How Can I Lien a Property Held in a Trust?
Posted: June 19th, 2026
In the State of Florida, properties are commonly held in trust which creates additional legal hoops that contractors have to jump through to preserve their lien rights. Contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers who rely on the word of the “owner” of the property that they own the property might find they have no lien rights in the property or might have a riskier legal fight to enforce their claim of lien than they realize.
What is a trust? Simply put, a trust is a legal relationship that places the legal title of a property in the hands of one person (the trustee) and the beneficial interest of the property in another person (the beneficiary). The trustee owes the beneficiary certain duties that are implied in law or are expressly created by the trust documents. A trust is not a separate legal entity, like a corporation, who can contract in its own name and be sued in its own name. So, who do you name in the contract, claim of lien and potential lawsuit? The trustee. But it is not that simple.
How Do I Identify the Property Owner?
Just because a person lives in the property and says they are the owner does not mean they are the owner. Even when that person genuinely believes they are the owner. Why? Because a trustee can also be a beneficiary. Additionally, there can be multiple owners.
The first step is to review the deed and to see who is listed as the owner. It might say John Doe. It might say John Doe as Trustee of the John Doe Revocable Trust. It might say the John Doe Revocable Trust. In the above three examples, only the first two identify the property owner. But it is not certain who owns and has authority over the trust property in the second example either. Why? Because there can be more than one trustee and their can be successor trustees.
The only way to know for sure who owns the property when the title references as trust is to review the trust documents.
What Are Co-Trustees and Successor Trustees?
Trusts can have co-trustees such as a husband and wife or a parent and child. Additionally, trusts can have successor trustees in case the original trustee dies, becomes incapacitated or steps down as trustee. Both scenarios create the possibility that the person with authority to contract for improvements to the property is not fully disclosed in the property records.
What happens if you contract the wrong person? The contract does not give rise to lien rights. That means you could contract with John Doe. Record a lien against John Doe, and sue John Doe because the deed is titled “John Doe as trustee of the John Doe Revocable Trust” and not have any lien rights because: (1) John Doe’s child is the successor trustee; (2) John Doe’s wife is a co-trustee; or (3) John Doe was not identified as contracting in his capacity as trustee.
What Happens if I Find Out that There are Issue with the Trust?
What happens if you discover that the trust has co-trustees? That depends on when you discover the issue. If the person you contracted with had actual authority as the trustee it is likely that you have a valid contract and that you can record a claim of lien. But you will need to sue all the trustees.
What happens if you discover that there was a successor trustee? That is a major problem. Why? If the person you contracted with did not have actual authority to contract, you do not have a contract with the Owner. Therefore, the contract does not give rise to the claim of lien. Your remedy is a breach of contract claim against the person who signed the contract.
What happens if you named the trustee in their individual capacity instead of the capacity as trustee? If you made this naming error in the contract or the claim of lien, the impacts are unclear. It could invalidate your lien and leave your remedy against the person in their personal capacity. Or the court could determine that there was no prejudice and therefore the lien is enforceable. This error could be harmless or could be fatal. But you won’t have a clear answer to that until after a substantial amount of time and attorney’s fees have been spent litigating the issue. If you misnamed the trustee in the complaint to enforce the claim of lien, you can amend the complaint to correct the naming issue.
How Can I Protect Myself?
The best way to protect yourself is to read the deed carefully and if is you are uncertain, request to see the trust documents and once you are in litigation, request the trust documents as early as possible. This includes the trust agreement and any amendments or certifications of trust.
These documents could reveal:
- The identity of current trustees.
- Whether multiple trustees must act jointly.
- The existence of successor trustees.
- The scope of each trustee’s authority.
Obtaining this information early allows lienors to amend pleadings if necessary, avoid procedural missteps, and ensure all proper parties are before the court.
Mark Siemer, is a Construction Attorney with Volk Law Offices, P.A., has 8 years’ experience and can be reached at help@volklawoffices.com or by visiting VolkLaw online at VolkLawOffices.com. Read more about Attorney Mark Siemer. Call for a consultation: (321) 726-8338.
The matters discussed here are general in nature and are not to be relied upon as legal advice. Every specific legal matter requires specific legal attention.
The law is constantly changing and matters discussed today may not be the same tomorrow. Legal matters are also subject to different interpretations by attorneys, judges, jurors and scholars. No attorney-client relationship is intended or created as a result of matters discussed here. You should consult counsel of your choice if you have any dealings in these areas of the law. Volk Law Offices, P.A. and its attorneys make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the matters addressed.