Title XLII, Estates and Trusts

(1) Notwithstanding the breadth of discretion granted to a trustee in the terms of the trust, including the use of such terms as “absolute,” “sole,” or “uncontrolled,” the trustee shall exercise a discretionary power in good faith and in accordance with the terms and purposes of …

(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided under the terms of a trust, if all or any portion of the trust is treated as being owned by a person under s. 671 of the Internal Revenue Code or any similar federal, state, or other tax law, the trustee may, in the trustee’s sole discretion, r…

If a will or trust instrument granting income to the settlor’s or testator’s spouse for life is silent as to the time of distribution of income and the frequency of distributions, the trustee shall distribute all net income, as defined in chapter 738, to the spouse no less freque…

(1) A trustee, without authorization by the court, may, except as limited or restricted by this code, exercise:(a) Powers conferred by the terms of the trust.(b) Except as limited by the terms of the trust:1. All powers over the trust property that an unmarried competent owner ha…

Except as limited or restricted by this code, a trustee may:(1) Collect trust property and accept or reject additions to the trust property from a settlor, including an asset in which the trustee is personally interested, and hold property in the name of a nominee or in other for…

(1) From the creation of a trust until final distribution of the assets from the trust, the trustee has, without court authorization, the powers specified in subsection (2).(2) Unless otherwise provided in the trust instrument, a trustee has the power, acting reasonably, to:(a) I…

(1) Pending the outcome of a proceeding filed to determine the validity of all or part of a trust or the beneficiaries of all or part of a trust, the trustee shall proceed with the administration of the trust as if no proceeding had been commenced, except no action may be taken a…

Upon the occurrence of an event terminating or partially terminating a trust, the trustee shall proceed expeditiously to distribute the trust property to the persons entitled to the property, subject to the right of the trustee to retain a reasonable reserve for the payment of de…

A trustee shall invest trust property in accordance with chapter 518.History.—s. 9, ch. 2006-217.

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 518.11 or s. 736.0804, with respect to any contract for life insurance acquired or retained on the life of a qualified person, a trustee has no duty to:(a) Determine whether the contract of life insurance is or was procured or effected in …

(1) A violation by a trustee of a duty the trustee owes to a beneficiary is a breach of trust.(2) To remedy a breach of trust that has occurred or may occur, the court may:(a) Compel the trustee to perform the trustee’s duties;(b) Enjoin the trustee from committing a breach of tr…

(1) A trustee who commits a breach of trust is liable for the greater of:(a) The amount required to restore the value of the trust property and trust distributions to what they would have been if the breach had not occurred, including lost income, capital gain, or appreciation th…

Absent a breach of trust, a trustee is not liable to a beneficiary for a loss or depreciation in the value of trust property or for not having made a profit.History.—s. 10, ch. 2006-217.

(1)(a) In all actions for breach of fiduciary duty or challenging the exercise of, or failure to exercise, a trustee’s powers; and(b) In proceedings arising under ss. 736.0410-736.0417,the court shall award taxable costs as in chancery actions, including attorney fees and guardia…

(1) Any attorney who has rendered services to a trust may be awarded reasonable compensation from the trust. The attorney may apply to the court for an order awarding attorney fees and, after notice and service on the trustee and all beneficiaries entitled to an accounting under …

(1) In all trust proceedings, costs may be awarded as in chancery actions.(2) If costs are to be paid from the trust under subsection (1) or s. 733.106(4)(a), the court, in its discretion, may direct from what part of the trust the costs shall be paid. All or any part of the cost…

(1)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (d), if the trustee of a revocable trust retains an attorney to render legal services in connection with the initial administration of the trust, the attorney is entitled to reasonable compensation for those legal services, payable from the …

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), all claims by a beneficiary against a trustee for breach of trust are barred as provided in chapter 95 as to:(a) All matters adequately disclosed in a trust disclosure document issued by the trustee or a trust director, with the limitatio…

1(1) A trustee who is in substantial compliance with the duty to inform and account under s. 736.0813 may obtain a settlement of his or her accounts and be discharged pursuant to this section when either of the following occurs 6 months after the trustee’s acceptance:(a) The trus…

An action or claim by a successor trustee or other person acting on behalf of the trust against a prior trustee is barred to the same extent that the action or claim would be barred if brought by the beneficiary whose interests are represented by the successor trustee or other pe…

A trustee who acts in reasonable reliance on the terms of the trust as expressed in the trust instrument is not liable to a beneficiary for a breach of trust to the extent the breach resulted from the reliance.History.—s. 10, ch. 2006-217.

