Judicial Trust Modification •Trustee or beneficiary brings action to modify the trust. The first three of these sections are reformulations of Florida’s existing trust modification statutes. Note: By default, a Florida trust created after July 1, 2007 is a revocable trust and can be fully amended or restated by the settlor unless the trust expressly states otherwise. Modification of the trust. 736.0414 Modification or termination of uneconomic trust. 736.0412 Nonjudicial modification of irrevocable trust.-- (1) After the settlor's death, a trust may be modified at any time as provided in s. 736.04113(2) upon the unanimous agreement of the trustee and all qualified beneficiaries. With an irrevocable trust, unless such […] ... were inconsistent with the purposes of the trust and to serve the best interests of the qualified beneficiaries of the trust. •Useful when grantor cannot or will not consent to an action proposed by the beneficiaries. The section is identical in effect to F.S. (1) After notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the trustee of a trust consisting of trust property having a total value less than $50,000 may terminate the trust if the trustee concludes that the value of the trust property is … The trustee argued that the probate court did not make the requisite findings required by section 736.04113 of the Florida Trust Code. Irrevocable Trust Modification Florida. 736.0602(1). Section 736.04113 permits trust modifications in a manner consistent with the settlor’s purposes for the trust. §737.4031(1). When you draft your trust instrument, it is crucial to ensure that trust modification, including trust termination language, is part of the trust agreement in order to enable the trustee to make all the necessary modifications and amendments to reflect the settlor’s original intent once the trust becomes irrevocable. •Unlike consent modification, the modification or termination cannot frustrate a material purpose of the trust, unless the need for the modification or Where an irrevocable trust in Florida is difficult (though not necessarily impossible) to modify once in place, the grantor of a revocable trust retains the power to adapt the trust to life’s changing circumstances. The successful modification of a trust can represent the difference between hundreds, thousands and even millions of dollars to the qualified beneficiaries of the trust. F.S. Many trust documents, especially trust created in recent years, contain provisions to facilitate an amendment or termination if appropriate to better serve the needs of the family. Generally, the same rules that apply for trust termination also apply for trust modification. Many states have enacted one or more statutes that expressly permit the modification of irrevocable trusts. Although there are many variations among the states, this chart organizes statutes into four general categories: (1) decanting statutes, (2) trust merger statutes, (3) 736.0412 Nonjudicial modification of irrevocable trust. If you have questions about modifying an irrevocable trust created in Florida, schedule a consultation with a Boca Raton estate planning lawyer at Ellis Law Modification of An Irrevocable Trust Under The Florida Trust Code.