Florida Statute 740.02
“Disclosure of content of electronic communications held in trust when trustee is not the original user”
What it means
A trustee who is not the account's original user — typically a successor trustee — reaches content of electronic communications through §740.02. Unless the court, the user, or the trust directs otherwise, the custodian shall disclose content sent or received by an original or successor user and stored in the trust's account.
The package: a written request; a certified copy of the trust instrument, or a certification of trust under §736.1017, which includes consent to disclosure of the content of electronic communications to the trustee; the trustee's certification under penalty of perjury that the trust exists and the trustee is currently acting; and, on request, an account identifier or evidence linking the account to the trust.
- For trustees who are not the original user — most often successor trustees after the settlor's death or incapacity.
- The trust paperwork must itself include consent to disclosure of content to the trustee — a bare certification is not enough.
- A §736.1017 certification of trust may substitute for the full instrument.
- The trustee certifies under penalty of perjury that the trust exists and that he or she is currently acting.
How it plays out
The consent language inside the trust is the piece that gets missed. Trust drafting that never mentions electronic communications leaves a successor trustee with §740.03 — assets and catalog, no messages — which matters when the account is the record of the settlor's finances. When we review a trust for administration, the digital-assets clause sits on the checklist next to the successor-trustee provisions, because this section only works if the instrument says the words.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 740.02 does real work:
