What Are Inheritance Rights in Florida?: a look at beneficiaries of Florida trusts and estates

Wonder what your inheritance rights are to a Florida trust or estate?  Many beneficiaries do.   In Florida, you are entitled to participate in the probate administration if you are a beneficiary under a Florida will.  So, if your grandmother from Boca Raton died and left a will which gave you, say, 1/3 of her Florida estate, you get to know what’s going on and will receive copies of probate documents.  You are entitled to a copy of the estate inventory, as well as a full and complete estate accounting before the Florida estate ends.  If you believe you want to know, officially, what the estate has before the end, you can file a motion for an interim accounting but you may have to pay for it yourself or it may be paid for by the estate beneficiaries.  You get to see what the Florida excecutor or personal representative wants to charge for fees, and what attorneys fees and other costs will run.  Want to know how much your grandmother paid in income taxes?  Done. Want to know how much that mansion in Boca Raton is worth?  Just ask.  On the Florida trust side, you likewise have inheritance rights: the right to know relevant information about the Florida trust, the Florida trust administration, fees and costs and investments.  Did grandmother have a Florida revocable trust? How much is “going” into the Florida revocable trust from the Florida estate?  When will the money be transferred?   Beyond the information you are entitled to, a Florida beneficiary has inheritance rights to a way or manner to get all that information or, put another way, a beneficiary of a Florida estate or trust has inheritance rights which include duties from your trustee and executor:  they work for you.  Florida trustees and executors owe you duties of good faith, loyalty, fair dealing and duties to disclose.  They serve you but are not your servants.  How’s your estate or trust doing in Florida?