Trustee Duties and Beneficiary Rights Under Florida Law

A trustee holds, manages, and distributes the assets of a trust for its beneficiaries. The trustee is a fiduciary — legally bound to act in the beneficiaries' interests, not their own. In Florida, those obligations are written into the Florida Trust Code, Chapter 736 of the Florida Statutes, and they are enforceable in court. At the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin, PA, we advise trustees on their obligations and represent beneficiaries when a trustee falls short.

The Core Duty: Administer the Trust in Good Faith

Everything starts with F.S. 736.0801: a trustee shall administer the trust in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries. This is not a suggestion. A trustee who treats the trust as a personal account, sits on assets with no plan, or ignores what the trust document actually says has violated the most basic duty Florida law imposes.

Loyalty and Impartiality Among Beneficiaries

Under F.S. 736.0802, the trustee owes a duty of loyalty and must avoid conflicts of interest and self-dealing. A trustee cannot buy trust property for themselves at a discount, lend trust money to their own business, or steer trust opportunities to family members. When a trustee has a personal stake in a transaction, the beneficiaries have grounds to challenge it.

Loyalty runs to all beneficiaries, not just the ones the trustee likes. Under F.S. 736.0803, a trustee shall act impartially in investing, managing, and distributing trust property, having due regard to the beneficiaries' differing interests. This matters most when a trust has a current beneficiary — say, a surviving spouse receiving income — and remainder beneficiaries, such as children who take what is left. A trustee who invests or distributes to favor one group at the other's expense is breaching the duty of impartiality.

Prudence, Professional Skill, and Trust Expenses

F.S. 736.0804 requires prudent administration: the trustee must act with reasonable care, skill, and caution, as a prudent person would. That standard covers everything from routine bill-paying to major asset sales.

The bar can be higher, not lower. Under F.S. 736.0806, a trustee with special skills or expertise — a banker, an accountant, a professional fiduciary — is held to that higher standard. A corporate trustee cannot excuse a bad investment decision by pointing to what an untrained family member might have done.

Money is also policed on the expense side. Under F.S. 736.0805, a trustee may pay only reasonable costs of administration from trust property. Inflated fees, unnecessary professionals, or personal expenses run through the trust are all fair targets for a beneficiary's objection.

Delegation, Records, and Keeping Trust Property Separate

A trustee may hire help. Under F.S. 736.0807, administrative functions may be delegated to agents such as investment advisors, accountants, or attorneys — but the trustee remains liable for selecting an incompetent agent or for giving improper instructions. Hiring a professional does not let the trustee walk away from the file.

Under F.S. 736.0810, the trustee must keep trust property separate from the trustee's own property and maintain records of the administration. Commingling — depositing trust funds into a personal account, or titling trust assets in the trustee's own name — is one of the clearest red flags in trust litigation, and missing records almost always cut against the trustee.

Your Right to Information and Annual Accountings

Beneficiaries cannot enforce duties they know nothing about, so Florida law forces the flow of information. Under F.S. 736.0813, the trustee of an irrevocable trust must tell the qualified beneficiaries that the trust exists and who the trustee is, must give a complete copy of the trust instrument to a qualified beneficiary who requests it, and must provide annual trust accountings.

If you are a beneficiary and the trustee refuses to hand over the trust document, or years go by with no accounting, that refusal is itself a breach — independent of whatever the accounting might reveal. Start by making a written request. A trustee's silence in response to a written demand is powerful evidence in court.

What a Beneficiary Can Do — and the Six-Month Deadline

When a trustee ignores these duties, Florida beneficiaries have real remedies. Depending on the facts, a court can:

• Compel the trustee to produce the trust instrument and accountings required by F.S. 736.0813
• Order the trustee to repay losses caused by a breach of fiduciary duty, including surcharge for imprudent investments or improper expenses
• Set aside self-dealing transactions that violate the duty of loyalty under F.S. 736.0802
• Reduce or deny the trustee's compensation
• Remove the trustee and appoint a successor

A court will not remove a trustee merely because a beneficiary disagrees with a discretionary decision. But mismanagement, self-dealing, missing records, and stonewalling on accountings are the kinds of conduct that support removal and damages.

Timing is critical. Florida sets a short limitations period — six months — running from the disclosure of a trust accounting, or from when the beneficiary discovers the facts giving rise to the claim. When an accounting arrives, the clock may already be running on anything it discloses. Do not put it in a drawer; have it reviewed promptly.

Trustee vs. Personal Representative

A trustee is not the same as a personal representative. A personal representative is appointed by the probate court and administers a decedent's estate under court supervision. A trustee is named by the trust document and generally administers the trust without ongoing court oversight — which is exactly why the statutory duties above, and the beneficiary's right to enforce them, matter so much. It is also why many Florida residents build a trust into their estate plan: administration is typically faster and more private than probate, provided the trustee does the job the law requires.

Talk to a Florida Trust Attorney

Whether you have been named as a trustee and want to comply with the Florida Trust Code from day one, or you are a beneficiary who has been kept in the dark, ignored, or shortchanged, the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin, PA can help. Because Florida's six-month window on accounting-based claims is so short, it pays to act as soon as you receive an accounting or discover a problem. We represent trustees and beneficiaries throughout Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County, and we can review your trust documents and accountings at our Coral Gables office. Email [email protected] to schedule a consultation.