{"id":5891,"date":"2026-10-28T05:10:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T05:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustcounsel.com\/resources\/trust-litigation-attorney\/florida-statute-736-0813-trustee-report\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T07:50:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T07:50:02","slug":"florida-statute-736-0813-trustee-report","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/trustcounsel.com\/resources\/trust-litigation-attorney\/florida-statute-736-0813-trustee-report\/","title":{"rendered":"736.0813 Trustee Duty to Inform Florida Beneficiaries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Florida Trust Law | Coral Gables<\/p>

Trustee Duty to Inform: Clear Answers for Florida Beneficiaries<\/h1>

Trust Counsel, PL focuses on trust and estate matters in Florida. The firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries. Your first consultation is free, confidential and without obligation to continue.<\/p>

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By Leslie V. Marenco \u00b7 Published October 28, 2026<\/p>\n\n

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Florida’s main trustee reporting rule is Fla. Stat. \u00a7 736.0813<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

Responsible attorney: Leslie V. Marenco, Trust Counsel, PL, Coral Gables, Florida.<\/p>\n

What Florida Statute 736.0813 Says About a Trustee’s Duty to Inform<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n\n

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If a trustee has not kept you informed about a trust you're named in, you don't have to sort it out alone. Our team at Trust Counsel, PL can talk through your options. Talk it through with Trust Counsel, PL — the first consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation.<\/p>

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Who Counts as a Qualified Beneficiary<\/h2>\n

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. \u00a7 736.0103<\/a> sets out that definition.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The 60-Day Notices After Acceptance and Irrevocability<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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. \u00a7 736.0813<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

The Trustee’s Annual Accounting: What It Must Cover<\/h2>\n

The trustee must also give one on termination of the trust or on a change of trustee. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 736.0813<\/a> sets this duty.<\/p>\n

The accounting has a defined form. Fla. Stat. \u00a7 736.08135<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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. \u00a7 736.0813<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

Requesting a Copy of the Trust and Other Information<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

A clear, written request works best. Include these points:<\/p>\n