Gather the Right Documents Before You Meet a Professional Fiduciary

Before a professional fiduciary can take control of an estate or trust, they need proof. Families often start with a box of papers and no clear idea what counts. This guide explains the documents required professional fiduciary work depends on in Florida, in plain steps. Trust Counsel, PL is a Florida trusts and estates law firm with its only office in Coral Gables. The firm focuses on probate, trust administration and fiduciary matters for beneficiaries, heirs and fiduciaries.

What documents and records, such as the will, trust instrument, death certificate, and asset inventories, must be provided to a professional fiduciary before they can act?

The core set is the will or trust instrument, the death certificate or proof of incapacity, proof of the fiduciary’s authority, and a written inventory of assets and debts. The exact list depends on the facts of each estate or trust. A fiduciary generally can’t act on the family’s word alone.

Florida expects a detailed record of what the estate holds. The personal representative must file a verified inventory with reasonable detail and estimated fair market value at the date of death for each item, except that real property appearing to be protected homestead is listed and designated as homestead rather than valued, under Fla. Prob. R. 5.340. That inventory is the starting point for paying debts and distributing property.

The list grows when the matter is more complicated. A business interest, real estate in more than one state, or property held abroad each adds records to collect. Each one also needs a title, ownership record or valuation before anyone acts on it.

Which core estate documents does a professional fiduciary need first?

Start with the will or trust instrument and the death certificate. These two papers set the rules for the work and show when it begins.

In a probate estate, the fiduciary needs the original or certified will, including any codicils. A self-proved will executed under the Florida Probate Code may be admitted to probate without further proof under Fla. Stat. § 733.201, but a purportedly self-proved electronic will may be admitted to probate only in the manners prescribed in subsections (2) and (3) if its online notarization substantially failed to comply with s. 117.265. Other wills follow the proof steps in the same statute.

For a trust, the fiduciary needs the trust instrument with all amendments and restatements. Gather earlier versions and any revocations too. That way, the fiduciary can tell which document controls.

The death certificate matters most at the start. An authenticated copy is prima facie proof of the fact, place, date and time of death, under Fla. Prob. R. 5.171. “Prima facie” means it counts as proof unless someone shows otherwise. If incapacity is involved, the fiduciary may also review powers of attorney and advance directives. ACTEC guidance on powers of attorney advises keeping one controlled set of original documents, since many copies can cause confusion.

How do asset inventories and financial records help a professional fiduciary begin work?

It gives the fiduciary a map before any money moves.

Gather a list of real estate, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, insurance policies, vehicles and business interests. Include account numbers and titling details where you can. The fiduciary needs to match each item to its record.

Beneficiary designations, payable-on-death forms and transfer-on-death forms matter too. These can pass certain assets outside the will or trust, so the fiduciary has to find them.

Recent statements, tax returns, mortgages and bills show debts and monthly cash needs. Deeds, titles and business operating agreements show who owns property and who holds control.

Florida requires the personal representative to file the inventory within 60 days after letters are issued, unless one was already filed, though the court may extend that time for cause shown. If the fiduciary learns of an asset not on the list, the inventory must be amended. Filed inventories are confidential and exempt from public records under Fla. Stat. § 733.604, but the custodian must disclose them to the personal representative and others the statute lists, and by court order upon a showing of good cause.

What proof of authority does a fiduciary need before acting for an estate or trust?

In probate, the fiduciary needs court-issued letters that confirm the personal representative’s authority. For a trust, a certification of trust can show the trustee’s authority without handing over the full trust instrument.

Letters come through the probate court process under the Florida Probate Code (Fla. Stat. chapter 733). Banks and other third parties often ask to see them.

A trustee can give a certification of trust instead of a full copy to someone who is not a beneficiary. Under Fla. Stat. § 736.1017, it must state that the trust exists and when it was signed. Under Fla. Stat. § 736.1017, instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish a certification of trust stating that the trust exists and the date it was executed, the identity of the settlor, the identity and address of the currently acting trustee, the powers of the trustee, whether the trust contains any powers of direction and, if so, the identity of the current trust directors, the trustee powers subject to direction and whether the directors have directed or authorized the proposed transaction, the revocability or irrevocability of the trust and the identity of any person holding a power to revoke it, the authority of cotrustees, and the manner of taking title to trust property. It must state that the trust has not been changed in a way that makes those statements wrong.

A person named as trustee accepts the role by following the trust’s method of acceptance or by acting as trustee. See Fla. Stat. § 736.0701.

Who can act as a fiduciary, and what role does a Florida trusts and estates firm play?

An individual can serve as a personal representative or trustee. Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually as trustee or personal representative. The firm itself does not serve in either role.

In Florida, the probate role is the personal representative (often called an executor). A trustee manages trust property under the trust’s terms. The firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries.

Under Fla. Stat. § 733.305(1), certain Florida trust companies and state and national banks with fiduciary powers are entitled to act as personal representatives. Under Fla. Stat. § 734.101, personal representatives who produce authenticated copies of probated wills or letters of administration duly obtained in any state or territory of the United States may maintain actions in the courts of this state, and personal representatives appointed in any state or country may be sued in this state concerning property in this state. Fla. Stat. § 733.305(1) allows certain Florida trust companies and qualified banks to act.

For the wider picture, read professional trustee and executor services.

How should a family prepare these documents when choosing a professional fiduciary?

Preparing the documents required professional fiduciary work calls for is a practical step. Gather the governing document and death certificate first. Then pull the asset list, and finally the records that prove authority.

A fiduciary will ask for this core set whoever is chosen. Early organization helps any fiduciary start sooner.

Keep originals in one safe place. Make copies for working files. Keep a running list of what you’ve sent and to whom.

Bring these questions to a first meeting:

• Which documents are missing, such as a codicil, a trust amendment or a prior will?
• Does any asset pass by beneficiary designation or joint ownership?
• Is a business interest or out-of-state property involved?
• What records does the fiduciary need to start the inventory?

What responsibilities follow once a fiduciary has these records?

Once the records are in hand, the fiduciary inventories assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and manages property. The work follows the governing document and Florida law.

A personal representative must observe the standards of care that apply to trustees, under Fla. Stat. § 733.602. The personal representative must settle and distribute the estate under the will and the Florida Probate Code, as promptly and efficiently as the estate allows.

Trustees have their own duties. Within 60 days after acceptance, the trustee must notify qualified beneficiaries of the acceptance, the trustee’s full name and address, and that the fiduciary lawyer-client privilege applies to the trustee and the trustee’s attorney, but while a trust is revocable these duties extend only to the settlor, under Fla. Stat. § 736.0813.

Complete records at the start make these notices and later accountings easier to prepare. An attorney advising the fiduciary can help read the documents and explain each step.

Talk with a Coral Gables trusts and estates attorney about your documents

If you’re sorting through a parent’s papers after a death, or gathering a trust document during a family decision, you may not know yet what a fiduciary will need. That’s a hard place to be, and you don’t have to sort it out alone.

Leslie V. Marenco is the responsible attorney for this page. The first consultation is free, confidential and comes with no obligation to continue. Call (305) 707-7126 or schedule online to review which records your situation needs.