Land Trust — Florida Recognized

Recognition Status

Florida Land Trust Act (§689.071) explicitly authorizes land trusts. Statutory framework: beneficial interest is personal property, trustee holds legal title, beneficiary has power of direction. Homestead protection preserved. Strong statutory support.

How Land Trusts Work in Florida

A land trust in Florida allows a trustee to hold legal title to real property while the beneficiary — the real owner — remains private. The beneficial interest is classified as personal property, which means it can be transferred by assignment without recording a deed.

Key features

• Privacy: The trustee's name appears on public records; the beneficiary's identity stays private
• Probate avoidance: Beneficial interest transfers by assignment, not through probate
• Beneficiary control: The trustee acts only on the beneficiary's written direction
• Personal property treatment: The beneficial interest is personal property, not real property

What You Need

A land trust requires two documents:

1. Land Trust Agreement — the private, unrecorded contract between trustee and beneficiary. This is what FreeTrustDocs generates.
2. Deed to Trustee — the recorded deed transferring legal title. You file this separately at your county recorder's office.

Trustee Requirements in Florida

The trustee can be an individual or an entity (such as an LLC). For maximum privacy, the trustee should not be the beneficiary. Many people use a trusted third party or a professional trustee service. The trustee holds legal title but has no independent authority — they act only on the beneficiary's written direction.

How a Land Trust works in Florida

Florida law gives land trusts a full statutory home. The Florida Land Trust Act, Fla. Stat. § 689.071, sets the rules: a trustee holds legal title to the property, while the beneficiary holds beneficial interest, which the statute treats as personal property when the trust agreement declares it such. The beneficiary also holds a power of direction, so the trustee acts only when directed. Creating one takes two documents. The land trust agreement is a private contract that is never recorded, so it stays out of public records. The deed to trustee moves the property into the trust; it must be notarized and then recorded in the county where the property is located. The trust becomes effective when both documents are executed and the deed is recorded. Because the recorded title shows only the trustee, the beneficiary's name does not appear in county property records. Florida also keeps homestead protection in place for property held in a land trust when the beneficiary occupies the property as a residence and the trust agreement names the beneficiary’s right to occupy.

Common mistakes

Most Florida land trust mistakes come from handling the two documents wrong. Recording the land trust agreement is one: the agreement is meant to stay private, and recording it places the beneficiary's name into county files. Recording no deed at all is another — the trust is not effective until the deed to trustee is executed, notarized, and recorded. Some owners assume the agreement needs notarization or a state filing; Florida law asks for neither. With financed property, some assume the Garn-St. Germain Act blocks every due-on-sale call, while lenders may read the rules differently. Others place several properties in one trust, giving up the isolation a separate trust per property provides. A party reviewing the arrangement may require the trustee to furnish excerpts rather than the full document, and owners who expect otherwise are caught off guard.

Frequently asked questions

Are land trusts legal in Florida?

Yes. Florida wrote land trusts into state law through the Florida Land Trust Act, Fla. Stat. § 689.071. The statute sets out how the arrangement works: the trustee holds legal title to the property, the beneficiary holds beneficial interest, and the law treats that interest as personal property when the trust agreement declares it such. The beneficiary also holds a power of direction, so the trustee acts on the beneficiary's instructions. This direct statutory framework is why Florida counts as a state with clear support for land trusts.

What documents does a Florida land trust require?

Two documents create a Florida land trust. The first is the land trust agreement, a private contract that does not need to be recorded, notarized, or filed with any state agency. The second is the deed to trustee, which moves the property into the trust. That deed must be notarized and recorded in the county where the property is located. The trust becomes effective when both documents are executed and the deed is on record. Florida law requires a deed to have two subscribing witnesses plus notarization (§ 689.01).

Who shows up in public records for a Florida land trust?

For a property in a Florida land trust, the recorded deed to trustee names the trustee, so county records list the trustee as owner. The land trust agreement, which carries the beneficiary's name, is never recorded, and the beneficiary stays off the public property file. Changes in beneficial interest happen through a private assignment, so a change in who owns the interest does not require a new recorded deed. This setup also makes it harder to locate assets before a lawsuit begins.

What happens to an existing mortgage when a property moves into a Florida land trust?

When mortgaged property moves into a land trust, the loan's due-on-sale clause matters. That clause lets a lender call the balance due after certain ownership transfers. A federal law, the Garn-St. Germain Act, generally protects transfers into inter vivos trusts — trusts created during the owner's lifetime — where the borrower remains a beneficiary, which matches the usual land trust structure. Lenders may interpret the federal rules differently, so the loan's own terms decide how a transfer is treated. The land trust agreement itself does not change the mortgage.

What makes Florida different

Florida stands out because its land trust rules are written directly into statute. The Florida Land Trust Act, Fla. Stat. § 689.071 (ch. 689, part X), authorizes land trusts and defines the roles: the trustee holds title, and the beneficiary holds a personal-property interest plus the power of direction. That personal-property classification drives several uses. Because the beneficial interest is not real estate, a recorded judgment against the beneficiary does not automatically turn into a lien on the trust property. Because the interest moves by assignment, a beneficiary change needs no new deed, and the interest passes at death without court proceedings for the property itself. Homestead protection is preserved under Florida law for homestead property held in a land trust. The statute's framework also fits uses such as making pre-litigation asset discovery harder and assembling adjacent parcels without tipping off sellers. Statute text is published by the Florida Senate at flsenate.gov.