Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 720 - Homeowners' Associations

• Accounting period: means a calendar year unless another 12-month period is selected by a fiduciary. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• Acquittal:
  1. Judgement that a criminal defendant has not been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
  2. A verdict of "not guilty."
   
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Alternate valuation date: The earlier of the date six months after the decedent
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• amenity fee: means a sum or sums of money payable to the association, to the developer or other owner of common areas, or to recreational facilities and other properties serving the parcels by the owners of one or more parcels as authorized in the governing documents, which if not paid by the owner of a parcel, can result in a lien against the parcel. See Florida Statutes 720.301
• Ammunition: means an object consisting of all of the following:
  (a) A fixed metallic or nonmetallic hull or casing containing a primer. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Antique firearm: means any firearm manufactured in or before 1918 (including any matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar early type of ignition system) or replica thereof, whether actually manufactured before or after the year 1918, and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1918, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assessment: means a share of the funds which are required for the payment of common expenses, which from time to time is assessed against the unit owner. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Association: means , in addition to any entity responsible for the operation of common elements owned in undivided shares by unit owners, any entity which operates or maintains other real property in which unit owners have use rights, where membership in the entity is composed exclusively of unit owners or their elected or appointed representatives and is a required condition of unit ownership. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• association: means a Florida corporation responsible for the operation of a community or a mobile home subdivision in which the voting membership is made up of parcel owners or their agents, or a combination thereof, and in which membership is a mandatory condition of parcel ownership, and which is authorized to impose assessments that, if unpaid, may become a lien on the parcel. See Florida Statutes 720.301
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Beneficiary: means , in the case of a decedent's estate, an heir or devisee and, in the case of a trust, an income beneficiary or a remainder beneficiary. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• board: means the board of directors or other representative body which is responsible for administration of the association. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Buyer: means a person who purchases a condominium unit. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Bylaws: means the bylaws of the association as they are amended from time to time. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Carrying value: means the fair market value at the time the assets are received by the fiduciary. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• Charitable organization: means an organization described in…. See Florida Statutes 736.1201
• chemical weapon or device: means any weapon of such nature, except a device known as a "self-defense chemical spray. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Codicil: An addition, change, or supplement to a will executed with the same formalities required for the will itself.
• Common area: means all real property within a community which is owned or leased by an association or dedicated for use or maintenance by the association or its members, including, regardless of whether title has been conveyed to the association:
  (a) Real property the use of which is dedicated to the association or its members by a recorded plat; or
  (b) Real property committed by a declaration of covenants to be leased or conveyed to the association. See Florida Statutes 720.301
• Common elements: means the portions of the condominium property not included in the units. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Common expenses: means all expenses properly incurred by the association in the performance of its duties, including expenses specified in…. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• community: includes all real property, including undeveloped phases, that is or was the subject of a development-of-regional-impact development order, together with any approved modification thereto. See Florida Statutes 720.301
• Community property: means the property and the appreciation of and income from the property owned by a qualified trustee of a community property trust during the marriage of the settlor spouses. See Florida Statutes 736.1502
• Community property trust: means an express trust that complies with…. See Florida Statutes 736.1502
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Concealed firearm: means any firearm, as defined in subsection (6), which is carried on or about a person in such a manner as to conceal the firearm from the ordinary sight of another person. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Concealed weapon: means any dirk, metallic knuckles, billie, tear gas gun, chemical weapon or device, or other deadly weapon carried on or about a person in such a manner as to conceal the weapon from the ordinary sight of another person. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Condominium: means that form of ownership of real property created pursuant to this chapter, which is comprised entirely of units that may be owned by one or more persons, and in which there is, appurtenant to each unit, an undivided share in common elements. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Condominium parcel: means a unit, together with the undivided share in the common elements appurtenant to the unit. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Condominium property: means the lands, leaseholds, and personal property that are subjected to condominium ownership, whether or not contiguous, and all improvements thereon and all easements and rights appurtenant thereto intended for use in connection with the condominium. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Conspicuous type: means bold type in capital letters no smaller than the largest type, exclusive of headings, on the page on which it appears and, in all cases, at least 10-point type. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• 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.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Dart-firing stun gun: means any device having one or more darts that are capable of delivering an electrical current. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• declaration: means a recorded written instrument or instruments in the nature of covenants running with the land which subject the land comprising the community to the jurisdiction and control of an association or associations in which the owners of the parcels, or their association representatives, must be members. See Florida Statutes 720.301
• declaration of condominium: means the instrument or instruments by which a condominium is created, as they are from time to time amended. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Decree: means a judgment or other order of a court of competent jurisdiction. See Florida Statutes 736.1502
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Defense attorney: Represent defendants in criminal matters.
• Delivery of notice: means delivery of a written notice required under this part using any commercial delivery service requiring a signed receipt or by any form of mail requiring a signed receipt. See Florida Statutes 736.1201
• Department: means the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. See Florida Statutes 720.301
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Destructive device: means any bomb, grenade, mine, rocket, missile, pipebomb, or similar device containing an explosive, incendiary, or poison gas and includes any frangible container filled with an explosive, incendiary, explosive gas, or expanding gas, which is designed or so constructed as to explode by such filler and is capable of causing bodily harm or property damage; any combination of parts either designed or intended for use in converting any device into a destructive device and from which a destructive device may be readily assembled; any device declared a destructive device by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; any type of weapon which will, is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of any explosive and which has a barrel with a bore of one-half inch or more in diameter; and ammunition for such destructive devices, but not including shotgun shells or any other ammunition designed for use in a firearm other than a destructive device. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Developer: means a person who creates a condominium or offers condominium parcels for sale or lease in the ordinary course of business, but does not include:
  (a) An owner or lessee of a condominium or cooperative unit who has acquired the unit for his or her own occupancy;
  (b) A cooperative association that creates a condominium by conversion of an existing residential cooperative after control of the association has been transferred to the unit owners if, following the conversion, the unit owners are the same persons who were unit owners of the cooperative and no units are offered for sale or lease to the public as part of the plan of conversion;
  (c) A bulk assignee or bulk buyer as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Developer: means a person or entity that:
  (a) Creates the community served by the association; or
  (b) Succeeds to the rights and liabilities of the person or entity that created the community served by the association, provided that such is evidenced in writing. See Florida Statutes 720.301
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Dissolution: means either:
  (a) Termination of a marriage by a decree of dissolution, divorce, annulment, or declaration of invalidity; or
  (b) Entry of a decree of legal separation maintenance by a court of competent jurisdiction in another state that recognizes legal separation or maintenance under its laws. See Florida Statutes 736.1502
• Division: means the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Division: means the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes in the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. See Florida Statutes 720.301
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Donee: The recipient of a gift.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• During marriage: means a period that begins at marriage and ends upon the dissolution of marriage or upon the death of a spouse. See Florida Statutes 736.1502
• Electric weapon or device: means any device which, through the application or use of electrical current, is designed, redesigned, used, or intended to be used for offensive or defensive purposes, the destruction of life, or the infliction of injury. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Explosive: means any chemical compound or mixture that has the property of yielding readily to combustion or oxidation upon application of heat, flame, or shock, including but not limited to dynamite, nitroglycerin, trinitrotoluene, or ammonium nitrate when combined with other ingredients to form an explosive mixture, blasting caps, and detonators; but not including:
  (a) Shotgun shells, cartridges, or ammunition for firearms;
  (b) Fireworks as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fiduciary: means a personal representative or a trustee. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• Firearm: means any weapon (including a starter gun) which will, is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; the frame or receiver of any such weapon; any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; any destructive device; or any machine gun. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Governing documents: means :
  (a) The recorded declaration of covenants for a community and all duly adopted and recorded amendments, supplements, and recorded exhibits thereto; and
  (b) The articles of incorporation and bylaws of the homeowners' association and any duly adopted amendments thereto. See Florida Statutes 720.301
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Gross estate: The total fair market value of all property and property interests, real and personal, tangible and intangible, of which a decedent had beneficial ownership at the time of death before subtractions for deductions, debts, administrative expenses, and casualty losses suffered during estate administration.
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Income: means money or property that a fiduciary receives as current return from a principal asset. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• Income beneficiary: means a person to whom net income of a trust is or may be payable. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• Income interest: means the right of an income beneficiary to receive all or part of net income, whether the terms of the trust require the net income to be distributed or authorize the net income to be distributed in the trustee's discretion. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Indictment: means an indictment or an information in any court under which a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year may be prosecuted. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Inter vivos: Transfer of property from one living person to another living person.
• Internal Revenue Code: means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. See Florida Statutes 736.1201
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Irrevocable trust: A trust arrangement that cannot be revoked, rescinded, or repealed by the grantor.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Land: means the surface of a legally described parcel of real property and includes, unless otherwise specified in the declaration and whether separate from or including such surface, airspace lying above and subterranean space lying below such surface. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Law enforcement officer: means :
  (a) All officers or employees of the United States or the State of Florida, or any agency, commission, department, board, division, municipality, or subdivision thereof, who have authority to make arrests;
  (b) Officers or employees of the United States or the State of Florida, or any agency, commission, department, board, division, municipality, or subdivision thereof, duly authorized to carry a concealed weapon;
  (c) Members of the Armed Forces of the United States, the organized reserves, state militia, or Florida National Guard, when on duty, when preparing themselves for, or going to or from, military duty, or under orders;
  (d) An employee of the state prisons or correctional systems who has been so designated by the Department of Corrections or by a warden of an institution;
  (e) All peace officers;
  (f) All state attorneys and United States attorneys and their respective assistants and investigators. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Lineal descendant: Direct descendant of the same ancestors.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Machine gun: means any firearm, as defined herein, which shoots, or is designed to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manually reloading, by a single function of the trigger. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Mandatory income interest: means the right of an income beneficiary to receive net income that the terms of the trust require the fiduciary to distribute. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• Marital deduction: The deduction(s) that can be taken in the determination of gift and estate tax liabilities because of the existence of a marriage or marital relationship.
