If you’re a beneficiary of a Florida trust, you have a statutory right to a clear, complete annual accounting from the trustee. But many of the accountings beneficiaries actually receive — even those prepared by sophisticated trust departments and family-office attorneys — fall short of what Florida law requires. A “deficient” accounting is not just inconvenient. It can mask self-dealing, conceal asset values, and reset the limitations clock that controls when you can sue. It can also be the strongest evidence in a petition for surcharge or trustee removal.
Florida’s Trust Code, Chapter 736, sets the rules. Section 736.0813 imposes the duty to account; section 736.08135 dictates the content; and section 736.1008 sets the limitations clock. This guide explains what those statutes actually require, the deficiencies our trust litigation attorneys see most often, and the remedies available when a trustee falls short.
What Florida Statute § 736.08135 Requires
Florida Statute § 736.08135(1) requires that “a trust accounting must be a reasonably understandable report from the date of the last accounting or, if none, from the date on which the trustee became accountable, that adequately discloses the information required in subsection (2).” The statute then lists six specific content requirements:
- Identification. The accounting must begin with a statement identifying the trust, the trustee, and the period covered. § 736.08135(2)(a).
- All transactions. The accounting must show “all cash and property transactions and all significant transactions affecting administration during the accounting period, including compensation paid to the trustee and the trustee’s agents.” § 736.08135(2)(b). Gains, losses, receipts, and disbursements must be itemized.
- Two values for each asset. “For each asset or class of assets reasonably capable of valuation, the accounting shall contain two values, the asset acquisition value or carrying value and the estimated current value.” § 736.08135(2)(c).
- Significant non-monetary changes. Name changes in investments, stock splits, custodial changes, and similar matters must be reflected. § 736.08135(2)(d).
- Income vs. principal allocation. The accounting must show how receipts, disbursements, accruals, and allowances are allocated between income and principal whenever the allocation affects a beneficiary’s interest. § 736.08135(2)(e).
- Plan of distribution. Any final accounting must include a plan of distribution for undistributed assets. § 736.08135(2)(f).
Section 736.0813 separately requires the trustee to “keep the qualified beneficiaries of the trust reasonably informed of the trust and its administration,” to provide annual accountings for irrevocable trusts, and to furnish relevant trust information upon reasonable request. § 736.0813(1)(d), (e). One important limit: the duty to account under § 736.0813 does not arise until a trust becomes irrevocable. Hilgendorf v. Estate of Coleman, 201 So. 3d 1262, 1265 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016) (statutory duty of trustee to account “does not arise until a trust becomes irrevocable”). For revocable trusts, the trustee owes that duty only to the settlor while the trust is revocable.
Common Trust Accounting Deficiencies in Florida Litigation
In our trust litigation practice we routinely see accountings that read polished but fail to satisfy § 736.08135. The most frequent deficiencies include:
Single valuations. The statute requires two values for each asset — acquisition or carrying value and estimated current value. § 736.08135(2)(c). Accountings that list only one value (or that report values “as of acquisition” without a current estimate) leave beneficiaries unable to gauge investment performance, fees, or losses.
Missing trustee compensation detail. Section 736.08135(2)(b) expressly requires disclosure of compensation paid to the trustee and the trustee’s agents. Bundled “administration expense” line items that hide the trustee’s fee, the trustee-attorney’s fee, or the broker’s compensation do not satisfy the statute.
No income/principal allocation. Where allocations affect a beneficiary’s interest — for example, when an income beneficiary and a remainder beneficiary are different people — § 736.08135(2)(e) requires the accounting to show how receipts and expenses were allocated. Accountings that simply lump everything together can conceal favoritism between current and remainder beneficiaries.
Buried or omitted material facts. Even when an accounting technically lists a transaction, it can fail Florida’s “adequate disclosure” test if it omits information a reasonable beneficiary would need. The Third District addressed this in Turkish v. Brody, 221 So. 3d 1206 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016). There, the trust accounting disclosed a $1,022,500 distribution to the trustee and a “contributed” promissory note received in exchange — but failed to disclose that the promissory note was effectively worthless because the settlor had no personal funds to repay it. The court held the disclosure inadequate, which dissolved the six-month statute-of-limitations defense the trustee had pleaded. Id. at 1214–15.
Vague transaction descriptions. “Miscellaneous expense — $42,300” is not adequate disclosure. Florida law looks at whether the document gives the beneficiary “sufficient information so that a beneficiary knows of a claim or reasonably should have inquired into the existence of a claim with respect to that matter.” Fla. Stat. § 736.1008(4)(a).
No accounting at all. Some trustees simply ignore their § 736.0813 duty. As the Third District put it in Taplin v. Taplin, 88 So. 3d 344 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012), “a statute of limitations is inapplicable to shield trustees from their responsibilities to their beneficiaries.” Id. at 348. The court reaffirmed the long-standing common-law rule that “in cases of continuing trusts … so long as the relation of trustee and cestui que trust continues to exist, no length of time will bar the cestui que trust of his rights.” Id. (quoting Anderson v. Northrop, 12 So. 318, 324 (Fla. 1892)).