If the happening of an event, including marriage, divorce, performance of educational requirements, or death, affects the administration or distribution of a trust, a trustee who has exercised reasonable care to ascertain the happening of the event is not liable for a loss result…

(1) A term of a trust relieving a trustee of liability for breach of trust is unenforceable to the extent that the term:(a) Relieves the trustee of liability for breach of trust committed in bad faith or with reckless indifference to the purposes of the trust or the interests of …

A trustee is not liable to a beneficiary for breach of trust if the beneficiary consented to the conduct constituting the breach, released the trustee from liability for the breach, or ratified the transaction constituting the breach, unless:(1) The consent, release, or ratificat…

(1) Except as otherwise provided in the contract, a trustee is not personally liable on a contract properly entered into in the trustee’s fiduciary capacity in the course of administering the trust if the trustee in the contract disclosed the fiduciary capacity.(2) A trustee is p…

(1) After the death of a settlor, no creditor of the settlor may bring, maintain, or continue any direct action against a trust described in s. 733.707(3), the trustee of the trust, or any beneficiary of the trust that is dependent on the individual liability of the settlor. Such…

(1) Unless personal liability is imposed in the contract, a trustee who holds an interest as a general partner in a general or limited partnership is not personally liable on a contract entered into by the partnership after the trust’s acquisition of the interest if the fiduciary…

(1) A person other than a beneficiary who in good faith assists a trustee or who in good faith and for value deals with a trustee, without knowledge that the trustee is exceeding or improperly exercising the trustee’s powers, is protected from liability as if the trustee properly…

(1) Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust containing the following information:(a) The trust exists and the date the trust instrument was executed.(b) The identity …

Any person who received a distribution or was paid improperly from a trust shall return the assets or funds received and the income from those assets or interest on the funds from the date of distribution or payment unless the distribution or payment cannot be questioned because …

Except as provided in s. 736.0105(2):(1) The intent of the settlor as expressed in the terms of the trust controls the legal effect of the dispositions made in the trust.(2) The rules of construction as expressed in this part shall apply unless a contrary intent is indicated by t…

The laws used to determine paternity and relationships for the purposes of intestate succession apply when determining whether class gift terminology and terms of relationship include adopted persons and persons born out of wedlock.History.—s. 11, ch. 2006-217; s. 17, ch. 2010-13…

Class gifts to descendants, issue, and other multigeneration classes shall be per stirpes.History.—s. 11, ch. 2006-217.

(1) A beneficiary of a trust who unlawfully and intentionally kills or unlawfully and intentionally participates in procuring the death of the settlor or another person on whose death such beneficiary’s interest depends, is not entitled to any trust interest, including homestead,…

(1) Neither subsequent marriage, birth, nor adoption of descendants shall revoke the revocable trust of any person.(2) Any provision of a revocable trust that affects the settlor’s spouse is void upon dissolution of the marriage of the settlor and the spouse, whether the marriage…

(1) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Beneficiary” means the beneficiary of a future interest and includes a class member if the future interest is in the form of a class gift.(b) “Distribution date,” with respect to a future interest, means the time when the future interest…

A gift of specific securities, rather than their equivalent value, entitles the beneficiary only to:(1) As much of the gifted securities of the same issuer held by the trust estate at the time of the occurrence of the event entitling the beneficiary to distribution.(2) Any additi…

(1) A provision in a trust instrument purporting to penalize any interested person for contesting the trust instrument or instituting other proceedings relating to a trust estate or trust assets is unenforceable.(2) This section applies to trusts created on or after October 1, 19…

(1) If a devise of homestead under a trust violates the limitations on the devise of homestead in s. 4(c), Art. X of the State Constitution, title shall pass as provided in s. 732.401 at the moment of death.(2) A power of sale or general direction to pay debts, expenses, and clai…

(1) Property devised to or from a revocable trust which a settlor gave to a donee during the settlor’s lifetime or which is distributed from a revocable trust to a donee during the settlor’s lifetime is to be treated as a satisfaction of a devise to that donee, in whole or in par…

As used in this part:(1) “Charitable organization” means an organization described in s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and exempt from tax under s. 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.(2) “Delivery of notice” means delivery of a written notice required under this part us…

Except as otherwise provided in the trust, the provisions of this part apply to all private foundation trusts and split interest trusts, whether created or established before or after November 1, 1971, and to all trust assets acquired by the trustee before or after November 1, 19…

Except as provided in s. 736.1205, the trustee of a private foundation trust or a split interest trust has the duties and powers conferred on the trustee by this part.History.—s. 12, ch. 2006-217.

(1) In the exercise of a trustee’s powers, including the powers granted by this part, a trustee has a duty to act with due regard to the trustee’s obligation as a fiduciary, including a duty not to exercise any power in such a way as to:(a) Deprive the trust of an otherwise avail…

In the case of a power to make distributions, if the trustee determines that the governing instrument contains provisions that are more restrictive than s. 736.1204(2), or if the trust contains other powers, inconsistent with the provisions of s. 736.1204(3) that specifically dir…

(1) In the case of a trust that is solely for a named charitable organization or organizations and for which the trustee does not possess any discretion concerning the distribution of income or principal among two or more such organizations, the trustee may amend the governing in…