Skip to content
TrusteeClear
Menu
Start the free role check

Executing a Trust termination in Florida

When a Florida Trust ends — most often after the settlor's death, once its purposes are complete — the Trustee's last duties are some of the most consequential: settle what's owed, account to the beneficiaries, distribute what remains, and close the record so it stays closed. Here is the sequence, step by step.

Winding up a Trust and not sure what comes first?

Start the free role check

The closing sequence, in order

  1. Confirm the Trust has actually terminated. The Trust instrument controls — many Florida Trusts continue after a death for a surviving spouse, children, or grandchildren rather than ending.
  2. Bring the records current. The final accounting under §736.08135 closes the books from the last accounting through the distribution date — far easier when the ledger has been kept all along.
  3. Set a reasonable reserve. §736.0817 lets the Trustee hold back enough for debts, administration expenses, and taxes before distributing — distributing first and paying later is how Trustees create personal exposure.
  4. Distribute expeditiously. Once obligations are covered, the same statute expects distribution to proceed without unnecessary delay.
  5. Paper the closing. Receipts and releases from beneficiaries — and Trust disclosure documents that can start limitation periods on claims — are attorney-drafted decisions, not form downloads.
  6. Keep the file. The complete record — notices, accountings, receipts, releases — is the Trustee's protection long after the last check clears.

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.

    Read the statute text (verbatim)

  • 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.

    Read the statute text (verbatim)

  • Distribution on termination

    § 736.0817 ↗

    On termination, the trustee must proceed expeditiously to distribute trust property, subject to retaining a reasonable reserve for debts, expenses, and taxes.

    Read the statute text (verbatim)

Situations that commonly call for a licensed attorney

  • A beneficiary disputes the accounting, or demands distribution before the reserve is set.
  • Florida homestead or other real property is still titled in the Trust.
  • Debts, taxes, or creditor claims are unresolved.
  • The Trust continues for a spouse, a minor, or a beneficiary receiving public benefits.

General information about Florida law, not legal advice.