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A Florida successor trustee is the person the trust names to take over when the original trustee dies, resigns or can no longer serve. Accepting is a choice under §736.0701. Once accepted, the role carries the Trust Code's duties of loyalty (§736.0802), impartiality (§736.0803), prudent administration (§736.0804), information (§736.0813) and accounting (§736.08135).
Dernière vérification par rapport aux Florida Statutes et mise à jour : 2026-09-09.
What "successor trustee" means in Florida
Most Florida revocable living trusts name the settlor as the first trustee and then name one or more successors: the person or institution who steps in when the settlor can no longer act, and who administers the trust after the settlor's death. The trust instrument sets the order, and it may name co-successors who serve together, alternates who serve if the first cannot, or a bank or trust company. Nothing about the title is automatic. A named successor holds no power and owes no duty until the trusteeship actually passes and the successor accepts it.
While the settlor is alive and the trust is revocable, the Trust Code is unusually clear about whom the trustee serves: the duties of the trustee are owed exclusively to the settlor (§736.0603). The remainder beneficiaries have no right to notices or accountings during that period, and a successor who steps in during the settlor's incapacity manages the property for the settlor's benefit, under the settlor's plan. At the settlor's death the trust becomes irrevocable, the beneficiaries' rights begin, and the clocks in §736.0813 start.
Accepting, declining, and the reasonable-time rule
Section 736.0701 treats becoming trustee as a decision, not an event. A person named as trustee accepts by substantially complying with a method of acceptance the trust provides or, if the trust provides none, by accepting delivery of the trust property, exercising a trustee's powers or performing a trustee's duties, or by otherwise indicating acceptance. The practical consequence is that acting like a trustee can make someone a trustee, which is why reading the instrument comes before signing anything at a bank.
A named person may decline. A person who does not accept within a reasonable time after knowing of the designation is treated as having rejected the trusteeship, and the statute allows a designated person to inspect or investigate trust property, and to act to preserve it, without accepting, as long as the person sends a rejection within a reasonable time afterward. When a successor declines or a trusteeship is otherwise vacant, §736.0704 fills the vacancy in order: by a person named or designated in the trust, then by a person appointed by unanimous agreement of the qualified beneficiaries, then by a person the court appoints.
Florida does not require a trustee to post a bond unless the trust's terms require one or a court finds one necessary to protect the beneficiaries (§736.0702). An individual successor need not live in Florida; a bank or trust company serving as trustee must be authorized to exercise trust powers here.
Two beginnings: incapacity and death
A successor trusteeship usually begins in one of two ways, and they are not the same job. When the settlor becomes incapacitated, most trust instruments spell out how that is established, often by written statements from one or two physicians, and the successor then manages the trust property for the settlor: paying the settlor's bills, keeping the house and the insurance, coordinating with the agent under the settlor's durable power of attorney and the health care surrogate. The trust stays revocable, the settlor can still amend it if capacity returns, and the duties run to the settlor alone (§736.0603).
When the settlor dies, the trust becomes irrevocable and the successor's work changes character. The beneficiaries acquire the right to be informed and to receive accountings (§736.0813, §736.08135), the notice of trust is filed with the court (§736.05055), creditors of the settlor can look to the trust for what the probate estate cannot pay (§736.05053), and the trustee's job becomes collecting, protecting, valuing, paying and eventually distributing. The first ninety days after a death have their own guide.
The duties that come with the role
Part VIII of the Florida Trust Code, §§736.0801 through 736.0817, is the trustee's job description, and a successor who has read it once will recognize almost every later question as one of these duties in a particular costume.
- Administer the trust in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and in the interests of the beneficiaries (§736.0801).
- Loyalty: administer the trust solely in the beneficiaries' interests; a transaction between the trustee personally and the trust is voidable unless the terms, the court, the beneficiaries or the statute allow it (§736.0802).
- Impartiality among beneficiaries with different interests, giving due regard to each (§736.0803).
