Trust administration after death in Florida: successor trustee duties, notices and deadlines

When the settlor of a revocable trust dies, the trust becomes irrevocable and the successor trustee must administer it “in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries, and in accordance with this code” (§ 736.0801, Fla. Stat. (2026)). A trust “is not subject to continuing judicial supervision unless ordered by the court,” and the court intervenes “to the extent the court's jurisdiction is invoked by an interested person or as provided by law” (§ 736.0201(2), (3)). The trustee still has statutory notice, reporting, record-keeping, creditor and tax duties, and the first deadline is 60 days.

This page orders those duties as steps and tables. Every rule links to the Florida Statutes (2026) or an IRS page. The Sources section lists each one, last checked October 17, 2026.

• Within 60 days: notice to the qualified beneficiaries that the trust exists and became irrevocable, and notice of acceptance of the trusteeship (§ 736.0813(1)(a), (b)).
• After death: the trustee of a revocable trust described in § 733.707(3) must file a notice of trust with the court of the settlor's county of domicile (§ 736.05055). It is required, not optional.
• Creditors: the trust is liable for the settlor's estate expenses and obligations to the extent the probate estate cannot pay them (§ 733.707(3), § 736.05053).
• Taxes: a new EIN for the trust, Form 1041 when income thresholds are met, and Form 706 when the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts and specific gift tax exemption exceeds the filing threshold ($15,000,000 for 2026), or to elect portability (Table 2).
• Reports: an accounting to qualified beneficiaries at least annually and at termination (§ 736.0813(1)(d)).

Trustee deadlines and filings

The statutory clocks start on the dates in Table 1. “Qualified beneficiary” means a living beneficiary who is, or would be if the trust terminated on that date or in accordance with its terms, a distributee or permissible distributee of income or principal (§ 736.0103(19)).

Steps for the successor trustee

The steps below follow the order in which the duties arise. The statutes do not require this exact order.

• 1. Accept or decline. A designated trustee accepts by substantially following the method in the trust, or if the trust gives none, by accepting delivery of trust property, exercising powers or performing duties as trustee. A designated trustee who has not accepted may decline, and one who does not accept within a reasonable time after learning of the designation is deemed to have declined (§ 736.0701(1), (2)). Without accepting, a designated trustee may act to preserve trust property if, within a reasonable time, the person sends a qualified beneficiary a written statement declining (§ 736.0701(3)(a)). Bond is required only if the court finds it needed or the trust requires it and the court has not dispensed with it (§ 736.0702(1)).
• 2. Collect the documents. The trust instrument and all amendments, certified copies of the death certificate, account statements as of the date of death, and deeds and titles. Instead of the full instrument, the trustee may give a bank or other third party a certification of trust stating that the trust exists, its date, the settlor, the trustee and address, the trustee's powers, whether it is revocable, the authority of cotrustees and how title is taken. The certification need not contain the dispositive terms. A recipient may require excerpts that name the trustee and give the power to act, and a person who relies on the certification without knowledge that it is wrong is not liable (§ 736.1017).
• 3. Send the Table 1 notices. Identify the qualified beneficiaries under § 736.0103(19), then send the acceptance notice and the notice that the trust became irrevocable within 60 days (§ 736.0813(1)(a), (b)). Keep proof of the date and method of delivery. A notice that also gives a copy of the instrument and the time allowed starts the 6-month period for a trust contest (§ 736.0604).
• 4. File the notice of trust. File it with the clerk in the settlor's county of domicile, in the probate file if one exists (§ 736.05055(1), (4)). Contents are listed in Table 1. Any proceeding affecting the settlor's estate expenses and obligations before the notice is filed binds the trustee (§ 736.05055(6)).
• 5. Take control and protect the property. The trustee “shall take reasonable steps to take control of and protect the trust property” (§ 736.0809), keeps “clear, distinct, and accurate records,” keeps trust property separate from the trustee's own, and designates trust property so its interest appears in records kept by a party other than the trustee or a beneficiary (§ 736.0810(1)-(3)). Open an account titled in the trust's name and run every receipt and payment through it. The trustee's powers to collect, sell, lease, borrow and insure property are listed in § 736.0816.
• 6. Get the tax identification and notify the IRS. The IRS lists “a revocable trust that changes to an irrevocable trust” among the cases that need a new EIN (IRS, When to get a new EIN). Form 56 gives the IRS notice of the creation or termination of a fiduciary relationship (IRS, About Form 56).
• 7. Value the assets at the date of death and identify debts. Table 2 lists the federal returns that depend on those values. Pay expenses reasonable in relation to the trust property, the purposes of the trust and the trustee's skills (§ 736.0805).
• 8. Handle creditors through the estate rules. See the creditor section below.
• 9. Distribute and account. Follow the trust's terms (§ 736.0801), act impartially among beneficiaries (§ 736.0803), and distribute expeditiously on termination while keeping a reserve (§ 736.0817). The final accounting must include a plan of distribution for any undistributed assets (§ 736.08135(2)(f)).

