Successor Trustee First Steps in Florida

What is the first thing a successor trustee should do? Read the full trust document before you sign anything, move money, or tell anyone what the trust says. The trust’s terms decide who serves, what authority they have, and what comes next. It’s written for adult children, relatives, and friends who were just named successor trustee after a death or incapacity.

The short answer: read the trust document before you act

The first thing a successor trustee should do is read the complete trust document. Focus on the successor trustee clause, the trustee’s powers, and any instructions about distributions or notice. The trust’s terms control who serves and what they must do next. Start with the signed trust and every amendment. If you don’t have the original, ask the person who kept it or the attorney who prepared it. Hold off on moving or distributing anything until you’ve read the whole document. Write down the date of the death or incapacity and the date you first learned of the trust. Those dates matter for deadlines later. A common mistake is relying on a family member’s memory of what the trust says. Memory often misses an amendment or a condition that changes the answer.

Confirm the death or incapacity and gather your records

Start by confirming the event that opens the role, then collect the records banks will ask for. Florida treats a trustee’s death, resignation, removal, or adjudicated incapacity as a vacancy. A vacancy must be filled if the trust has no remaining trustee, but it need not be filled while a cotrustee stays in office (Fla. Stat. § 736.0704). Order several certified copies of the death certificate. Banks, title companies, and other institutions often ask for one. Find out whether the trust became irrevocable at the settlor’s death and whether a cotrustee is named. Then build a working file. Include the trust and amendments, any will, recent account and property statements, and a list of beneficiaries with current contact details. A complete file makes every later step faster.

Decide whether to accept the role before you act

A successor trustee can accept or decline, and that choice should be deliberate. You accept a trusteeship by substantially complying with any method of acceptance the trust sets out, and if that method is not expressly made exclusive, you can also accept by taking delivery of trust property, exercising powers, performing duties, or otherwise indicating acceptance. If the trust sets no method, or sets one that is not expressly made exclusive, you accept by taking delivery of trust property, exercising powers, performing duties, or otherwise showing that you accept (Fla. Stat. § 736.0701). That means acting can count as accepting. A designated trustee who doesn’t accept within a reasonable time after learning of the role is treated as having declined. If you need to protect property first, the statute allows limited action, but you must send a qualified beneficiary a written statement declining the role within a reasonable time after acting. If the role must be filled, the trust’s named successor comes first. For a noncharitable trust, if the role must be filled, the trust’s named successor comes first, then a person chosen by unanimous agreement of the qualified beneficiaries, and then a person the court appoints (Fla. Stat. § 736.0704). For a charitable trust, the unanimous agreement is of the charitable organizations expressly designated to receive distributions.

Notify the qualified beneficiaries within 60 days

Florida’s trust code sets a 60-day notice deadline for trustees in defined situations. Within 60 days after accepting the trust, the trustee must notify qualified beneficiaries of the acceptance, the trustee’s full name and address, and that the fiduciary lawyer-client privilege applies (Fla. Stat. § 736.0813). For an irrevocable trust, the 60-day clock starts when the trustee learns the trust exists or has become irrevocable. The statute excludes certain older trusts from these notice deadlines, so the trust’s history matters. Section 90.5021 makes communications between a lawyer and a client acting as a fiduciary privileged, to the same extent as if the client were not acting as a fiduciary. The privilege does not limit a trustee’s duty to give a qualified beneficiary a complete copy of the trust instrument upon reasonable request, under Fla. Stat. § 736.0813(1)(c). Keep a dated copy of every notice you send. Beneficiaries who learn of a trust late often have many questions. A clear written notice answers them faster.

Secure and identify the trust property

Secure the trust property first, then make a complete list of it. A trustee must take reasonable steps to control and protect trust property (Fla. Stat. § 736.0809). Start with an inventory. List bank and brokerage accounts, real estate, business interests, vehicles, digital assets, and personal property the trust owns. Check how each asset is titled. Property still in the decedent’s name may need to be addressed through the trust. Keep trust property separate from your own money. Florida law also requires clear, accurate records of the administration (Fla. Stat. § 736.0810). Common early mistakes include depositing trust checks into a personal account, letting insurance lapse on a home, and paying personal bills from trust funds. Questions about whether a successor trustee can access an account in the trust’s name are worth raising with a lawyer before you try.

What a successor trustee owes beneficiaries after the first steps

A trustee must administer the trust in good faith, in line with its terms and the beneficiaries’ interests (Fla. Stat. § 736.0801). The trustee must also act solely in the beneficiaries’ interests (Fla. Stat. § 736.0802). If the trust doesn’t set pay, a trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation under the circumstances (Fla. Stat. § 736.0708). The financial risk is real. A trustee who commits a breach of trust is liable for the greater of the amount needed to restore the trust, or the profit the trustee made from the breach (Fla. Stat. § 736.1002). Write down each major decision and the reason for it.

Common questions

Can a successor trustee refuse to serve in Florida? Yes. A designated trustee may decline, and a designated trustee who does not accept within a reasonable time is treated as having declined (Fla. Stat. § 736.0701).

Is a successor trustee paid in Florida? If the trust doesn’t set compensation, the trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation under the circumstances (Fla. Stat. § 736.0708).

When a dispute can arise during trust administration

A dispute often starts when a beneficiary questions how the trustee handled money or property. Common triggers include a disagreement over an accounting, questions about the trust’s terms, or a long delay in distributions. A successor trustee has some statutory protection against a prior trustee’s actions, but only in listed circumstances. Under Fla. Stat. § 736.08125, a successor trustee is not personally liable for certain prior-trustee actions. One listed circumstance involves an eligible beneficiary who does not send a written request within 6 months after the successor trustee accepts. That applies only if the successor trustee gave written notice of acceptance warning of that deadline. The statute does not affect the prior trustee’s own liability, but under s. 736.10085 a successor trustee’s claim against a prior trustee is barred to the same extent it would be barred if brought by the beneficiary whose interests the successor trustee represents. Read that protection as narrow and fact-specific. Avoid major distributions while questions remain open.

Talk with Trust Counsel about your next steps

If you were just named successor trustee, you may be grieving and making decisions you never expected to make. You don’t need to work through the trust alone. Trust Counsel, PL is a trusts and estates law firm with its only office in Coral Gables, Florida. Leslie V. Marenco is the responsible lawyer for this page. Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually as trustee or personal representative. The firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries. Your first consultation is free, confidential, and comes with no obligation to continue. To talk through your trust document and next steps, call (305) 707-7126 or schedule online.

Frequently Asked Questions