## Facts

- Robert and Lenore Raborn sought to place their family horse farm into a private express trust for their children (Douglas, Robin, and Richard Raborn).
- On January 25, 1991, they executed (1) a written trust agreement naming Douglas K. Raborn as trustee and the children as beneficiaries, and (2) a deed conveying the farm to Douglas “as Trustee” under the trust agreement identified by name and date.
- The deed was recorded in Palm Beach County on February 5, 1991; the trust agreement was not recorded.
- A bankruptcy trustee later contended the deed conveyed fee simple title to Douglas individually under the pre-2004 version of Fla. Stat. § 689.07(1), making the farm part of the bankruptcy estate.
- The beneficiaries contended the deed conveyed only bare legal title to Douglas in his trustee capacity, with beneficial ownership in the trust beneficiaries.
- The Eleventh Circuit certified questions to the Florida Supreme Court concerning the effect of the deed under pre-2004 § 689.07(1) and, if necessary, the retroactive effect of a 2004 amendment to that statute.

## Issues

1. Under the pre-2004 version of Fla. Stat. § 689.07(1), does a recorded deed conveying property to a named grantee “as Trustee” and identifying an express trust by name and date (with references to the trust agreement, settlors, and beneficiaries) convey only legal title in trust rather than fee simple title to the grantee individually?
2. If the deed conveyed fee simple title under the pre-2004 statute, does the 2004 amendment to § 689.07(1) apply retroactively to treat the deed as conveying only legal title in trust?

## Decision

- The court answered the first certified question “yes”: the deed conveyed only legal title to the grantee in trust as trustee, not fee simple title to the grantee personally.
- Because the first answer resolved the dispute over the deed’s effect under pre-2004 law, the court declined to answer the second certified question as moot.

## Legal Principles

- A deed must be construed as a whole, giving effect to language identifying the parties’ capacities and the transaction’s purpose.
- Under pre-2004 Fla. Stat. § 689.07(1), the statutory presumption that a conveyance to a grantee described as “trustee” passes fee simple does not control when the deed’s language sufficiently indicates a trustee conveyance for an identifiable express trust.
- A recorded deed that (a) names the grantee “as Trustee” and (b) identifies the trust instrument by name and date, with further references linking the conveyance to the settlors, beneficiaries, and trust agreement, conveys only bare legal title to the trustee for the benefit of the trust beneficiaries.
- When a certified question is rendered unnecessary by the court’s resolution of a prior certified question, the remaining question is moot and need not be answered.

## Conclusion

The Florida Supreme Court held that, even under the pre-2004 version of § 689.07(1), a recorded deed conveying property to a named trustee and clearly identifying the trust by name and date transfers only legal title in trust, leaving beneficial ownership with the trust beneficiaries; the retroactivity question concerning the 2004 amendment was moot.


Raborn v. Menotte, 974 So. 2d 328 (Fla. 2008)