CopyCited 29 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal
...Appellant's basic contention is that since the deed in question is not within this statutory provision the trustee does not have fee simple title and thus the beneficiaries must be joined as defendants. We reject this contention and affirm. Fla. Stat. §
689.07, F.S.A. was supplemented in 1963 by passage of Fla. Stat. §
689.071, F.S.A....
CopyCited 11 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal
...Builders of the South, Inc. owned certain real property upon which it built a condominium. The property was then conveyed to Louise Taylor, Jack C. Betz, and Roger Richmond, as trustees. The deed recited that the conveyance was made in conformance with the provisions of Section 689.071, Florida Statutes (1971), and that the interests of the beneficiaries shall be deemed personal property....
...s. See McGriff v. McGill,
62 So.2d 28 (Fla. 1952); Elvins v. Seestedt,
141 Fla. 266,
193 So. 54 (1940). In 1963 our legislature insured the validity of the Illinois land trust by the enactment of Chapter 63-468, Laws of Florida, which has now become Section
689.071, Florida Statutes (1975)....
...the typical testamentary or inter vivos trust. In the case of an ordinary trust, if the trust property is real property the interest of the beneficiaries is usually considered to be real property. Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 130 (1959). Under Section 689.071, the interest of the beneficiaries in an Illinois land trust is considered personal property if so specified....
CopyCited 11 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 1501, 2009 WL 454492
...Appellees argue that pursuant to section
731.201(33), land trusts are excluded from the definition of a "trust" under all of chapter 737. We disagree. Chapter 737 has been applied by courts to regulate and to rule on land trusts, and chapter 737 is directly referred to in the Florida Land Trust Act, section
689.071(5)....
...However, the trust created by the EFP Brigham Land Trust No. 1 dated September 28, 1991 (the "EFP Trust"), was not a land trust created under section
689.05. Although the EFP Trust was executed by Marion and was a written trust, it did not comply with the requirements of section
689.071. A review of the Deed for the EFP Trust (the "EFP Trust Deed") from Marion to Dana, as trustee to the EFP Trust, shows that it failed to qualify as a "recorded instrument" to create a Florida Land Trust under section
689.071. For the "recorded instrument" to create a Florida Land Trust, the deed must state the following pursuant to section
689.071(1): (1) Every conveyance, deed, mortgage, lease assignment, or other instrument heretofore or hereafter made, hereinafter referred to as "the recorded instrument," transferring any interest in real property in this state, ....
...roperty described in the recorded instrument." Because Dana, as the lawyer that created and transferred the Deed to North Carolina attorneys for recordation, failed to include the formalities in the Deed required to create a Florida Land Trust under section 689.071, it is a trust regulated by chapter 737....
CopyCited 11 times | Published | District Court, N.D. Florida | 17 Collier Bankr. Cas. 8, 17 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 8, 4 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 212, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18408
...aries. The court further observed the last clause in the definition was apparently inserted to include specifically the "familiar Massachusetts trust." The trust involved here is an Illinois Land Trust which is recognized in Florida by statute, F.S. § 689.071....
...e., income and possession rights), and the legal and equitable title to the property. Under the express terms of the trust *252 agreement, the beneficiary's interest is defined as personal property and the trustee holds `the full, complete and exclusive title to the real estate, both legal and equitable.' F.S. § 689.071 provides that the instrument setting up an Illinois Land Trust is effective to vest in the trustee full rights of ownership over the real property or interest therein....
CopyCited 10 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal
...As we read the amended complaint and the copied documents between the parties thereto attached, we do not see that Ferraro had any justiciable cause for relief. The amended trust was clearly an active trust, as distinguished from a dry or passive trust, and was in the category of an "Illinois Land Trust" contemplated by F.S. § 689.071, F.S.A., which inter alia provides as follows: "Every * * * instrument heretofore or hereafter made, hereinafter referred to as the recorded instrument, transferring any interests in real property in this state * * * to any person * * * in...
...uch determination shall become an issue under the laws or in the courts of this state. (5) This act is remedial in nature and shall be given a liberal interpretation to effectuate the intent and purposes hereinabove expressed." The enactment of F.S. §
689.071, F.S.A., was forecast in an article some 3 years prior thereto in 13 Florida Law Review, 173, wherein were cited authorities indicating that Florida would follow Illinois in finding and construing such trusts to be active. This 2nd District Court had occasion in Grammer v. Roman, Fla.App. 1965,
174 So.2d 443, to recognize the applicability in a proper case of F.S. §
689.071, F.S.A., in the course of which opinion is the following: "Fla. Stat. §
689.07, F.S.A. was supplemented in 1963 by passage of Fla. Stat. §
689.071, F.S.A....
