Florida Statute 736.0813
“Duty to inform and account”
What it means
A trustee must keep the qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed of the trust and its administration. That starts with paperwork on a clock: within 60 days of accepting the trusteeship, notice of the acceptance and the trustee's name and address; within 60 days of learning an irrevocable trust exists (or that a revocable one became irrevocable), notice of the trust's existence, the settlor's identity, and the right to request a copy and to receive accountings.
On reasonable request, a qualified beneficiary gets a complete copy of the trust instrument and relevant information about assets, liabilities, and administration. A trustee of an irrevocable trust must render a trust accounting — meeting §736.08135's content standards — at least annually and on termination or a change of trustee. While the trust is revocable, all of these duties run only to the settlor.
- Within 60 days of accepting: notice of acceptance, with the trustee's full name and address.
- Within 60 days of knowledge of an irrevocable trust's creation (or a revocable trust turning irrevocable): notice of its existence, the settlor's identity, and the rights to a copy and to accountings.
- A qualified beneficiary gets a complete copy of the trust instrument on reasonable request — not an excerpt.
- Irrevocable-trust accountings, per §736.08135, are due at least annually and on termination or change of trustee.
- A qualified beneficiary may waive accountings or notices in writing — and may withdraw the waiver as to future items.
- While a trust is revocable, the duties under this section extend only to the settlor (§736.0603(1)).
How it plays out
Most trust litigation we see started as an information problem. A trustee who sends the 60-day notices, hands over the instrument when asked, and accounts every year rarely ends up in court; silence is what turns beneficiaries into plaintiffs. We push trustees to account on schedule for a second reason — the limitation periods in §736.1008 run from adequate disclosure, so a clean accounting is also how a trustee closes the books on a year. A beneficiary getting nothing has a statute to quote, not just a grievance.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 736.0813 does real work:
Questions people ask