• Member: means a member of an association, and may include, but is not limited to, a parcel owner or an association representing parcel owners or a combination thereof, and includes any person or entity obligated by the governing documents to pay an assessment or amenity fee. See Florida Statutes 720.301
• minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• Multicondominium: means real property containing two or more condominiums, all of which are operated by the same association. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Net income: means the total receipts allocated to income during an accounting period minus the disbursements made from income during the period, plus or minus transfers under this chapter to or from income during the period. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• oath: includes affirmations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Parcel: means a platted or unplatted lot, tract, unit, or other subdivision of real property within a community, as described in the declaration:
  (a) Which is capable of separate conveyance; and
  (b) Of which the parcel owner, or an association in which the parcel owner must be a member, is obligated:

  1. See Florida Statutes 720.301
• Parcel owner: means the record owner of legal title to a parcel. See Florida Statutes 720.301
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Per stirpes: The legal means by which the children of a decedent, upon the death of an ancestor at a level above that of the decedent, receive by right of representation the share of the ancestor
• person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity or a government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• political subdivision: include counties, cities, towns, villages, special tax school districts, special road and bridge districts, bridge districts, and all other districts in this state. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Principal: means property held in trust for distribution to a remainder beneficiary when the trust terminates. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• Private foundation trust: means a trust, including a trust described in…. See Florida Statutes 736.1201
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Qualified trustee: means either:
  (a) A natural person who is a resident of the state; or
  (b) A company authorized to act as a trustee in the state. See Florida Statutes 736.1502
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Remainder beneficiary: means a person entitled to receive principal when an income interest ends. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Residential condominium: means a condominium consisting of two or more units, any of which are intended for use as a private temporary or permanent residence, except that a condominium is not a residential condominium if the use for which the units are intended is primarily commercial or industrial and not more than three units are intended to be used for private residence, and are intended to be used as housing for maintenance, managerial, janitorial, or other operational staff of the condominium. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Revocable trust: A trust agreement that can be canceled, rescinded, revoked, or repealed by the grantor (person who establishes the trust).
• Self-defense chemical spray: means a device carried solely for purposes of lawful self-defense that is compact in size, designed to be carried on or about the person, and contains not more than two ounces of chemical. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Settlor spouses: means a married couple who establishes a community property trust pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 736.1502
• Short-barreled rifle: means a rifle having one or more barrels less than 16 inches in length and any weapon made from a rifle (whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise) if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Short-barreled shotgun: means a shotgun having one or more barrels less than 18 inches in length and any weapon made from a shotgun (whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise) if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Slungshot: means a small mass of metal, stone, sand, or similar material fixed on a flexible handle, strap, or the like, used as a weapon. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Split interest trust: means a trust for individual and charitable beneficiaries that is subject to the provisions of…. See Florida Statutes 736.1201
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Sterile area: means the area of an airport to which access is controlled by the inspection of persons and property in accordance with federally approved airport security programs. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• Structural integrity reserve study: means a study of the reserve funds required for future major repairs and replacement of the common areas based on a visual inspection of the common areas. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Terms of a trust: means the manifestation of the intent of a grantor or decedent with respect to the trust, expressed in a manner that admits of its proof in a judicial proceeding, whether by written or spoken words or by conduct. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Trustee: includes an original, additional, or successor trustee, whether or not appointed or confirmed by a court. See Florida Statutes 738.102
• Unit: means a part of the condominium property which is subject to exclusive ownership. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• veteran: means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under honorable conditions only or who later received an upgraded discharge under honorable conditions, notwithstanding any action by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on individuals discharged or released with other than honorable discharges. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Voting interest: means the voting rights distributed to the members of the homeowners' association, pursuant to the governing documents. See Florida Statutes 720.301
• Voting interests: means the voting rights distributed to the association members pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 718.103
• Weapon: means any dirk, knife, metallic knuckles, slungshot, billie, tear gas gun, chemical weapon or device, or other deadly weapon except a firearm or a common pocketknife, plastic knife, or blunt-bladed table knife. See Florida Statutes 790.001
• writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01