...The interest of Ferraro in the trust was not an interest in real estate nor would a pledge of that interest be rendered a mortgage, as urged by Ferraro. By executing the amended trust agreement all parties agreed that Ferraro's interest would be deemed to be personal property. § 689.071(4) provides that such provision in a recorded instrument "shall be controlling for all purposes where such determination shall become an issue under the laws or in the courts of this state"....
...said on the merits of the case, it is unnecessary to rule upon the point. The interlocutory order appealed is affirmed. HOBSON, C.J., concurs. McNULTY, J., dissents with opinion. McNULTY, Judge (dissenting). I would agree with the majority that F.S. § 689.071, F.S.A., is applicable in this case to the extent that pursuant thereto the land trust agreement herein created a personal property interest in appellant....
CopyCited 7 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 20427, 38 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 127, 2001 WL 1078243
...The court's reason for denying Salkin's motion was that there was never a transfer of the Counsel Building from Saber to Slobodinsky at all, because a merger had occurred in Saber: "[T]his Court, in conformity with Florida case law and with respect to § 689.071, holds that the Merger Doctrine operated to terminate the Land Trust on August 29, 1991, when Saber obtained 100% of the equitable interest in the personal property of the Land Trust and 100% of the legal and equitable interest in the real...
CopyCited 6 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 29217, 2006 WL 3409104
...ective manifestation of that intent
appears in the body of the deed or conveyance itself.”
3
The Beneficiaries also contend that the Deed and Trust Agreement together created a typical
“Illinois Land Trust” covered by Florida Statutes section
689.071 rather than section
689.07(1).
6
689.07(1) only clarified the statute’s meaning and can apply retroactively to the
Deed....
... In certifying these questions, our intent is not to restrict the issues
considered by the state court, including whether the Deed and Trust Agreement
were effective to create a valid “Illinois Land Trust” covered under Florida
Statutes section
689.071 rather than section
689.07(1).7 Discretion to examine this
issue and other relevant issues lies with the state court....
...1968)). To assist the state court’s inquiry, the entire record in this
case and the briefs of the parties are transmitted herewith.
QUESTION CERTIFIED.
7
We are aware that the Florida Legislature extensively amended Florida Statutes section 689.071,
effective 1 October 2006....
CopyCited 6 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal
...Wattwood of Akerman, Senterfitt & Eidson, Orlando, for amicus curiae, The Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar, John Arthur Jones, Chairman. COBB, Judge. The issue raised in this appeal is whether the assignment of an interest in an Illinois land trust created in accordance with section
689.071, Florida Statutes, must be witnessed by two witnesses in accordance with the provisions of section
689.06, Florida Statutes....
...On the same day, Russell and Evelyn Goldman and Jack and Doris *512 Mandell executed a deed in trust conveying certain real property to Roald Jacobsen as trustee. These documents created what is known as an Illinois land trust, which was provided for by section 689.071, Florida Statutes....
...The trial court granted the motion for summary judgment and found in favor of the Mandells on the ground that the assignment was invalid as a matter of law. It is this summary final judgment that Evelyn Goldman is appealing. Basically, Evelyn Goldman contends that since section
689.071 was enacted subsequent to section
689.06, section
689.071 supersedes; and since section
689.071 allows for a trust interest in real property to be deemed personal property, that means that section
689.06 no longer applies to the transfer of an interest in a land trust. Therefore, she argues that the trial court erred in ruling that the assignment was invalid. On the other hand, the Mandells argue that if the Legislature had intended for section
689.071 to be outside of the requirements of section
689.06, it would have expressly so worded section
689.071. Since the Legislature did not expressly exclude section
689.071 from the provisions of section
689.06, the Mandells argue that the two statutes should be read in pari materia with the two-witness requirement of section
689.06 applying to the land trust created by section
689.071. Sub-section (4) of section
689.071, which was enacted in 1963, provides: (4) In all cases where said recorded instrument, as hereinabove provided, contains a provision defining and declaring the interests of beneficiaries thereunder to be personal property only, such p...
CopyCited 5 times | Published | United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida. | 32 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 949, 1981 Bankr. LEXIS 3149
...he owner's rights under the land trust agreement, and thus obtain the real property (Kenoe, at Footnote No. 1). In Florida a beneficial interest assigned for collateral purposes would also be a general intangible, and governed by the UCC. Fla.Stats. § 689.071(4) provides that the interests of beneficiaries shall be deemed to be personal property where the recorded deed or trust instrument so defined the interests....
