Florida Statutes 497.266 – Care and maintenance trust fund; remedy of department for noncompliance
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Terms Used In Florida Statutes 497.266
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Care and maintenance: means the perpetual process of keeping a cemetery and its lots, graves, grounds, landscaping, roads, paths, parking lots, fences, mausoleums, columbaria, vaults, crypts, utilities, and other improvements, structures, and embellishments in a well-cared-for and dignified condition, so that the cemetery does not become a nuisance or place of reproach and desolation in the community. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Cemetery: means a place dedicated to and used or intended to be used for the permanent interment of human remains or cremated remains. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Cemetery company: means any legal entity that owns or controls cemetery lands or property. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Income: means earnings on trust assets, including interest, dividends, and other income earned on the principal. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Licensee: means the person or entity holding any license or other authorization issued under this chapter, except where expressly indicated otherwise. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. Source: OCC
- Person: when used without qualification such as "natural" or "individual" includes both natural persons and legal entities. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(1) A cemetery company may not establish a cemetery, or operate a cemetery if already established, without providing for the future care and maintenance of the cemetery, for which a care and maintenance trust fund shall be established, to be known as “the care and maintenance trust fund of  .” The trust fund shall be established with a trust company, with a state or national bank holding trust powers, or with a federal or state savings and loan association holding trust powers. Trust funds which are with a state or national bank or savings and loan association licensed in this state on October 1, 1993, shall remain in force; however, when the amount of any such trust fund exceeds the amount that is insured by an agency of the Federal Government, the cemetery company shall transfer that trust fund to a trust company, to a state or national bank holding trust powers, or to a federal or state savings and loan association holding trust powers.
(2) The cemetery company may appoint a person to advise the trustee in the investment of the trust fund. The licensing authority must approve the appointment of the initial trustee, and any subsequent changes of the trustee shall also be approved by the licensing authority, pursuant to procedures and utilizing forms as specified by rule. If a cemetery company refuses or otherwise fails to provide or maintain an adequate care and maintenance trust fund in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, the licensing authority, after reasonable notice, shall enforce compliance. However, a nonprofit cemetery corporation which has been incorporated and engaged in the cemetery business prior to and continuously since 1915 and which has current trust assets exceeding $2 million is not required to designate a corporate trustee. The trust fund agreement shall specify the following: the name, location, and address of both the licensee and the trustee, the terms and conditions of the trust, a statement that the trust is established pursuant to s. 497.268 and this section, and the date of agreement, together with the percentages required to be deposited pursuant to this chapter.
(3) A person may not withdraw or transfer any portion of assets within the care and maintenance trust fund, except as authorized by s. 497.2675, without first obtaining written consent from the licensing authority.
(4) The trustee of the trust established pursuant to this section may only invest in investments and loan trust funds, as prescribed in s. 497.458. The trustee shall take title to the property conveyed to the trust for the purposes of investing, protecting, and conserving it for the cemetery company; collecting income; and distributing withdrawals from the trust as prescribed in this chapter. The cemetery company is prohibited from sharing in the discharge of the trustee’s responsibilities under this subsection, except that the cemetery company may request the trustee to invest in tax-free investments.