Trustee Duty to Inform: Clear Answers for Florida Beneficiaries

Florida’s main trustee reporting rule is Fla. Stat. § 736.0813. It requires a trustee to keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed about the trust and how it is run. The statute also sets out specific notices, copies and accountings. This page explains what the 736.0813 trustee duty to inform Florida beneficiaries covers, when each part applies, and what a beneficiary can do if the trustee does not follow it.

Responsible attorney: Leslie V. Marenco, Trust Counsel, PL, Coral Gables, Florida.

What Florida Statute 736.0813 Says About a Trustee’s Duty to Inform

Florida Statute 736.0813 says the trustee shall keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed of the trust and its administration. That is the core rule. The rest of the statute explains how a trustee meets it.

The duty is broad. The statute says the trustee’s duty to inform and account “includes, but is not limited to” the items it lists. The listed notices and reports are a floor, not a complete list. A trustee may owe more information than the specific paragraphs describe.

Two limits matter from the start. First, the duty runs to qualified beneficiaries, not to every person who is curious about the trust. Second, while a trust is revocable, the trustee’s duties extend only to the settlor. The 736.0813 trustee duty to inform Florida beneficiaries applies to an irrevocable trust, but paragraphs (a) and (b) do not apply to an irrevocable trust created before the effective date of this code, and trust accountings apply to accounting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2007.

Who Counts as a Qualified Beneficiary

A qualified beneficiary is a living beneficiary who receives trust income or principal now, or who would receive it under certain other tests. Fla. Stat. § 736.0103 sets out that definition.

This matters because the notice and report duties run to qualified beneficiaries. A relative with no current or possible right to income or principal may not hold the same rights under the statute.

Here is a simple way to think it through. Ask yourself three questions. Can the trustee pay me income or principal right now? If the people ahead of me stopped receiving payments, could the trust pay me? If the trust ended on its terms today, would I receive anything? Your answers track the three tests in the definition. Bring them, along with a copy of the trust document, when you talk with our office.

The 60-Day Notices After Acceptance and Irrevocability

The first is after accepting the trusteeship. The second is after an irrevocable trust is created, or after a revocable trust becomes irrevocable. Under Florida law, the trustee must give notice to the qualified beneficiaries within 60 days after accepting the trust, and within 60 days after learning that an irrevocable trust has been created or that a formerly revocable trust has become irrevocable.

The acceptance notice must give the trustee’s full name and address. It must also say that the fiduciary lawyer-client privilege in section 90.5021 applies to the trustee and any attorney the trustee employs.

The irrevocability notice is broader. Those are the trust’s existence, the identity of the settlor or settlors, your right to request a copy of the trust instrument, and your right to accountings. The privilege statement applies here too.

That date can come well after the trust was created. Keep the envelope or email date, because it helps you check whether the notice came on time. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of Fla. Stat. § 736.0813 do not apply to an irrevocable trust created before the effective date of this code, or to a revocable trust that becomes irrevocable before the effective date of this code. Paragraph (a) also does not apply to a trustee who accepts a trusteeship before the effective date of this code.

The Trustee’s Annual Accounting: What It Must Cover

The trustee must also give one on termination of the trust or on a change of trustee. Fla. Stat. § 736.0813 sets this duty.

The accounting has a defined form. Fla. Stat. § 736.08135 requires it to be a reasonably understandable report. It must begin by identifying the trust, the trustee and the time period covered. Where feasible, it must identify trust assets on hand at the end of the period, with two values for each asset that can be valued. It must also list known noncontingent liabilities and significant transactions. A final accounting must include a plan of distribution for any assets still undistributed.

A phone call or a casual email may keep you in the loop. But the statute describes a written report with specific parts, and an update usually lacks them.

The statute has one exception for licensed family trust companies. If one is trustee, it may elect, for any accounting period, to provide the qualified beneficiaries with a notice of the election and a financial statement instead of the full accounting. Under Fla. Stat. § 736.0813, if a family trust company, licensed family trust company, or foreign licensed family trust company is trustee of an irrevocable trust, the trust terms may permit accounting only at termination, upon removal, resignation, or other event ending the trustee’s service, or upon demand of a qualified beneficiary or the beneficiary’s representative. A trustee that is a family trust company, licensed family trust company, or foreign licensed family trust company may still account more often, annually or at other times it selects.

Requesting a Copy of the Trust and Other Information

On reasonable request, a trustee must give a qualified beneficiary a complete copy of the trust instrument. The trustee must also give relevant information about the trust’s assets, liabilities and administration. Under Florida law, the trustee’s notice of an irrevocable trust must tell qualified beneficiaries of their right to request a copy of the trust instrument and their right to accountings.

A clear, written request works best. Include these points:

• The trust’s exact name and date.
• A statement that you are a qualified beneficiary, citing section 736.0813.
• A specific list: a complete copy of the trust instrument, account statements, a list of assets and debts, and records of distributions.
• A response date that you set as reasonable.
• Delivery in a way you can prove, and a copy you keep.

A specific list is easier to answer and harder to set aside. Dated proof of what you asked for also helps later if a dispute arises.

When a Trustee Does Not Comply: Court Remedies

When a trustee does not comply, a beneficiary can ask a Florida court to act. Under Florida law, judicial proceedings concerning trusts begin by filing a complaint, and they may include proceedings to remove a trustee and to review and settle interim or final accounts.

Under Fla. Stat. § 736.1001, to remedy a breach of trust that has occurred or may occur, a court may order a trustee to account. Under Fla. Stat. § 736.1001, to redress a breach of trust, a court may compel the trustee to pay money or restore property, or use other means; it may also suspend the trustee or reduce or deny compensation. Those remedies are listed in the statute as options for the court.

Removal is another route. The court may remove the trustee as provided in s. 736.0706. Florida law allows the court to remove a trustee for grounds such as a serious breach of trust, or the unfitness, unwillingness, or persistent failure of the trustee to administer the trust effectively.

A trustee who commits a breach of trust can face damages. Under Fla. Stat. § 736.1002, the trustee is liable for the greater of the amount needed to restore the trust property and distributions to what they would have been without the breach, including lost income, capital gain or appreciation, or the profit the trustee made from the breach.

Costs and fees follow their own rule. The result in any case depends on the facts and on what the court finds.

How the Duty Applies to Family Trustees and Professional Trustees

A family trustee often knows the family well but may not know what a trust accounting must contain.

Those rules can limit how often the trust must account, unless the trust terms or the trustee choose more frequent reports.

Attorneys who serve as trustees face an added rule.

Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually as trustee or personal representative. The firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries.

Common Mistakes Around the Duty to Report

Four mistakes can make a beneficiary’s position harder to prove.

Under Fla. Stat. § 736.0813(1)(a), the period runs from the date the trustee accepts the trusteeship, not from the date the trustee learns of the trust. Note the date you first received any notice or information about the trust.

The second mistake is treating calls or emails as the annual accounting.

The third mistake is assuming a verbal waiver counts.

The fourth mistake is waiting to put requests in writing. A dated written request shows what you asked for and when. Without it, proving the trustee failed to respond is much harder.

Next Steps If You Are Not Receiving Information About a Trust

Start by writing down the facts. Record the trust’s name, the dates, every notice you received, and every request you sent.

If you’re reading this, you may be dealing with a parent’s death, a trust you never set up, or a trustee who has gone quiet for months. That is a hard position, and the questions come fast. Gather the trust document if you have it, along with any notices, letters, emails and responses. Put them in date order.

If a trustee has not kept you informed about a trust you’re named in, you may have options under these statutes. You don’t have to sort them out alone. Call (305) 707-7126 or schedule online with Trust Counsel, PL. The first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation to continue.

Trust Counsel, PL is located in Coral Gables, Florida. We serve clients in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton. For more on how the firm handles these matters, see trust litigation attorney services.

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