Fiduciary Duty Florida

A recent appellate opinion helps you understand what is fiduciary duty Florida. While common in Florida probate and trust cases, this one was about a contract.

Who owes you a fiduciary duty Florida?

There are three important “legal actors” who you need to know about when considering fiduciary duty Florida.

First, there are those who are so-called “official” fiduciaries.

Like Trustees, Personal Representatives or executors of estates. And powers of attorney, also called an attorney-in-fact.

Those legal actors are, by definition, fiduciaries. They have agreed to serve, and owe duties of loyalty to their principal or beneficiaries. The law is clear. And there can be a LOT of fiduciary duties.

They also agree to put the interests of those who they have agreed to serve above their own.

There are a LOT of duties for a trustee. Same for a Personal Representative or executor of a Florida probate or estate. A POA = same thing. (even though the Florida laws call a POA an “agent.”)

Who else owes you those duties?

Working hard……

The 2nd group?

Those who are not “per se” fiduciaries, may become one. How?

If they accept a role of serving another.

If they are given trust and confidence, and they accept that, and act on it. They then owe a duty. Or maybe multiple duties.

And, if they screw up, they can be sued for breach or even surcharge.

To read free Florida legal blogs about breach, click here.

Contracts = no duty

But most contractual or business relationships are not fiduciary relationships.

Arms length, or commercial, transactions are, well, all business.

Everyone is out to get the best deal for themselves.

To read more about this topic, click on THIS LINK to the 4th District Court of Appeal website to read the opinion in case 21-2291.