The whole section
The circuit court has original jurisdiction in this state of all proceedings arising under this code.
Section 736.0203, Florida Statutes. Enacted in 2006 and never amended since.
That is it. Trust proceedings are circuit court matters, and county courts do not hear them regardless of how little money is involved. In practice most land in the probate division, alongside estates and guardianships, though that is a matter of local court administration rather than of this statute.
Why a one sentence section is worth knowing
Its significance is less about what it says than about where the Code puts it. Section 736.0105(2) lists the provisions a trust instrument cannot override, and paragraph (2)(g) covers the jurisdiction and venue provisions in sections 736.0202, 736.0203 and 736.0204 together.
So a clause purporting to send every dispute to arbitration, to a named private tribunal, or to the courts of another state cannot displace the circuit court’s subject matter jurisdiction under Florida law. Our page on section 736.0105 sets out the full list of what a settlor may and may not switch off.
Three questions that get run together
People arriving at a trust dispute usually collapse three separate enquiries into one, and it is worth pulling them apart because they have different answers and different consequences.
Subject matter jurisdiction asks whether this kind of court can hear this kind of case. That is this section, and the answer is the circuit court.
Personal jurisdiction asks whether the court has power over the particular people involved. Section 736.0202 supplies eight acts that submit a trustee, beneficiary or other person to Florida’s courts, and then adds that jurisdiction runs to the maximum the State and Federal Constitutions permit, which is where the real fight usually is.
Venue asks which county. Section 736.0204 gives three alternatives and a route into the general venue statute.
A circuit court can comfortably have subject matter jurisdiction over a trust dispute and still be unable to reach a foreign trustee, or be the wrong county.
No Florida court has cited this section
Our review found no decision citing section 736.0203 anywhere in the Florida state courts, the Florida federal district and bankruptcy courts, or the Eleventh Circuit, searching every precedential status rather than the default view.
That is unsurprising for a provision this uncontroversial. Nobody litigates whether the circuit court can hear a trust case. It does mean that if a genuinely hard question arose, for example whether a particular proceeding truly arises under the Code or under some other body of law, there is no Florida authority on it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Florida court hears trust disputes?
The circuit court. Section 736.0203 provides that the circuit court has original jurisdiction in this state of all proceedings arising under the Florida Trust Code. County courts do not hear them, whatever the amount in controversy.
Can a trust document require disputes to go somewhere else?
Not as to subject matter jurisdiction. Section 736.0105(2)(g) lists the jurisdiction and venue provisions in sections 736.0202, 736.0203 and 736.0204 among the provisions the terms of a trust cannot override.
Is this the same as personal jurisdiction?
No. Subject matter jurisdiction is the court’s authority over the type of case. Personal jurisdiction is its authority over a particular person, and for trusts that is governed by section 736.0202. A circuit court can plainly hear a trust case and still lack power over an out of state trustee.
Does this apply to a trust governed by another state’s law?
The section speaks to proceedings arising under the Florida Trust Code. Which state’s law governs the meaning and effect of a trust’s terms is a separate question under section 736.0107, and where the trust is administered is another under section 736.0108.
Common Situations
You are deciding where to file. The circuit court has subject matter jurisdiction. Venue and personal jurisdiction are the next two questions.
The trust names a forum. Section 736.0105(2)(g) puts the jurisdiction and venue provisions beyond the trust’s terms.
The trustee is out of state. That is a personal jurisdiction question under section 736.0202, not a subject matter one.
Sources of Law
- Section 736.0203, Florida Statutes (2025). Enacted by s. 2, ch. 2006-217, and never amended since.
- Section 736.0105(2)(g), Florida Statutes, listing the jurisdiction and venue provisions among those the terms of a trust cannot override.
- Our review searched the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida District Courts of Appeal, the Florida federal district courts, the Florida bankruptcy courts and the Eleventh Circuit on August 14, 2026, requesting every precedential status rather than the default view. We report a nil result as our own review and not as a certainty. Searching by section number is an imperfect tool in two known ways. It misses decisions that discuss a statute without naming it, and we have confirmed a Florida decision that names a section yet does not appear in a search for that number.
- Decisions discussed here are published opinions in other parties’ cases. They are not matters handled by this firm and they predict nothing about any reader’s case. No commercial citator pass has been run on this research.
Updated on August 14, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. Attorney Kevin Klagge represents families, businesses, and international clients in estate and tax planning, business structuring, and international law, with a focus on Florida legal tools. He litigates estate and business issues in court. General information about Florida law and published court decisions, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Reading this page does not make us your lawyers. Please do not send confidential details until we have connected.
