Florida Probate’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: 5 things a Palm Beach trustee should not do

Are you the trustee of a Florida trust and you have to deal with trust beneficiaries who are, shall we say, a pain in the $*^ ? Maybe your mother or brother from Boca Raton, Florida named you assuccessor trustee of their revocable trust and now you administer the trust. Here are 5 things you, as a Palm Beach trustee, should NOT do when you are running the Florida trust.

Everyone Has a Revocable Living Trust in Florida

• It seems that everyone from Jupiter, Florida to Boynton Beach, Florida has arevocable living trust that becomes irrevocable when they die
• Why?
• Estate lawyers Palm Beach write a living trust Florida as part of a basic estate plan now, along with wills and POAs and DNR’s
• Revocable trusts are no longer just for the rich in Palm Beach County, Florida

Trustee Duties and Responsibilities

• Being a trustee in Palm Beach is serious business
• You have duties under the Florida Trust Code
• If you don’t follow those duties and obligations or if you breach your fidicuary duty, you can be held personally responsible which means that
• You have to pay damages back to the trust out of your own pocket.
• So, read Florida Trust Law Chapter 736 and don’t do the following

5 Things Florida Trustees Should NOT Do

Here are 5 things a Florida Trustee should NOT do when serving as trustee of a Florida Trust.

1. Don’t ignore your trust beneficiaries.  A Palm Beach trustee has a duty to communicate in a reasonable manner with beneficiaries and can’t go “radio silent.”
2. Don’t fail to answer questions.  A Boca Raton trustee must provide relevant information about the Florida trust to trust beneficiaries Palm Beach, including information about the fees you take as trustee, the distributions you make, the expenses you incur, and what you are investing trust assets in.
3. Don’t operate the trust in secret. No matter how irresponsible the trust beneficiary may be, you can’t fail to tell your trust beneficiaries where the trust money is and what you are doing with it.  A common problem, where trustees Florida create liability, and end up being the target of a trust beneficiary lawsuit in Palm Beach, is when the trustee has this belief that the trust beneficiary is better off not knowing anything about the trust.  Bad.  Very bad.  Trustees Boca Raton have a duty of loyalty to Florida trust beneficiaries.
4. Don’t forget that a Florida trustee serves the trust beneficiaries.  You, the trustee Florida, are a fiduciary, and you owe the trust beneficiaries a duty of loyalty and good faith.  You must protect them.  Indeed, by agreeing to serve as trustee, you AGREED to look out for and protect the trust beneficiaries: those you serve.  That’s whatFlorida trust law says about a trustee’s duties to all trust beneficiaries.
5. Don’t be mis-guided.  Most trustees Lake Worth don’t have the time nor the experience to be a trustee.  Most of you can’t manage a million dollar portfolio, let alone run a trust.  So, be upfront with yourself.  Don’t serve as trustee for the wrong reasons.  If you don’t have the time or experience to be a Trustee Palm Beach, consider resigning, if not, hire a bank or trust company Florida to be your co-trustee, or at least hire a Trust Lawyer Palm Beach.