- Prudent administration: the care, skill and caution of a prudent person, and Florida's prudent investor rule for investments (§736.0804, chapter 518).
- Costs that are reasonable in relation to the property, the purposes and the trustee's skills (§736.0805); a trustee with special skills is held to them (§736.0806).
- Delegation only with care in selecting, instructing and monitoring the agent (§736.0807).
- Control and protect the property (§736.0809); keep clear, distinct and accurate records and keep trust property separate (§736.0810).
- Enforce claims of the trust and defend against claims (§736.0811); collect trust property and redress a predecessor's breach the trustee knows of (§736.0812).
- Inform and account: the notices and the annual accounting to qualified beneficiaries (§736.0813, §736.08135).
- Exercise discretionary powers in good faith and in accordance with the terms and purposes of the trust (§736.0814), using the powers the instrument and §736.0816 provide (§736.0815).
- On termination, distribute expeditiously, subject to a reasonable reserve (§736.0817).
First steps before acting
Whatever the beginning, the first steps look alike: find and read the trust and every amendment; decide to accept, in writing where the trust asks for it; take reasonable control of the property; open the trust's own account; and write down what the trust owns and how each asset is titled, because title decides what is trust property and what is not. After a death, the two 60-day notices and the notice of trust follow. The table below collects the clocks the statutes give a Florida trustee; the after-death guide walks through the first ninety days in order.
Délais du trustee en Floride : ce que prévoient les lois
Vérifié par rapport aux Florida Statutes le 2026-09-15. Information générale, pas un avis juridique ; le texte officiel fait foi.
| Quand | Délai | Ce que prévoit la loi | À qui | Loi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You are named successor trustee | No fixed clock. Acting as trustee can itself be an acceptance, and a person who does not accept within a reasonable time is treated as having declined. | Decide whether to accept the trusteeship — by the method the trust names, or by taking delivery of trust property or doing a trustee's work. | — | §736.0701 ↗ |
| You accept | At once; the statute gives no day-count. | Take reasonable steps to take control of and protect the trust property — accounts, real estate, records, insurance. | — | §736.0809 ↗ |
| You accept | Within a reasonable time after acceptance. | Review the trust's investment assets and decide what to keep and what to sell under Florida's prudent investor rule. | — | §518.11(1) ↗ |
| You accept | Within 60 days after acceptance. | Give notice of the acceptance, your full name and address, and that the fiduciary lawyer-client privilege of §90.5021 applies to you and any attorney you employ. | Each qualified beneficiary | §736.0813(1)(a) ↗ |
| You learn the trust has become irrevocable (usually the settlor's death) | Within 60 days after acquiring that knowledge. | Give notice of the trust's existence, the settlor's identity, the right to request a copy of the trust instrument, the right to accountings, and the §90.5021 privilege. | Each qualified beneficiary | §736.0813(1)(b) ↗ |
| The settlor dies | Upon the death; the statute names no day-count. | File a notice of trust stating the settlor's name and date of death, the trust's title and date, and your name and address. | The court of the county where the settlor lived (and the court handling the estate, if one is open) | §736.05055 ↗ |
| The trust becomes irrevocable | Before the trust receives income or files under its own number. | Obtain the trust's employer identification number; a revocable trust used the settlor's Social Security number, and that stops at death. | — | IRS Form SS-4 ↗Fédéral |
| A qualified beneficiary asks | Upon reasonable request. | Provide a complete copy of the trust instrument, and relevant information about the trust's assets, liabilities and administration. | The qualified beneficiary who asked | §736.0813(1)(c), (e) ↗ |
| The settlor dies | Claims against the decedent are barred two years after death. A probate notice to creditors shortens the window to three months after first publication (30 days after service for a creditor who must be served). | Keep a reasonable reserve until the creditor window has closed; distributing everything early is how a trustee ends up paying a claim personally. | — | §733.710, §733.702 ↗ |
| The probate estate cannot pay its expenses and claims | When the personal representative certifies the amount in writing. | Pay the personal representative the amounts certified as required for the expenses of administration and the obligations of the settlor's estate. | The personal representative | §736.05053 ↗ |
