Trust Administration
Being named successor trustee is a legal responsibility, not an honor. We guide trustees through what Florida law requires so the trust is administered correctly and the trustee is protected.
The trustee's job, done in the right order.
- Trustee notices. The notifications Florida law requires you to send, and the deadlines attached to them.
- Asset collection and retitling. Taking control of trust property and moving it where it needs to go.
- Debts, expenses and taxes. Identifying what has to be paid before anything is distributed.
- Accountings. The records and reporting beneficiaries are entitled to receive.
- Distribution. Carrying out the trust terms and closing the administration cleanly.
- Assets left outside the trust. When funding was incomplete, coordinating the probate that fills the gap.
Why trustees get into trouble
Almost never through dishonesty. It is usually a trustee who distributed early, kept poor records, or never sent a required notice, and then found themselves personally answerable to a beneficiary who wanted an explanation. The work is not difficult when it is sequenced correctly. It becomes difficult when it is improvised.
If you are a trustee now and it has you thinking about your own plan, that is trust-based estate planning.
Common questions
What does a successor trustee actually have to do?
Take control of trust assets, give the notices Florida law requires, identify and address debts and expenses, keep records, account to the beneficiaries, and distribute according to the trust terms. Trustees owe fiduciary duties and can be personally liable for getting it wrong.
Does a trust avoid probate entirely?
A properly funded trust generally avoids probate for the assets titled in it. Assets that were never retitled into the trust may still require probate, which is why funding matters so much during planning.
Do I need a lawyer to administer a trust?
Florida does not require it the way formal probate generally does, but trustees carry fiduciary exposure and the notice and accounting rules are specific. Most trustees want counsel, particularly where there are multiple beneficiaries.
In our clients’ words.
★★★★★
“She also kept the process moving without making us feel rushed to make these big decisions…everything felt very organized and smooth.”