Preparation of Warranty Deed to Trustee for Florida Land Trust

Warranty Deeds to Trustees are used to transfer real estate into Florida Land Trusts and are by far the most important transaction related document used when establishing and funding a Florida Land Trust.

Granting Authority to the Florida Land Trust Trustee
The Warranty Deed to Trustee conveys and details the specific legal authority and powers given to the Trustee of your new Florida Land Trust by the Warranty Deed. The Trustee, who can be an individual or entity, still has all of the powers and authority given to it by the Warranty Deed to Trustee even if you never draft and execute a formal Florida Land Trust Agreement. However, we always recommend using a formal Florida Land Trust Agreement.

Drafting the Warranty Deed to Trustee
Warranty Deeds to Trustees must grant full authority and power to the Florida Land Trust Trustee. The individual who is drafting your Florida Land Trust Agreement must ensure that the requirements listed in Section 689.071 of the Florida Land Trust Statute be included in the Warranty Deed to Trustee language.

Land Trust Trustee Should be a Natural Person or Legal Entity
A Trustee should be a natural person (human being) or a legal entity (such as a corporation or limited liability company). The Florida Land Trust itself does not have legal capacity to execute documents and is not a natural person or legal entity, so the Warranty Deed must convey the real property to the Trustee of the Florida Land Trust, such as Exeter Fiduciary Services, LLC, as Trustee of Florida Land Trust No. 12345.

The Trustee has the legal capacity to act on behalf of the Florida Land Trust, so you should also take great care in the selection of your Trustee. There are many providers that charge nominal fees, but getting in touch with them and actually getting timely service can be a challenge. So, be sure to thoroughly review the options, services, expertise and experience in addition to the fees charged by prospective Florida Land Trust Trustees.

Personal Property Designation
Warranty Deeds should include language stating that the beneficiary's interest in the Florida Land Trust is a personal property interest (in other words not a real property interest). This is an important distinction between the Florida Land Trust and a regular living trust. I don't have enough time to go into greater detail here, but will do so in a future post.

The Warranty Deed to Trustee should also clearly state that the Trustee does not have any person liability, which should take care of any possible exceptions that might be found in the Florida Land Trust law.