Pursuant to Section 736.0813 and 736.08135, a trustee has a statutory duty to keep the qualified beneficiaries of the trust reasonably informed of the trust and its administration. The Florida Trust Code defines “qualified beneficiary” as a living beneficiary who is a current distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principle; would be a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal if the interests of the current distributees or permissible distributees terminated without causing the trust to terminate; or would be a distributee or permissible distribute of trust income or principal if the trust terminated immediately in accordance with its terms.
A trustee owes the following duties to inform and account to all qualified beneficiaries:
- Within 60 days of acceptance of the trust, the trustee must give notice of the acceptance of the trust; the full name and address of the trustee; and that the attorney-client privilege applies with respect to the trustee and any attorney employed by the trustee;
- Within 60 days after the date the trustee acquires knowledge of the creation of an irrevocable trust, or the date the trustee acquires knowledge that a formerly revocable trust has become irrevocable, whether by the death of the settlor or otherwise, the trustee shall give notice to the qualified beneficiaries of the trust’s existence, the identity of the settlor or settlors, the right to request a copy of the trust instrument, the right to annual accountings; and that the attorney-client privilege applies with respect to the trustee and any attorney employed by the trustee;
- The trustee must provide a qualified beneficiary with a complete copy of the trust instrument, upon reasonable request;
- A trustee of an irrevocable trust shall provide a trust accounting to each qualified beneficiary at least annually, and on termination of the trust or on change of the trustee;
- A trustee must provide a qualified beneficiary with relevant information about the assets and liabilities of the trust, and the particulars relating to administration, upon reasonable request.
For more information on the responsibilities of a trustee, contact a Miami trust administration lawyer at Hoffman & Hoffman, P.A. today for a free consultation.
