The term “qualified beneficiary” has special significance under the Florida Trust Code. Status as a “qualified beneficiary” confers rights, including the right to: a complete copy of the trust instrument, the right to an accounting, the right to relevant information about trust assets and liabilities and details about trust administration. See, Fla.Stat. §§736.0105 (r)-(t), 736.0813. Accordingly, whether a trust beneficiary is a “qualified beneficiary” is an important issue for both the trustee and for the beneficiary because the status imposes duties on the trustee and confers rights upon the beneficiary. The Fourth DCA recently addressed when a charitable beneficiary has the rights of a qualified beneficiary in Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. v. Stephen G. Melcer, Trustee, et al, 44 Fla.L.Weekly D207a. Sylvia Gelt created a trust in 1989. The trust provided that upon her death, a portion of the trust was to be placed in a […]