What must a Florida trust accounting include?

Generally, a §736.08135 trust accounting shows the trust's assets and liabilities, its receipts and disbursements, and any compensation paid — in enough detail for a beneficiary to understand the administration during the accounting period.

How often must a Florida trustee provide an accounting?

Generally, a trustee of an irrevocable trust must provide a trust accounting at least annually, on the trust's termination, and on a change of trustee, to each qualified beneficiary (§736.08135) — unless the requirement is properly waived.

Who is entitled to a Florida trust accounting?

Generally, the qualified beneficiaries defined in §736.0103 are entitled to a trust accounting. Exactly who qualifies depends on the trust terms and the facts — a good question for attorney review. This is general information, not legal advice.

Florida Trust Accounting — A Trustee's Duty to Account

Florida Trust accounting

A Florida Trustee generally must keep clear records and provide a Trust accounting to qualified beneficiaries — at least annually, on termination of the Trust, and on a change of Trustee. A compliant accounting has specific content requirements, so good record-keeping from day one makes this far easier.

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The governing provisions

Duty to inform and account
§ 736.0813 ↗
The trustee must keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed, including 60-day notice duties after acceptance and after a formerly revocable trust becomes irrevocable due to the settlor's death, plus trust-copy and accounting rights.
Trust accountings
§ 736.08135 ↗
A trust accounting must be a reasonably understandable report identifying the trust, trustee, and period; cash and property transactions; assets and liabilities; and income/principal allocation.

Good practices

Open a dedicated Trust account; never commingle Trust funds with your own.
Keep every receipt and record each disbursement as it happens.
Track assets at date-of-death (or trust-funding) values and current values.
Document the reason for each distribution and keep beneficiary communications.

Florida Trust accounting

The governing provisions

Duty to inform and account

Trust accountings

Good practices

Related reading

Frequently asked questions