreement of the trustee and all beneficiaries of the trust,

12  to:

13         (a)  Amend or change the terms of the trust, including

14  terms governing distribution of the trust income or principal

15  or terms governing administration of the trust;

16         (b)  Terminate the trust in whole or in part;

17         (c)  Direct or permit the trustee to do acts that are

18  not authorized or that are prohibited by the terms of the

19  trust; or

20         (d)  Prohibit the trustee from performing acts that are

21  permitted or required by the terms of the trust.

22         (2)  This section shall not apply to any trust for

23  which a charitable deduction is allowed or allowable under the

24  Internal Revenue Code until the termination of all charitable

25  interests in the trust.

26         (3)  An agreement to modify a trust under this section

27  shall be binding upon a person with a beneficial interest in

28  the trust who is unborn or unascertained, whose identity is

29  not then known for any reason, or who is a minor or under a

30  legal disability, to the extent that his or her interest is

31  represented by another beneficiary having the same or greater

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  1  quality of beneficial interest in the trust, but only to the

  2  extent there is no conflict of interest between such person

  3  and such beneficiary or among the persons represented.

  4         (4)  To the extent the interests of any person having a

  5  beneficial interest in a trust who is unborn or unascertained,

  6  whose identity is not then known for any reason, or who is a

  7  minor or under a legal disability are not represented by a

  8  beneficiary under subsection (3), such person shall be

  9  represented by the person's legal guardian if there is one or,

10  if the person does not have a legal guardian, such person

11  shall be represented by a guardian ad litem appointed by the

12  court upon application by the trustee or any beneficiary.

13  Unless the court requires otherwise, the guardian ad litem's

14  decision whether to consent to modify the trust shall be

15  binding upon any person represented by the guardian ad litem

16  without seeking court approval.

17         (5)  This section shall not apply to a trust created

18  prior to January 1, 2001.

19         (6)  This section shall not apply to a trust created

20  after December 31, 2000, if, under the terms of the trust, all

21  beneficial interests in the trust must vest or terminate

22  within the period prescribed by the rule against perpetuities

23  in s. 689.225(2), notwithstanding s. 689.225(2)(f), unless the

24  terms of the trust expressly permit modification under this

25  section.

26         (7)  Modification of a trust as authorized in this

27  section is not prohibited by a spendthrift clause, or by a

28  provision in the trust instrument that prohibits amendment or

29  revocation of the trust.

30         (8)  For purposes of this section:

31         (a)  "Beneficiary" means:

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000              CS/HB 599

    605-140A-00






  1         1.  All current income or principal beneficiaries,

  2  whether the beneficiaries' beneficial interests are

  3  discretionary or mandatory.

  4         2.  All reasonably ascertainable beneficiaries if all

  5  current income interests immediately terminated, determined as

  6  if any power of appointment over the trust assets were not

  7  exercised.

  8         (b)  "Trust" means trust as defined in s. 731.201.

  9         (c)  A trust is revocable if revocable by the settlor

10  alone or in conjunction with any other person.  A trust is not

11  revocable for purposes of this section if revocable by the

12  settlor only with the consent of all persons having a

13  beneficial interest in the property.

14         (d)  A trust which is revocable shall be treated as

15  created when the right of revocation terminates.

16         (9)  The provisions of this section are in addition to,

17  and not in derogation of, rights under the common law to

18  modify, amend, or revoke trusts.

19         737.4033  Costs and attorney's fees.--In all

20  proceedings under s. 737.4031 or s. 737.4032, the court shall

21  award taxable costs as in chancery actions, including

22  attorney's fees and guardian ad litem fees, and such costs may

23  be paid from the trust or as otherwise directed by the court.

24         Section 3.  This act shall take effect December 31,

25  2000.

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