CopyCited 4 times | Published | United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida. | 12 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. B 181, 1999 Bankr. LEXIS 475
...Harrison Street, Hollywood, Florida 33020 (the "Counsel Building"). Saber has a juris doctor degree and a master of laws degree in taxation. His law practice includes, inter alia, representing debtors in bankruptcy. On December 28, 1990, pursuant to Section 689.071, Florida Statutes, Saber entered into a Florida Land Trust Agreement (the "Land Trust") and a Beneficiary Agreement (Co-ownership) with Samuel S....
...The Counsel Building, which is the res of the Land Trust, is worth approximately $150,000.00 and was refinanced approximately six years ago with a mortgage of at least $75,000.00. [2] Forman was designated as the Trustee of the Land Trust and one of its three Beneficiaries. In accordance with § 689.071, Forman received 100% of the legal and equitable title to the Counsel Building....
...t of Saber's Bankruptcy Estate pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 548(a), and deny Saber's discharge pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(2)(A). In Slobodinsky's Response, she argues that the Merger Doctrine does not operate on a Florida Land Trust [3] pursuant to Section 689.071, Florida Statutes....
...eal property of the Land Trust as the Trustee. The Court further agrees that the Land Trust clearly prescribes that Forman, Cohen, and Saber held equitable interests in personal property as Beneficiaries of the Land Trust. The Court also agrees that § 689.071, Florida Statutes, which defines and describes Florida Land Trusts and the trustee's *553 interest therein, is applicable to the instant case. Paragraph 1 of the Land Trust in the instant case states that "title to the Property shall be conveyed to the Trustee in accordance with and the rights of the parties shall be governed, to the extent applicable, by the provisions of F.S. § 689.071, as amended." Subsection (1) of § 689.071 states that the trustee of a Florida Land Trust is vested with "full rights of ownership over the real property or interest therein[.]" § 689.071, Fla.Stat....
..., as well as the interest of the Beneficiary under this Trust Agreement, shall be personal property. The Beneficiary shall not have any right, title or interest in or to any portion of the legal or equitable title to the Property." Subsection (4) of § 689.071 states that if the Land Trust Agreement "contains a provision defining and declaring the interests of beneficiaries thereunder to be personal property only, such provision shall be controlling[.]" Finally, this Court agrees with Slobodinsk...
...In other words, Slobodinsky asserts that the trustee of a Florida Land Trust can be the sole beneficiary. Slobodinsky suggests that "the doctrine of merger is not automatic but rather may apply," and asserts that "there was no merger under the facts of the cases" cited by Plaintiff. Section 689.071, Florida Statutes, does not indicate that Florida Land Trusts are exempt from the Merger Doctrine....
...r otherwise there could be no trust[.]" Id. Considering the overwhelming majority, if not consensus, of Florida Courts that apply the Merger Doctrine to terminate trusts where the trustee is the sole beneficiary, and given the absence of language in § 689.071 exempting Florida Land Trusts from the Merger Doctrine, this Court finds that the Merger Doctrine applies to Florida Land Trusts....
...Florida Courts do not discriminate among the different types of trusts in their application of the Merger doctrine. Rather, Florida Courts uniformly apply the Merger Doctrine to situations where the trustee is the sole beneficiary of the trust. Therefore, this Court, in conformity with Florida case law and with respect to § 689.071, holds that the Merger Doctrine operated to terminate the Land Trust on August 29, 1991, when Saber obtained 100% of the equitable interest in the personal property of the Land Trust and 100% of the legal and equitable interest in the real property of the Land Trust....
CopyCited 4 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 11 Fla. L. Weekly 1728
...At trial, he established he obtained title to Lot 18, Block C, Washington Oaks, located in Seminole County by Quit Claim Deed from Jones, dated January 12, 1984. He then conveyed the property to himself as trustee of a trust agreement dated May 25, 1984, an Illinois Land Trust pursuant to section 689.071, Florida Statutes (Supp....
...Jones neither alleged nor had the opportunity to prove the transaction was in essence or reality a real estate mortgage, or that no default occurred under the promissory note and collateral security agreement. A beneficiary's interest in an Illinois Land Trust created under section 689.071(1), Florida Statutes (Supp....
...provided, the recorded instrument confers on the trustee the power and authority either to protect, conserve and to sell, or to lease, or to encumber, or otherwise to manage and dispose of the real property described in the recorded instrument. [2] § 689.071(4), Fla....