The Six-Month Limitations Trap
Trust accounting deficiencies are not just paperwork errors. They directly affect whether — and for how long — a beneficiary can sue.
Section 736.1008(2) bars a beneficiary from bringing an action for breach of trust with respect to “a matter that was adequately disclosed in a trust disclosure document” unless the proceeding is commenced “within 6 months after receipt.” Trust accountings that include the proper limitations notice can therefore eliminate breach-of-trust claims in just six months.
Two thresholds change the calculus:
(1) Was the matter “adequately disclosed”? If not, the six-month bar does not apply. Turkish v. Brody, 221 So. 3d 1206, 1215 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016). Adequate disclosure means the document conveys “sufficient information so that a beneficiary knows of a claim or reasonably should have inquired into the existence of a claim with respect to that matter.” § 736.1008(4)(a).
(2) Was an accounting issued at all? When a trustee has not served any accounting, the four-year statute of limitations for breach of trust does not begin to run. Woodward v. Woodward, 192 So. 3d 528, 531 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016) (“The four-year statute of limitations does not begin to run until a beneficiary receives an adequate trust disclosure document issued by the trustee.”). In Woodward, the trustee terminated the underlying trust in 2002 but did not provide an accounting until 2011 — and the court held the beneficiary’s 2012 lawsuit was timely because the accounting served as the limitations trigger, not the underlying breach.
The takeaway is that beneficiaries must read every accounting they receive with the limitations clock in mind, and trustees who try to hide behind the six-month bar can lose that defense if the disclosure was deficient.
Your Remedies Against a Deficient or Missing Accounting
When a Florida trustee delivers a deficient accounting — or fails to account at all — a beneficiary has several escalating tools:
Written demand under § 736.0813(1)(e). Beneficiaries are entitled to “relevant information about trust assets, liabilities, and administration particulars” upon reasonable request. A specific, well-documented written demand can resolve the issue without litigation and creates a record for later proceedings if it does not.
Petition to compel accounting under § 736.0201. Trust proceedings — including those addressing trustee performance, “[r]eviewing and settling accounts,” and “[a]ppointing or removing trustees” — are initiated by complaint and governed by the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. § 736.0201(1), (4)(b), (d). The court has broad authority “to intervene in the administration of a trust to the extent the court’s jurisdiction is invoked by an interested person.” § 736.0201(2).
Surcharge. A surcharge is a personal money judgment against the trustee for losses the trust suffered as a result of breach. The Fourth District has defined it directly: “A ‘surcharge’ is the amount that a court may charge a fiduciary that has breached its duty.” Kozinski v. Stabenow, 152 So. 3d 650, 652 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014). Surcharge is available not only for self-dealing and lost investments but for the payment of “excessive fees” — including fees the trustee paid to himself or to the trustee’s agents. Id. at 653.
Trustee removal. When the conduct rises to a fundamental breach of trust, removal under Florida’s Trust Code may be appropriate. Removal often accompanies — rather than replaces — a surcharge claim.
Damages and recovery of trust property. Where the trustee’s breach has produced trust losses, missed appreciation, or improper personal gains, the court can order the funds returned to the trust and award damages, attorney’s fees, and costs as the equities of the case require under the Florida Trust Code’s recovery and fee-shifting provisions.
When to Call a Florida Trust Litigation Attorney
You should consider speaking with a trust litigation attorney if:
- The annual accounting required by § 736.0813(1)(d) has not arrived for an irrevocable trust;
- An accounting was delivered but is missing the two-value disclosure (acquisition and current value), the trustee-compensation detail, or the income/principal allocation required by § 736.08135;
- Material transactions in the accounting are described in vague terms or buried in footnotes;
- You have received an accounting with a limitations notice and the six-month clock is running; or
- The trustee has stopped responding to written information requests under § 736.0813(1)(e).
The earlier you involve counsel, the more options remain on the table. Once the six-month or four-year limitations periods run, the same conduct that justified surcharge yesterday may be unrecoverable tomorrow.
Talk to Zoecklein Law, P.A. — Statewide Florida Trust Litigation
Zoecklein Law, P.A. represents trust beneficiaries statewide across Florida — Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Manatee, Sarasota, Orange, Palm Beach, and every other Florida county — in matters involving trustee accounting deficiencies, surcharge, trustee removal, and breach-of-trust litigation. Wherever the trust was administered and wherever you live in Florida, we can help.
If you believe an accounting you’ve received is incomplete — or if no accounting has come at all — call us toll-free at (877) 206-0022 for a free initial consultation. Our attorneys will review the accounting against the § 736.08135 requirements and advise on your next step.
