1998 Florida Code
TITLE XLII ESTATES AND TRUSTS
Chapter 731 Probate Code: General Provisions  
PART II DEFINITIONS (s. 731.201)
731.201   General definitions.

731.201  General definitions.--Subject to additional definitions in subsequent chapters that are applicable to specific chapters or parts, and unless the context otherwise requires, in this code and chapters 737, 738, and 744:

(1)  "Authenticated," when referring to copies of documents or judicial proceedings required to be filed with the court under this code, shall mean a certified copy or a copy authenticated according to 28 U.S.C. s. 1733 or s. 1741.

(2)  "Beneficiary" means heir at law, in an intestate estate, and devisee, in a testate estate. The term "beneficiary" does not apply to an heir at law or a devisee after his or her interest in the estate has been satisfied. In the case of a devise to an existing trust or trustee, or to a trust or trustee described by will, in the absence of a conflict of interest of the trust, the trustee is a beneficiary of the estate. An owner of a beneficial interest in the trust is a beneficiary of the trust and is, in the absence of a conflict of interest of the trust, not a beneficiary of the estate.

(3)  "Child" includes a person entitled to take as a child under this code by intestate succession from the parent whose relationship is involved, and excludes any person who is only a stepchild, a foster child, a grandchild, or a more remote descendant.

(4)  "Claims" means liabilities of the decedent, whether arising in contract, tort, or otherwise, and funeral expenses. The term does not include expenses of administration or estate, inheritance, succession, or other death taxes.

(5)  "Clerk" means the clerk or deputy clerk of the court.

(6)  "Court" means the circuit court.

(7)  "Curator" means a person appointed by the court to take charge of the estate of a decedent until letters are issued.

(8)  "Devise," when used as a noun, means a testamentary disposition of real or personal property and, when used as a verb, means to dispose of real or personal property by will. The term includes "gift," "give," "bequeath," "bequest," and "legacy." A devise is subject to charges for debts, expenses, and taxes as provided in this code or in the will.

(9)  "Devisee" means a person designated in a will to receive a devise. In the case of a devise to an existing trust or trustee, or to a trustee of a trust described by will, the trust or trustee is the devisee. The beneficiaries of the trust are not devisees.

(10)  "Distributee" means a person who has received estate property from a personal representative other than as a creditor or purchaser. A testamentary trustee is a distributee only to the extent of distributed assets or increments to them remaining in his or her hands. A beneficiary of a testamentary trust to whom the trustee has distributed property received from a personal representative is a distributee. For purposes of this provision, "testamentary trustee" includes a trustee to whom assets are transferred by will, to the extent of the devised assets.

(11)  "Domicile" shall be a person's usual place of dwelling and shall be synonymous with "residence."

(12)  "Estate" means property of a decedent that is the subject of administration.

(13)  "Exempt property" means the property of a decedent's estate which is described in s. 732.402.

(14)  "File" means to file with the court or clerk.

(15)  "Foreign personal representative" means a personal representative of another state or a foreign country.

(16)  "Formal notice" means notice under s. 731.301(1).

(17)  "Grantor" means one who creates or adds to a trust and includes "settlor" or "trustor" and a testator who creates or adds to a trust.

(18)  "Heirs" or "heirs at law" means those persons, including the surviving spouse, who are entitled under the statutes of intestate succession to the property of a decedent.

(19)  "Incompetent" means a minor or a person adjudicated incompetent.

(20)  "Informal notice" or "notice" means notice under s. 731.301(2).

(21)  "Interested person" means any person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the particular proceeding involved. In any proceeding affecting the estate or the rights of a beneficiary in the estate, the personal representative of the estate shall be deemed to be an interested person. In any proceeding affecting the expenses of the administration of the estate, or any claims described in s. 733.702(1), the trustee of a trust described in s. 733.707(3) is an interested person in the administration of the grantor's estate. The term does not include an heir at law or a devisee who has received his or her distribution. The meaning, as it relates to particular persons, may vary from time to time and must be determined according to the particular purpose of, and matter involved in, any proceedings.

(22)  "Letters" means authority granted by the court to the personal representative to act on behalf of the estate of the decedent and refers to what has been known as letters testamentary and letters of administration. All letters shall be designated "letters of administration."

(23)  "Other state" means any state of the United States other than Florida and includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or possession subject to the legislative authority of the United States.

(24)  "Parent" excludes any person who is only a stepparent, foster parent, or grandparent.

(25)  "Personal representative" means the fiduciary appointed by the court to administer the estate and refers to what has been known as an administrator, administrator cum testamento annexo, administrator de bonis non, ancillary administrator, ancillary executor, or executor.

(26)  "Petition" means a written request to the court for an order.

(27)  "Probate of will" means all steps necessary to establish the validity of a will and to admit a will to probate.

(28)  "Property" means both real and personal property or any interest in it and anything that may be the subject of ownership.

(29)  "Residence" means a person's usual place of dwelling and is synonymous with "domicile."

(30)  "Residuary devise" means a devise of the assets of the estate which remain after the provision for any devise which is to be satisfied by reference to a specific property or type of property, fund, sum, or statutory amount. If the will contains no devise which is to be satisfied by reference to a specific property or type of property, fund, sum, or statutory amount, "residuary devise" or "residue" means a devise of all assets of the estate.

(31)  "Security" means a security as defined in s. 517.021.

(32)  "Security interest" means a security interest as defined in s. 671.201.

(33)  "Trust" means an express trust, private or charitable, with additions to it, wherever and however created. It also includes a trust created or determined by a judgment or decree under which the trust is to be administered in the manner of an express trust. "Trust" excludes other constructive trusts, and it excludes resulting trusts; conservatorships; personal representatives; custodial arrangements pursuant to the 1Florida Gifts to Minors Act; business trusts providing for certificates to be issued to beneficiaries; common trust funds; land trusts under s. 689.05; trusts created by the form of the account or by the deposit agreement at a financial institution; voting trusts; security arrangements; liquidation trusts; trusts for the primary purpose of paying debts, dividends, interest, salaries, wages, profits, pensions, or employee benefits of any kind; and any arrangement under which a person is nominee or escrowee for another.

(34)  "Trustee" includes an original, additional, surviving, or successor trustee, whether or not appointed or confirmed by court.

(35)  "Will" means an instrument, including a codicil, executed by a person in the manner prescribed by this code, which disposes of the person's property on or after his or her death and includes an instrument which merely appoints a personal representative or revokes or revises another will.

History.--s. 1, ch. 74-106; s. 4, ch. 75-220; s. 1, ch. 77-174; s. 2, ch. 85-79; s. 66, ch. 87-226; s. 1, ch. 88-340; s. 7, ch. 93-257; s. 6, ch. 95-401; s. 949, ch. 97-102; s. 52, ch. 98-421.

1Note.--Repealed by s. 2, ch. 85-95.

Note.--Created from former s. 731.03.