Clear guidance for Key Biscayne families managing a trust

A parent’s trust has just become irrevocable, and now you have to act. Trust administration is the work of managing the trust’s assets and carrying out its terms after the person who created it dies. A trust administration attorney advises and represents the people who handle that work.

What a trust administration attorney does for Key Biscayne families

A trust administration attorney advises and represents the people who run a trust and the people who benefit from it. The attorney reviews the trust document, explains the duties involved and sets the order of the steps.

Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually as trustee or personal representative. The firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries. The firm itself does not serve as a fiduciary.

Our only office is in Coral Gables. We serve clients in Key Biscayne. Leslie V. Marenco is the attorney responsible for this page.

A Key Biscayne family in this position often holds a home or condominium on the island, bank or brokerage accounts, and sometimes a business interest. A son, daughter or other relative may have just been named successor trustee. Each asset needs a clear plan, and the trustee must follow both the trust terms and Florida law.

When does a trust move into administration?

A trust moves into administration when it becomes irrevocable, usually when its creator dies. Before that, the creator can generally change or revoke a revocable trust. Fla. Stat. § 736.0602 states that rule, unless the trust says it is irrevocable.

Under Fla. Stat. § 736.0602, unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that it is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend it. This subsection does not apply to a trust created under an instrument executed before the effective date of this code. When a trustee position becomes vacant and must be filled, Florida law sets the order: first comes the person the trust names. For a noncharitable trust, next comes a person appointed by unanimous agreement of the qualified beneficiaries; a charitable trust follows a different order. Last comes a person the court appoints. For a noncharitable trust, a vacancy that must be filled is filled in this order (charitable trusts use a different order), and a vacancy need not be filled if one or more cotrustees remain in office. Fla. Stat. § 736.0704 sets out that order.

Step-by-step: administering a trust in Florida

Administration follows a clear order. Find the document, take inventory, give notice, settle debts, then distribute and account.

1. Find and read the trust document. Check every amendment and confirm who is the successor trustee.
2. Inventory the assets. List bank and brokerage accounts, real estate, business interests and personal property. For Miami-Dade real estate, check how each property is titled.
3. Give notice within 60 days. Within 60 days after the trustee learns that an irrevocable trust has been created (or that a revocable trust has become irrevocable), notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust’s existence, the settlor’s identity, their right to a copy of the trust instrument and to accountings, and the fiduciary lawyer-client privilege. Fla. Stat. § 736.0813 sets this deadline.
4. Respond to requests. On reasonable request, the trustee must give a qualified beneficiary a complete copy of the trust instrument and relevant information about assets, liabilities and administration. § 736.0813 covers this duty too.
5. Pay valid debts and expenses, then distribute. Pay what the trust terms and Florida law require, then distribute according to the trust terms.
6. Keep records and account. A trustee must keep clear, accurate records and keep trust property separate from personal property. Fla. Stat. § 736.0810 states that rule. Under Florida law, a trustee of an irrevocable trust shall provide a trust accounting to each qualified beneficiary at least annually and on termination of the trust or on change of the trustee. The exceptions are a qualified beneficiary who has waived that duty in writing, or a trust with a family trust company as trustee whose terms permit accounting only at termination, when a trustee ceases to serve, or on demand of a qualified beneficiary (Fla. Stat. § 736.0813). Accountings must show all significant transactions, including compensation paid to the trustee. § 736.08135 sets out the contents.

Trustee duties and what beneficiaries are owed

A trustee must administer the trust in good faith, in line with its terms and the beneficiaries’ interests. Fla. Stat. § 736.0801 sets that duty.

Under Fla. Stat. § 736.0801, the trustee must administer the trust in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries. Fla. Stat. § 736.0802 states this duty of loyalty. When a trust has two or more beneficiaries, the trustee must act impartially. Fla. Stat. § 736.0803 requires that, with due regard to each beneficiary’s interests.

Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually as trustee. The firm advises trustees who serve in that role.

Trust administration compared with probate

Trust administration covers assets held in the trust. Probate covers assets left only in the deceased person’s name. How a particular asset is handled depends on the wording of the trust document and the applicable law, so questions about specific trust property are best reviewed against both. Assets outside the trust may still need probate.

A pour-over will is a will that directs leftover assets into the trust. It works alongside the trust and does not replace trust administration.

The personal representative (often called an executor) handles probate assets. The trustee handles trust assets. One family can have both roles, and the two jobs follow different paths. A Key Biscayne family may need both if a home sits in a trust but a car or account stayed in the parent’s sole name.

Probate can involve court involvement, according to ACTEC’s overview of probate. Knowing which assets fall into which path helps the family plan the work in the right order.

When administration becomes a dispute: trust litigation

Trust litigation is court work to resolve trust disputes that cannot be settled outside court. Common disagreements involve what the trust means, how distributions are made, or whether an accounting is accurate.

Disputes among beneficiaries, family members or creditors can lead to court involvement during estate settlement, according to ACTEC’s guidance on estate settlement.

Time limits can run quickly. An action for breach of trust about matters adequately disclosed in a trust disclosure document is barred under chapter 95, and under § 736.1008 a proceeding must be commenced within 6 months after receipt of the trust disclosure document or a limitation notice that applies to it, whichever is received later. Claims for breach of trust about matters adequately disclosed in a trust disclosure document are barred under Fla. Stat. § 736.1008 unless a proceeding is commenced within 6 months after receipt of the disclosure document or a limitation notice that applies to it, whichever is received later.

Early advice helps trustees and beneficiaries decide how to respond.

Frequently asked questions about trust administration in Key Biscayne

Talk with Trust Counsel about your Key Biscayne trust

If you have just become a successor trustee for a parent’s Key Biscayne home, and the accounts are unclear, a free discovery call is your next step. The free discovery call is confidential and carries no obligation to continue. Call (305) 707-7126 or schedule online.