Successor Trustee Bank Account Access in Florida

Does a successor trustee have access to a bank account? Often yes, if the account is titled in the trust’s name and the trust names that person as successor. Here is how Florida law sorts the two and what banks often ask for. Trust Counsel, PL is based in Coral Gables, Florida, and Leslie V. Marenco is the responsible lawyer for this page.

The short answer: access depends on whose name is on the account

Yes, in most cases a successor trustee can act on accounts titled to the trust, once the trust names that person and the person accepts the role. Acceptance can happen by following the trust’s method. If the trust sets no method, or does not make its method exclusive, accepting trust property or performing trustee duties also counts (Fla. Stat. § 736.0701). The trustee’s power comes from the trust document, not from the bank’s goodwill. Banks look for proof that the trust and the successor are in place. When a trusteeship is vacant and must be filled, the successor the trust names comes first (Fla. Stat. § 736.0704). Read the trust’s powers section before you ask a bank to act.

Which accounts a successor trustee can reach and which pass outside the trust

Check the title on each statement and the signature card. The title tells you which rules apply, so compare it with the trust’s exact name before you call the bank.

Except as otherwise provided by a decedent’s will, a personal representative, appointed for the probate estate, has the right to take possession or control of the decedent’s property, except the protected homestead and a surviving spouse’s one-half share of community property covered by the Florida Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act (Fla. Stat. § 733.607).

Some accounts pass by their own terms. Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death designations, and joint accounts with right of survivorship, can send money to a named person without the successor trustee controlling them. Look for those designations on the bank’s forms before you assume the trust controls the money.

What banks usually ask a successor trustee to provide

A certification of trust is often the simplest paper to offer a bank. Florida law lets a trustee give one instead of a copy of the trust instrument to someone who is not a beneficiary (Fla. Stat. § 736.1017). It can state that the trust exists and when it was signed, who the settlor is, who the acting trustee is, the trustee’s powers, and whether the trust is revocable. It must also say the trust has not been revoked or amended in a way that makes those statements wrong. It does not need to contain the dispositive terms, meaning who receives what.

Any trustee can sign it. A person who relies on it in good faith, without knowing it is wrong, is not liable for doing so. Banks may still ask for more. A recipient can require copies of trust excerpts that name the trustee and give the power to act in the pending transaction.

Requirements vary by institution. Ask each bank in writing which documents it needs. Keep copies of everything you send, and write down the name of each representative and the date of each call.

Why access is sometimes delayed or refused

Delays often trace to a gap in the paperwork or the account title. Common causes include an unclear successor designation, a trust that was never fully funded, and cotrustees who have not all acted.

When cotrustees cannot agree unanimously, they may act by majority decision (Fla. Stat. § 736.0703). If a cotrustee is temporarily unavailable because of absence, illness, or other temporary incapacity, and prompt action is needed to achieve the trust’s purposes or avoid injury to trust property, the remaining cotrustees or a majority of them may act for the trust. If a prior trustee resigned or was removed, that person must deliver trust property within a reasonable time, though a reasonable reserve for debts, expenses and taxes may be kept (Fla. Stat. § 736.0707).

A family dispute can hold things up too. If someone challenges the trust terms, the account may sit untouched until the issue is resolved. Mediation is one way to work through that kind of dispute. The American Arbitration Association describes mediation as an alternative dispute-resolution process. Florida’s court-related rules and mediation confidentiality provisions may apply when a trust dispute is mediated (Florida ADR Resource Handbook). For an overview of trust disputes in Florida, see trust litigation services.

Power of attorney, personal representatives, and the successor trustee role

A power of attorney generally cannot open accounts after the principal dies. Florida law ends a power of attorney when the principal dies (Fla. Stat. § 709.2109). The same statute suspends an agent’s authority once someone starts proceedings to determine the principal’s incapacity, until the petition is dismissed or withdrawn or the court authorizes the agent to act. Fla. Stat. § 709.2109 reads: “If any person initiates judicial proceedings to determine the principal’s incapacity or for the appointment of a guardian advocate.” If the agent is the principal’s parent, spouse, child, or grandchild, the authority is suspended when the petitioner files a motion under s. 744.3203 stating that a specific power of attorney should be suspended, and the motion must include a declaration under penalties of perjury.

Keep three roles apart. A successor trustee acts under the trust. An agent acts under a power of attorney, and that authority ends at death. Florida uses the term personal representative for that office, and it handles property that passes through probate.

Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually as trustee or personal representative. The firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries. The role you hold can shape the advice you need from the start.

If the bank will not release funds, a possible next step

If a bank will not release trust funds, get its requirements in writing and match each one to the trust. A successor trustee who has the paperwork and still cannot reach the money often feels stuck. The bank may seem slow or unclear. A frozen account, a request for documents that do not match the trust, or a relative disputing the trust terms can each hold up a trust account. Asking whether a successor trustee has access to a bank account is only the first question; the account title and the bank’s paperwork answer the rest.

Frequently asked questions