CopyCited 3 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal
...half of beneficiary-parties instead of in the name of the trustee. Appellees' reliance on Ferraro v. Parker, Fla.App.2d 1969,
229 So.2d 621, is misplaced. That case explained the nature of the Illinois Land Trust, sanctioned in Florida by Fla. Stat. §
689.071, F.S.A., and discussed in McKillop, The Illinois Land Trust in Florida, 1960, 13 U.Fla.L.Rev....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | District Court, S.D. Florida | 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7087, 1993 WL 127100
...st beneficiaries to protect the title beneath the mortgage. Applicable Florida legislation dictates that under such a trust, a mortgagee may deal exclusively with the trustee and need not investigate the interests of beneficiaries. See Fla.Stat.Ann. §
689.071(2, 3) (1969); Taylor,
351 So.2d at 1095; First Fed....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida. | 32 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 942, 1981 Bankr. LEXIS 2831
...law as to perfection applies. As discussed below, Elgin National's security interest was perfected under Illinois law, but it is not perfected under Florida law. *344 The classification of collateral in Florida is the same as in Illinois. Fla.Stats. § 689.071(4) provides that the interests of beneficiaries shall be deemed to be personal property where the recorded deed or trust instrument so defined the interests....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 17683, 2009 WL 4061078
...wer and authority to protect, conserve, sell, lease or encumber and otherwise manage and dispose of the Property, or any part thereof, it being the intent to vest in [Malhotra] full rights as grantee of the Property as authorized and contemplated by Section 689.071, Florida Statutes, [“Land trusts transferring interests in real estate; ownership vests in trustee”]....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2003 WL 1738499
841 So.2d 618 (2003) David NOURACHI, as Trustee of the South Beach Trust, a Florida Land Trust Under F.S.
689.071 dated 7/11/2001, Appellant, v....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1976).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
could seldom, if ever, be considered void. Section
689.071, F. S.; Ferraro v. Parker,
229 So.2d 621 (2
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1977 Fla. App. LEXIS 16722
...However, we do not feel that case is controlling in the state of this record. In Grammer , although the Land Trust Agreement was not disclosed, the deed vesting title in the trustee was before the court and it contained a grant of powers sufficiently broad to bring the case within the purview of both Section 689.071, Florida Statutes (1975), and Fla.R.Civ.P....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 14 Fla. L. Weekly 1318, 1989 Fla. App. LEXIS 3040, 1989 WL 56018
...Terms of the trust were not set forth in the deed or recorded and therefore, even though Zuckerman was identified as a trustee, he was considered to have taken title in his individual name. Taylor v. Richmond's New Approach Association, Inc.,
351 So.2d 1094 (Fla.2d DCA 1977); Section
689.071, Florida Statutes (1983)....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1994).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
beneficiary's interest in land trusts created under section
689.071, Fla. Stat., is expressly characterized as
CopyPublished | United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida | 12 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. B 16, 36 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 542, 1998 Bankr. LEXIS 1118, 1998 WL 564362
...The Debtor is one of five original beneficiaries of the Land Trust and is also a Trustee. The corpus of the Land Trust is a parcel of undeveloped land located in Lee County, Florida. The Land Trust Agreement states that the Land Trust was established pursuant to § 689.071 Fla....
...§ 544(a)the strongarm clause of the Bankruptcy Code. Section 544(a)(1) gives a trustee the rights of a hypothetical lien creditor as of the commencement of the case. An unperfected security interest is subordinate to the rights of a lien creditor pursuant to § 679.301(1)(b) Fla. Stat. Section 689.071(4) Fla....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 2008).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
Dear Mr. Levy: On behalf of the Honorable Atlee Mercer, Osceola County Property Appraiser, you have asked for my opinion on substantially the following questions: 1. Whether section 689.071 (3), Florida Statutes, confers upon a trustee of a land trust a sufficient possessory interest to support a homestead tax exemption? 2. Whether section 689.071 (8)(h), Florida Statutes, confers upon a beneficiary of a land trust a sufficient possessory interest to support a homestead tax exemption? Question One — Trustees Article VII , section 6 (a), Florida Constitution, provides: "Ev...
...tead exemption, hold either legal or equitable title to the real property at issue. The statute bases entitlement to the exemption on factual determinations relating to the person seeking the exemption. Your questions are prompted by changes made to section 689.071 , Florida Statutes, the "Florida Land Trust Act." In 2007, the Florida Legislature amended section 689.071 , Florida Statutes, "limiting the definition of the term `land trust' to an arrangement in which title to real property is vested in a trustee by a recorded instrument that confers certain authority as prescribed by state law[.]" 2 Fo...
