What it means
Cotrustees who cannot reach a unanimous decision act by majority. If a vacancy opens, the remaining cotrustees — or a majority of them — carry on. Every cotrustee must participate in administering the trust; sitting back is allowed only for absence, illness, or another temporary inability, or after a proper delegation, and the others may act alone when prompt action is necessary.
Liability follows participation. A cotrustee who does not join an action generally is not liable for it, and a dissenter who joins at the majority's direction escapes liability by notifying a cotrustee of the dissent at or before the action. But no one gets to watch a breach: every cotrustee must exercise reasonable care to prevent a fellow trustee's breach and to compel redress of one.
- Unanimity first; cotrustees unable to agree may act by majority decision.
- During a vacancy, the remaining cotrustees or a majority of them act for the trust; same when a cotrustee is temporarily unavailable and prompt action is needed.
- Functions the settlor expected the cotrustees to perform jointly cannot be delegated to one of them — with a statutory exception for investment delegation.
- A cotrustee who does not join an action is generally not liable for it; a notified dissent protects a cotrustee who joins a majority action.
- Every cotrustee must use reasonable care to prevent a breach of trust by another and to compel redress if one occurs.
- Participation rules yield to §736.1412 where the trust allocates powers among cotrustees under Florida's directed-trust provisions.
How it plays out
Even-numbered cotrustee boards generate most of the deadlock calls we get. The statute breaks ties for three or more — a majority may act when unanimity fails — but two cotrustees who disagree have no majority, and the trust stalls until someone yields or petitions. When families design trusteeships with us, we push for an odd number or a named tiebreaker. And we remind every cotrustee of subsection (7): standing quietly beside a breaching cotrustee is itself a breach.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 736.0703 does real work: