What Happens When Florida Cotrustees Disagree?

The Florida Trust Code sets default rules for how cotrustees act together. Unanimity is not required. If a vacancy occurs in a cotrusteeship, the remaining cotrustees, or a majority of them, may act for the trust.

Each cotrustee is expected to take part. A cotrustee must participate in the performance of a trustee's function unless the cotrustee is unavailable because of absence, illness, disqualification under other law or other temporary incapacity, or has properly delegated the function to another cotrustee. When a cotrustee is unavailable and prompt action is necessary to achieve the purposes of the trust or to avoid injury to trust property, the remaining cotrustees, or a majority of them, may act.

Delegation has limits. A cotrustee may not delegate to another cotrustee a function the settlor reasonably expected the cotrustees to perform jointly, although investment functions may be delegated to a cotrustee in compliance with Florida's investment delegation statute. A cotrustee may revoke a delegation previously made.

Liability generally follows participation. A cotrustee who does not join in an action of another cotrustee is not liable for that action. Even so, each cotrustee must exercise reasonable care to prevent a cotrustee from committing a breach of trust and to compel a cotrustee to redress a breach of trust. Different rules can apply when the trust terms allocate powers among cotrustees under the Trust Code's directed trust provisions. The general duties every trustee owes are summarized in the duties a Florida trustee owes beneficiaries.