...and authority prescribed in subsection (3). The recorded instrument does not itself create an entity, regardless of whether the relationship among the beneficiaries and the trustee is deemed to be an entity under other applicable law." 3 As amended, section 689.071 (3), provides: "OWNERSHIP VESTS IN TRUSTEE.CEvery conveyance, deed, mortgage, lease assignment, or other instrument heretofore or hereafter made, hereinafter referred to as the "recorded instrument," transferring any interest in real...
...thereof; provided, the recorded instrument confers on the trustee the power and authority to protect, to conserve, to sell, to lease, to encumber, or otherwise to manage and dispose of the real property described in the recorded instrument." 4 Thus, section
689.071 (3), Florida Statutes, vests both legal and equitable title and full ownership rights in the trust property in the trustee. The 2007 amendment to this section added the phrase "both legal and equitable title" to the language identifying the ownership rights of the trustee. Based on the legal and equitable ownership rights granted to trustees under section
689.071 (3), Florida Statutes, it is my opinion that a trustee of a Florida Land Trust created pursuant to the provisions of the Act would be entitled to claim homestead exemption from taxation on real property so long as the trustee satisfies the residence and other requirements of section
196.031 , Florida Statutes. Question Two — Beneficiaries In light of the extensive ownership interests granted to trustees by the 2007 amendments to section
689.071 (3), Florida Statutes, you have also asked whether a beneficiary of a Florida Land Trust may possess a sufficient possessory interest to support a homestead tax exemption. A beneficiary's interest in a land trust is generally deemed to be personal property. 5 In fact, a beneficiary's interest in land trusts created under section
689.071 , Florida Statutes, is expressly characterized as personal property and has been held subject to foreclosure under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code of Florida....
...a trustee/beneficiary would be entitled to claim homestead exemption on property upon which he or she resides and in good faith makes a permanent residence. With specific regard to beneficiaries of Florida Land Trusts who are not also trustees under section
689.071 , Florida Statutes, I would again note that section
196.041 (2), Florida Statutes, provides: "A person who otherwise qualifies by the required residence for the homestead tax exemption provided in s....
..., the statute allows a person to claim homestead exemption based on a beneficial interest for life; the Legislature has determined that a "beneficial interest for life" is the equivalent of "equitable title to real estate[.]" Under the provisions of section 689.071 (2), Florida Statutes, a "[b]eneficial interest" may be "any interest, vested or contingent and regardless of how small or minimal such interest may be, in a land trust which is held by a beneficiary." Clearly, the beneficial interest conveyed under section 689.071 (2), Florida Statutes, could include interests other than interests for life....
...." (e.s.) This office cannot declare a statute unconstitutional or advise any officer to disregard a legislative direction or mandate. Neither this office nor the courts are authorized to embellish legislative requirements with their own notions of what might be appropriate. 15 Therefore, it is my opinion that section
689.071 , Florida Statutes, would confer upon a beneficiary of a land trust a sufficient possessory interest to support a homestead tax exemption if the person otherwise qualifies by residence for the exemption in section
196.031 , Florida St...
...VII , s. 6 (d), Fla. Const., ss.
196.031 (1), and
196.031 (3)(d), Fla. Stat. (1993), which increases the homestead exemption from $5,000 to $25,000. 2 See Title, Ch. 2007-153 , Laws of Fla., codifying CS/HB 743, 2007 Florida legislative session. 3 Section
689.071 (2)(d), Fla. Stat. 4 And see s.
689.071 (2), Fla....
...to the beneficiary of a trust that grants the beneficiary a possessory interest for a term of years in the corpus of the trust, despite the fact that the beneficiary might otherwise meet the requirements of section
196.031 (1), Florida Statutes. 12 Section
689.071 (2)(b), Fla....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1981 Fla. App. LEXIS 19376
...ransaction between the original mortgagor and mortgagee. *457 This could have been accomplished specifically between the parties or by recording the trust agreement and referring to it appropriately in the mortgage documents. That was not done here. Section 689.071, Florida Statutes (1979), clearly sanctions the use of the so-called “Illinois Land Trust” in Florida....
...s. See McGriff v. McGill,
62 So.2d 28 (Fla.1952); Elvins v. Seestedt,
141 Fla. 266 ,
193 So. 54 (1940). In 1963 our legislature insured the validity of the Illinois land trust by the enactment of Chapter 63-468, Laws of Florida, which has now become Section
689.071, Florida Statutes (1975)....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1990 Fla. App. LEXIS 2860, 1990 WL 49837
...Felix Lima and Mark Datwani wanted to buy land for subsequent development. Pablo Valdes acted as broker for the transaction. Lima and Datwani approached Maitte Netsch, an attorney, about the proposed purchase. The land was to be held as a land trust under section 689.071, Florida Statutes (1981)....