Debts and claims against the settlor

A trust does not run a separate creditor period of its own. Claims against the decedent are filed in the settlor's probate estate, and a claim is barred unless filed by the later of 3 months after first publication of the notice to creditors or 30 days after service on a creditor required to be served (§ 733.702(1)). Two years after death the estate, the personal representative and the beneficiaries are not liable for claims against the decedent, whether or not letters were issued, with exceptions for creditors who filed timely and for recorded liens (§ 733.710).

A revocable trust is liable for the estate's expenses and obligations to the extent the estate is insufficient (§ 733.707(3)). The personal representative may certify in writing the amount needed, and the trustee “shall pay” it from the trust assets described in the statute (§ 733.607(2); § 736.05053(1)). Unless the settlor directed otherwise, the estate's expenses and obligations are paid from the trust in this order: residue first, then property not distributed from identified property, then property distributed from identified property (§ 736.05053(2)). The trustee pays expenses of trust administration, including trustee and attorney compensation, before the estate's expenses and obligations (§ 736.05053(4)).

Payments in the estate follow the order in § 733.707(1): costs and administration expenses first, reasonable funeral and burial expenses up to $6,000 in the aggregate second, then taxes and debts with federal preference, the last 60 days of medical and hospital expenses, and later classes. See probate vs. trust administration and personal representative duties.

Federal and Florida tax filings

Table 2 lists the returns and their IRS sources. Florida imposes no estate tax for deaths after December 31, 2004 (Florida Department of Revenue, Florida Estate Tax; Art. VII, § 5(a), Fla. Const.).

Duties that apply throughout

• Loyalty. The trustee administers the trust “solely in the interests of the beneficiaries.” A transaction affected by a conflict between fiduciary and personal interests is voidable by an affected beneficiary unless an exception applies, such as authorization in the trust, court approval, or the beneficiary's consent or release. A sale or other transaction with the trustee's spouse, descendants, siblings, parents, their spouses, or the trustee's attorney, agent or employee is presumed to be affected by a conflict (§ 736.0802(1)-(3)).
• Impartiality. With two or more beneficiaries, the trustee acts impartially and gives due regard to their respective interests (§ 736.0803).
• Prudence. The trustee administers the trust as a prudent person would, with reasonable care, skill and caution (§ 736.0804).
• Information. The trustee keeps the qualified beneficiaries “reasonably informed of the trust and its administration” (§ 736.0813).

Compensation and attorney fees

If the trust does not specify compensation, the trustee is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances. If the trust specifies it, the trustee takes the specified amount, but the court may allow more or less if the duties are substantially different from those contemplated or the amount would be unreasonably low or high (§ 736.0708(1), (2)). A trustee who renders other services in administering the trust is also allowed reasonable compensation for them (§ 736.0708(3)).

No statute requires a trustee to hire an attorney. Fla. Prob. R. 5.030(a) requires attorney representation for guardians and personal representatives, and it does not name trustees. If the trustee of a revocable trust retains an attorney for the initial administration, the attorney is entitled to reasonable compensation from trust assets without court order, and 75 percent of the schedule in § 733.6171(3), applied to the value of the trust assets immediately after the settlor's death plus income earned in the initial administration, is presumed reasonable for ordinary services (§ 736.1007(1)(a), (2)). An attorney who charges on that schedule must give five written disclosures, including that “There is not a mandatory statutory attorney fee for trust administration,” and must obtain the trustee's signed acknowledgment. Without them, the attorney cannot be paid without court approval or the written consent of the trustee and all qualified beneficiaries (§ 736.1007(1)(b)-(d)).

Homestead held in the trust

If the settlor owned Florida homestead and is survived by a spouse or minor child, the Florida Constitution limits who can receive it. For that purpose the settlor is treated as the owner of homestead held in a trust described in § 733.707(3), and a disposition by trust counts as a devise (§ 732.4015(2); Art. X, § 4(c), Fla. Const.). An interested person may petition to determine the protected homestead status of real property owned by the trustee of that trust (Fla. Prob. R. 5.405(a)), and the proceeding may be filed in the settlor's probate case (§ 736.0201(7)). See determination of homestead and what a homestead protects.

When the trustee cannot or will not serve

• Resignation. A trustee may resign by the procedure in the trust and notice to the cotrustees or successor trustee, or on at least 30 days' notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the settlor if living, and all cotrustees, or with court approval. Resignation does not discharge liability for earlier acts (§ 736.0705).
• Removal. The settlor, a cotrustee or a beneficiary may ask the court to remove a trustee, and the court may remove a trustee for a serious breach of trust, cotrustee lack of cooperation that substantially impairs administration, unfitness, unwillingness or persistent failure to administer effectively, or a substantial change of circumstances meeting the statute's conditions (§ 736.0706).
• Court proceedings. A judicial proceeding about a trust starts with a complaint under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and may cover validity, administration, distribution, trustee fees, accountings and appointment or removal of a trustee (§ 736.0201(1), (4)).