| Each year the trust is irrevocable; the trust terminates; the trustee changes | At least annually, and on termination and on a change of trustee. | Give a trust accounting that shows what came in, what went out, what remains, and the compensation paid to the trustee and its agents, from the last accounting forward. | Each qualified beneficiary | §736.0813(1)(d), §736.08135 ↗ |
| You send an accounting or other trust disclosure document | A claim on a matter the document adequately discloses is barred six months after receipt when a limitation notice accompanies it; without one, the chapter 95 period runs from the disclosure. | Include a limitation notice with the disclosure if the six-month bar is wanted; the statute prescribes its wording. | The beneficiaries who receive the document | §736.1008 ↗ |
| You send a person a copy of the trust instrument with a notice of the trust's existence, your name and address, and the time allowed to contest | An action to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death is barred six months after that notice is sent, unless sooner barred by adjudication, consent or limitations. | Send the copy and the notice to anyone who might contest the trust if the six-month bar is wanted; the statute prescribes what the notice states. | Each person who might contest the trust | §736.0604 ↗ |
| The decedent dies | Nine months after death; a six-month extension is available. | File the federal estate tax return when the gross estate exceeds the filing threshold, or to elect portability for a surviving spouse. Florida has no estate tax. | — | IRS Form 706 ↗Fédéral |
| The trust's tax year ends | The 15th day of the fourth month after year-end (April 15 for a calendar-year trust). | File the trust's income tax return and issue a Schedule K-1 to each beneficiary who received distributable income. | — | IRS Form 1041 ↗Fédéral |
| A trustee wants to step down | At least 30 days' notice, or the court's approval. | Give notice of the resignation; the trustee's duties continue until a successor is in place. | The qualified beneficiaries, the settlor if living, and all co-trustees | §736.0705 ↗ |
| The trust terminates | Expeditiously, after paying or reserving for debts, expenses and taxes; the statute names no day-count. | Distribute the trust property to the persons entitled to it; the final accounting and the beneficiaries' receipts close the file. | The beneficiaries entitled to the property | §736.0817 ↗ |
| You, the settlor or a qualified beneficiary make a written demand on a person designated as trust director to accept or confirm acceptance of the directorship, with a written copy to the trustees | The statute has the designated trust director deliver a written acceptance, acknowledgment of prior acceptance or declination “within 60 days after receipt of such demand.” | Keep the demand and the written response with the trust records; the statute directs the response to all trustees, the qualified beneficiaries, and the settlor if living. | All trustees, qualified beneficiaries, and the settlor if living | §736.1416 ↗ |
| A trust accounting or other written report of the trustee or of a trust director goes to the beneficiaries in a directed trust | An action against a trust director for breach of trust “must be commenced within the same limitation period” as an action against a trustee under §736.1008, and the accounting or written report “has the same effect on the limitation period.” | The §736.1008 disclosure and limitation-notice rules carry over to the trust director; the §736.1008 row above shows the periods. | The beneficiaries who receive the document | §736.1413 ↗ |
Co-trustees, professional help, and delegation
When the trust names co-successors, §736.0703 governs how they act: a majority decides when they cannot agree, unless the terms provide otherwise; a co-trustee who dissents and records the dissent is generally not liable for the majority's action; and a co-trustee who is absent or unable to act may be replaced in the decision by the others as the statute describes. Splitting tasks is common, but each co-trustee keeps the duty to prevent a serious breach by the others.
A trustee is not expected to be an accountant, an appraiser or a lawyer. The trustee's powers include employing them and paying reasonable compensation from the trust (§736.0816), and §736.1007 sets a presumption of reasonableness for the fee of an attorney who serves the trustee in administering a revocable trust after the settlor's death, together with the written disclosures a fee agreement must make. Delegating an investment or management function is allowed under §736.0807 when the trustee exercises care in choosing the agent, setting the terms and monitoring the work; what cannot be delegated is the trustee's own judgment about the trust.
