The Florida Revocable Living Trust
Fla. Stat. Ch. 736; §§ 736.0402, 736.0602, 736.04117
A revocable living trust is a written agreement, governed by Florida's Trust Code, that you create and control during life and that continues managing your property after death without probate. This page covers the instrument itself — its required elements, how it is amended or revoked, and how it actually operates day to day.
What it is
A valid Florida trust requires four elements under § 736.0402: a settlor with capacity and intent to create a trust, a trustee with duties to perform, one or more ascertainable beneficiaries (or a valid charitable or other permitted purpose), and the same property or purpose for both the trustee's duties and the beneficiaries' interest. A revocable living trust satisfies all four while the settlor is alive: the settlor typically serves as trustee, retains full beneficial enjoyment, and reserves the power to amend or revoke the trust at any time under § 736.0602.
The trust document does three jobs across two timeframes. During life, it names who manages the trust property if the settlor becomes incapacitated — a successor trustee steps in under the trust's own terms, without a court guardianship proceeding. At death, it becomes irrevocable, and the successor trustee distributes or continues to hold the property exactly as the trust directs — outright to beneficiaries, in continuing shares for minors, or in further trust for a spouse or a beneficiary with special needs.
A certification of trust under § 736.1017 lets the trustee prove the trust's existence and their own authority to a bank, title company, or brokerage without handing over the entire trust document — useful because most institutions will not otherwise retitle an account or close on real estate for a trustee. The certification discloses only what a third party needs: the trust's existence, the trustee's identity and powers, and the trust's tax identification arrangement — not the dispositive terms, which stay private.
The trust can be modified without going to court. A nonjudicial amendment, executed with the same formality as the original trust, works for as long as the settlor is alive and has capacity. After death, or when amendment by the settlor is no longer possible, Fla. Stat. § 736.0412 allows a nonjudicial settlement agreement among the qualified beneficiaries and trustee to resolve certain matters without court involvement, and a trustee holding an outdated or inefficient irrevocable trust can decant its assets into a new trust with modernized terms under § 736.04117 — a tool used far more often on the irrevocable trusts this trust becomes at death than on the revocable trust itself.
What the Revocable Trust Actually Requires of You
The trust document is only half the plan. Whether it functions as intended depends on what you do — and keep doing — after it is signed:
- You must actually retitle assets into the trust's name — real estate by deed, accounts by retitling, business interests by assignment. See Funding Your Florida Revocable Trust; an unfunded trust protects nothing.
- You typically serve as your own initial trustee, so day-to-day management does not change — you keep the same accounts, the same signature authority, the same control.
- You name a successor trustee (and often a co-trustee or backup) who is willing and able to step in on incapacity or death — the choice matters as much as the trust's terms.
- You decide, in the document, exactly how assets are held for minor beneficiaries, a beneficiary with special needs, or a beneficiary you do not want to receive a lump sum outright.
- You keep beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance aligned with the trust's plan — those pass outside the trust unless it is deliberately named as beneficiary.
For the comparison against using a will alone, see our Florida Revocable Living Trust vs. Will page. This page assumes the trust is the right tool and focuses on how the instrument itself works once that decision is made.
Creating and Operating a Florida Revocable Trust
Signing the trust document is the easy part. The work that makes it function is funding it correctly at the start and keeping it current afterward.
- Step 1: Draft the trust — settlor, trustee and successor trustees, beneficiaries, distribution terms during incapacity and after death, and the amendment and revocation provisions.
- Step 2: Execute with the same formality Florida requires of a will — the settlor's signature before two witnesses, ideally with a self-proving affidavit — even though the trust itself is not a testamentary document.
- Step 3: Obtain a certification of trust under § 736.1017 to present to banks, brokerages, and title companies without disclosing the full trust.
- Step 4: Fund the trust — deed real estate to the trustee, retitle financial accounts, assign business interests, and update beneficiary designations that should point to the trust.
- Step 5: Sign a pour-over will naming the trust as the beneficiary of anything left in the settlor's individual name — the backstop for funding gaps.
- Step 6: Amend the trust after any major life event — marriage, divorce, a new beneficiary, a change in who should serve as trustee — through a written amendment with the same execution formality as the original.
Why work with an attorney
Central to whether the trust functions the way it is supposed to. The instrument's four statutory elements are easy to satisfy on paper; the harder work is drafting successor trustee provisions that actually work when needed, structuring continuing trusts for minor or special-needs beneficiaries so they hold up under the Florida Trust Code, and making sure funding is completed rather than left half-done. We coordinate the trust with the pour-over will, the durable power of attorney, and beneficiary designations so the whole plan operates as one coordinated structure rather than several documents that quietly conflict.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I lose control of my property by putting it in a revocable trust?
No. As settlor and typically as trustee, you retain full control — you can buy, sell, mortgage, or spend trust assets exactly as before, and you can amend or revoke the entire trust at any time while you have capacity, under § 736.0602. The trust changes how title is held, not who controls it.
What is a certification of trust, and why would a bank ask for one?
A certification of trust under § 736.1017 is a short document confirming the trust exists and stating the trustee's identity and powers, without disclosing the trust's dispositive terms. Banks, brokerages, and title companies rely on it to retitle accounts or close transactions for a trustee without needing to review the full, private trust document.
Can I be my own trustee of my revocable trust?
Yes, and it is the standard structure — you serve as settlor and trustee simultaneously, so nothing about your day-to-day financial management changes. The trust's successor trustee provisions determine who takes over only if you become incapacitated or die.
How do I change or cancel my revocable trust?
While you have capacity, you can amend or revoke the trust at any time, using the method the trust document specifies — typically a written amendment executed with the same formality as the original trust. Once you lose capacity or die, the trust becomes irrevocable and can no longer be changed by you.
What is trust decanting, and does it apply to my revocable trust?
Decanting under § 736.04117 lets a trustee move assets from an existing irrevocable trust into a new trust with updated terms — useful for modernizing an outdated document. It is rarely relevant to a revocable trust, since you can simply amend that trust directly; decanting matters most for the trust this one becomes after your death, or for other irrevocable trusts in the family.
Does signing the trust document actually move my assets into it?
No. The trust document is a container; assets must be separately retitled into it — deeds recorded, accounts retitled, interests assigned. A signed but unfunded trust holds nothing and provides none of the probate-avoidance benefit. See Funding Your Florida Revocable Trust for how this step is actually done and how it commonly gets missed.
The information on this page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Florida law changes. Consult a licensed Florida attorney for guidance specific to your matter.
Get your revocable trust drafted — and actually funded
A trust that isn't funded is a document, not a plan. Call (407) 843-0430 or schedule a consultation with our Orlando estate planning attorneys to build and fund a trust that works when it's needed.
Or text PROBATE to (407) 906-9507 for a faster response.
Yergey & Yergey, P.A. | 910 N. Fern Creek Avenue, Orlando, FL 32803
The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience.