Can a Lawyer Be a Trustee in Florida? Coral Gables Guide

The short answer: can a lawyer serve as trustee in Florida?

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

Families ask this for a sensible reason. They want someone who understands the documents, follows the rules and stays neutral among siblings. A lawyer can look like a safe choice. The role still carries its own duties. A lawyer who is also the trustee raises questions that should be answered before anyone signs.

Limits on a law firm entity serving as personal representative

Fla. Stat. § 660.41 says corporations are prohibited from acting as personal representative of a decedent’s estate in this state. This does not apply to banks or associations and trust companies incorporated under Florida law and having trust powers, to banks or associations and trust companies resulting from an interstate merger transaction with a Florida bank and having trust powers, or to national banking or federal associations authorized to exercise trust powers in Florida. Fla. Stat. § 733.305 lists the entities that may act in that role, such as Florida trust companies and banks with fiduciary powers.

Florida’s probate code uses the term personal representative. Readers often call this role an executor. Fla. Stat. § 731.201 sets out the definitions the code uses.

The difference matters in practice. An individual attorney is a person who can accept the role and answer for its duties. A family should name an individual and confirm that person is willing to serve.

Individual service: what it means for an attorney acting as trustee

An attorney who serves individually takes on the same core duties as any other trustee.

Legal work for the trustee is a separate role from serving as trustee.

Compensation follows the statute. Fla. Stat. § 736.0708 An attorney who prepared or supervised the trust naming them is not entitled to trustee pay, unless the attorney or the person appointed is related to the settlor or the attorney made the required disclosures to the settlor before the trust instrument is executed. This applies to trusts executed by a Florida resident on or after October 1, 2020. Any trustee pay is separate from attorney fees for legal services.

Conflicts of interest when an attorney serves as trustee

An attorney-trustee can face a conflict when the same lawyer later advises on that trust. The question is whether a decision serves the lawyer’s own interest instead of the beneficiaries’.

Whether an exception applies depends on the terms of the governing instrument and the specific facts, and on the governing law.

Privilege also works differently. Communications between a lawyer and a client acting as a fiduciary may be privileged, subject to exceptions under Florida law.

Disputes often start when beneficiaries question a payment or a decision. A review should look at who drafted the trust, whether the trust authorizes the lawyer’s role, and what the lawyer will advise on. The answer depends on the facts.

Alternatives to naming an attorney as trustee

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

These include that, unless specifically disqualified by the terms of the trust instrument, any person, including a family member or friend, is eligible to serve as trustee, and that, if the trust terms do not specify compensation, a trustee is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances, while if the terms specify compensation, the trustee is entitled to be compensated as specified, subject to court adjustment in the circumstances stated in the statute (Fla. Stat. § 736.0708). A trusted relative may know the family well. The trust should still spell out powers and record-keeping.

Co-trustees are another option. Pairing a family member with a neutral co-trustee can balance familiarity and independence.

Florida also regulates trust companies. The Florida Office of Financial Regulation describes non-deposit trust companies as providers of trustee and estate administration services. The Florida Office of Financial Regulation treats family trust companies as a separate category.

Weigh independence, family familiarity, the administration workload and how each option is paid. Trustee pay follows the trust terms and the statute.

How Trust Counsel’s attorneys work with trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries

The firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries in Florida trust and estate matters. Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually as trustee or personal representative. The firm itself does not serve as trustee, personal representative or any other fiduciary.

The firm’s work includes trust administration advice, trust litigation, probate litigation and guardianship matters. It also covers estate tax planning, business succession planning and asset protection.

Leslie V. Marenco is the responsible lawyer for this page. Tanya Vega is also a lawyer at the firm.

Trust Counsel’s only office is in Coral Gables. We serve clients in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton.

Talk with Trust Counsel before naming a lawyer as fiduciary

Before naming a lawyer as trustee or personal representative, review the conflict question first. Families weighing a relative, a co-trustee or an attorney should compare the duties and limits of each.

Trust Counsel offers a free first consultation, confidential and without obligation to continue. Call (305) 707-7126 or schedule online to talk through your trust or estate.