Florida Statutes 736.08135 – Trust accountings
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(1) 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).
(2)(a) The accounting must begin with a statement identifying the trust, the trustee furnishing the accounting, and the time period covered by the accounting.
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 736.08135
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(b) 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. Gains and losses realized during the accounting period and all receipts and disbursements must be shown.
(c) To the extent feasible, the accounting must identify and value trust assets on hand at the close of the accounting period. 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. The accounting must identify each known noncontingent liability with an estimated current amount of the liability if known.
(d) To the extent feasible, the accounting must show significant transactions that do not affect the amount for which the trustee is accountable, including name changes in investment holdings, adjustments to carrying value, a change of custodial institutions, and stock splits.
(e) The accounting must reflect the allocation of receipts, disbursements, accruals, or allowances between income and principal when the allocation affects the interest of any beneficiary of the trust.
(f) The trustee shall include in the final accounting a plan of distribution for any undistributed assets shown on the final accounting.
(3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), if a family trust company, licensed family trust company, or foreign licensed family trust company, as defined in s. 662.111, is a trustee of the trust, such trustee may elect, for any accounting period, to provide the qualified beneficiaries with all of the following information:
(a) A notice stating that the trustee has made an election to provide the information described in this subsection.
(b) The information required by paragraph (2)(a) and, if applicable, the information required by paragraph (2)(f).
(c) A financial statement for the trust which summarizes the information provided pursuant to paragraphs (2)(b)-(e). The financial statement must contain sufficient information to put the beneficiary on notice of the trust’s comprehensive assets and liabilities as well as of the transactions occurring during the accounting period. A financial statement that reports a summary of the comprehensive assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the accounting period and the aggregate amounts of all cash and property transactions, gains, losses, receipts, expenses, disbursements, distributions, accruals, or allowances occurring within the accounting period for each category of assets and liabilities meets the requirements of this paragraph.
For the purposes of this chapter, a financial statement that a trustee provides to a beneficiary of a trust under this subsection is deemed to be a trust accounting. Any trustee that makes the election provided in this subsection shall, upon request of any beneficiary made within the limitations period under s. 736.1008, make available the detailed information necessary for preparation of the financial statement to the beneficiary within 30 days after the date of such request, including providing copies of the requested information. A request by a beneficiary for the detailed information necessary for the preparation of the financial statement tolls the running of any applicable limitations period until the detailed information is made available to the beneficiary.
(4) Subsections (1) and (2) govern the form and content of all trust accountings rendered for any accounting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2003, and all trust accountings rendered on or after July 1, 2018. The election provided in subsection (3) for trusts for which a family trust company, licensed family trust company, or foreign licensed family trust company, as defined in s. 662.111, is a trustee is available for any accounting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2022. This subsection does not affect the beginning period from which a trustee is required to render a trust accounting.