Compensation, liability, and the ways trustees get into trouble
A trustee is entitled to compensation. If the trust specifies it, the terms control; if the trust is silent, §736.0708 allows compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances, and a trustee is entitled to reimbursement of expenses properly incurred (§736.0709). Because paying oneself is a transaction with the trust, trustees who set a rate, keep time, disclose it to the beneficiaries and show it in the accounting rarely have a problem; trustees who take money without a record often do.
A breach of a duty is a breach of trust, and the remedies in §736.1001 include compelling the trustee to perform, enjoining a breach, ordering the trustee to restore the property or pay for the loss, and removing the trustee. The recurring breaches are mundane: distributing before debts and taxes are known, mixing trust money with personal money, ignoring the 60-day notices, dealing with trust property for personal advantage, and keeping no records. Each has a section above, and each is avoidable by a trustee who reads the instrument, keeps the record and asks before acting.
When a licensed Florida attorney is the right next call
TrusteeClear organizes the record; it does not give legal advice and it does not decide any of these questions for you. Many successor trustees bring the record to a licensed Florida attorney of their choosing at the points where the general rules run out: whether to accept a trusteeship that comes with a business, a lawsuit or a contested family; who the qualified beneficiaries are; a homestead; a creditor's claim; a distribution the trust's terms leave unclear; and their own compensation. A record that already lists the assets, the titles, the dates and the notices makes that conversation a short one.
Questions fréquentes
Who can be a successor trustee in Florida?
Generally any adult capable of managing property, whether or not they live in Florida, or a bank or trust company authorized to exercise trust powers in Florida. The trust instrument names the successor and the order of succession; when it does not, §736.0704 fills the vacancy by the beneficiaries' unanimous agreement or by the court. This is general information, not legal advice.
Does a Florida successor trustee have to post a bond?
Generally no. Under §736.0702 a trustee gives bond only if the court finds one is needed to protect the beneficiaries or the trust's terms require it and the court has not dispensed with it.
Can a successor trustee also be a beneficiary?
Yes, and it is common. A trustee who is also a beneficiary owes the same duties of loyalty (§736.0802) and impartiality (§736.0803) to the other beneficiaries, so decisions that favor the trustee's own share are the ones to document most carefully and, often, to disclose in advance.
What happens if the named successor trustee does not want the job?
The person may decline, and a person who does not accept within a reasonable time is treated as declining (§736.0701). The vacancy is then filled under §736.0704: by the next person the trust names, otherwise by a person the qualified beneficiaries unanimously appoint, otherwise by the court.
Does a successor trustee need a lawyer?
Florida law does not require one for a trust administration. Many trustees engage a licensed Florida attorney of their choosing for the parts that are not general, and the trust may pay a reasonable fee for that work (§736.0816); for administering a revocable trust after the settlor's death, §736.1007 presumes a fee computed from the probate schedule to be reasonable and requires written disclosures.
How does a successor trustee prove authority to a bank?
Usually with a certification of trust under §736.1017, which states the trust's existence and date, the settlor, the trustee and the trustee's powers without disclosing the whole instrument, together with a certified death certificate and, where the trust requires one, the written acceptance or the physician statements establishing the prior trustee's incapacity.
Dispositions clés du Code des fiducies de la Floride
Accepting or declining trusteeship
§ 736.0701 ↗A person accepts trusteeship by substantially complying with the trust's method, or by accepting property, exercising powers, or performing duties. Limited preservation acts may not constitute acceptance.
Lire le texte de la loi (mot pour mot)
Cotrustees
§ 736.0703 ↗Addresses how cotrustees act (often by majority), vacancies, inability to act, and dissenting-cotrustee protections.
Lire le texte de la loi (mot pour mot)
Trustee compensation
§ 736.0708 ↗If the trust does not specify, the trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation.
Lire le texte de la loi (mot pour mot)
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