So Why is Cindy Anthony Looking to Start a Foundation for Caylee Marie Anthony? (Registration of Fictitious Name)

Isn’t this interesting …

Caylee Anthony is still missing, Casey Anthony has been indicted by a grand jury on murder one and Cindy Anthony appears to be forming a foundation. So why is Cindy Anthony forming a Foundation for Caylee Anthony and for what purpose will it serve? One question would be whether this Foundation is a Private or Charitable Foundation. Or is it a Foundation in registration name only?

The question that needs to be asked and answered is why now is a Foundation being created in the name of Caylee Marie Anthony?

OnLine Fictitious Name Registration for Florida

865.09 Fictitious name registration.

Fictitious Names – Frequently Asked Questions

larger version of application

To discuss the case, provide your opinions and get further updates go to Scared Monkeys.net Missing Persons Forum: Caylee Anthony.

However, is this application for the Caylee Marie Anthony Foundation really a foundation in the 501(c)3 sense that people have known to understand?

Florida, like many states, has long required by statute that any person operating a business under a fictitious name file a certificate in a public office disclosing the true names of the owners of the business. (Some states refer to fictitious names as assumed names.) The purpose for this registration is to provide notice to the public, and especially to creditors, of the identities of persons who are doing business under fictitious names for the purpose of protecting creditors from fraud and deceit. (See Jackson v. Jones, 423 So.2d 972 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982), review denied, 436 So.2d 99 (Fla.1983); 1957 Op. Att’y Gen.Fla. 057-283 (September 17, 1957)).

Until July 1, 1990, the Florida Fictitious Name Statute, Florida Statutes Section 865.09, required that a person engaged in business under a trade name do the following if the trade name was not the proper name or known called name of the person: (1) publish once a week for four weeks in a newspaper in the county in which the principal place of business was located notice of intention to register the fictitious name; and (2) record in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of that county an affidavit signed by all of the owners. “Person” included partnerships and corporations, as well as natural persons. Failure to so register subjected the person to criminal liability, as well as civil liability. However, compliance was no assurance of avoiding civil liability. See Robinson v. Lane, 557 So.2d 908 (Fla.1st DCA 1990), which held an individual liable for a corporate contract even though the individual disclosed she was signing in an agency capacity for “Slender World” and even though the corporation had properly registered that fictitious name under the former F.S.A. Section 865.09.

There is a common misconception that registration of a fictitious name assures the registrant of exclusive rights to the name. The new law clearly states that registration is for public notice only, registration does not give rise to any presumption of the registrant’s rights to own or use the name registered, and registration does not affect trademark, service mark, trade name, or corporate name rights previously acquired by others in the same or similar name. F.S.A. Section 865.09(8). Registration itself does not grant any trademark or other proprietary rights in the name. (However, note that F.S.A. Sections 607.0401 and 617.0401 require that names of corporations be distinguishable from the names of all entities or filings registered and on file with the Division of Corporations.)
Because it is a crime not to comply, Florida businesses continue to have a strong incentive to register their fictitious names. Compliance is easier under the new law since the Division of Corporations promulgates forms and instructions for such compliance. In addition, the information provided by registrants will be more readily available to the public since, in the past, there was not a single state-wide office for filing registrations. The Division of Corporations has shown through its maintenance of computer records on the hundreds of thousands of Florida corporations that it can efficiently handle this task.