Trust Administration After the Grantor Dies in Florida: A Guide for Business Owners

Trust administration after the grantor dies in Florida is the legal process by which a successor trustee settles a deceased person’s revocable living trust: gathering and valuing assets, notifying beneficiaries, paying the decedent’s debts and taxes, and distributing what remains according to the trust’s terms. When the grantor (also called the settlor) dies, their formerly revocable trust becomes irrevocable, and the trustee steps into a fiduciary role governed by Chapter 736 of the Florida Statutes, the Florida Trust Code. Unlike a will, a properly funded trust usually avoids formal probate, but it does not avoid administration.

That distinction matters a great deal here in Palm Beach County, where many of the families I work with own closely held businesses, commercial real estate, or professional practices. A trust can hold an LLC membership interest or S-corporation stock and keep that asset moving without a court freezing it. But the trustee still has real, enforceable obligations the day the grantor passes away, and getting them wrong creates personal liability. This article walks through what actually happens, in the order it usually happens.

When Does a Florida Trust Become Irrevocable?

While the grantor is alive and competent, a revocable living trust is essentially their alter ego. They can amend it, revoke it, move assets in and out, and serve as their own trustee. The moment the grantor dies, that flexibility ends. Under the Florida Trust Code, the trust becomes irrevocable, and the named successor trustee is now accountable to the beneficiaries.

This is the trigger for everything that follows. The successor trustee should first locate the original trust instrument and every amendment, then confirm they are in fact the acting trustee under the document’s terms. If co-trustees are named, the document controls whether they must act together or may act independently. Read the trust before doing anything else — distributions made on a faulty reading are hard to claw back.

The Successor Trustee’s First Duties

A successor trustee in Florida is a fiduciary, which means the standard is loyalty and prudence, not convenience. The early tasks are administrative but time-sensitive:

• Secure the assets. Locate bank and brokerage accounts, real property, business interests, vehicles, and tangible personal property. Change locks if a home sits empty. For a business, make sure payroll, vendor obligations, and insurance do not lapse during the transition.
• Obtain death certificates and an EIN. The trust needs its own taxpayer identification number once it becomes irrevocable; the grantor’s Social Security number no longer applies.
• Inventory and value everything. Date-of-death valuations matter for tax basis and for any future accounting. Business interests and real estate typically need a qualified appraisal.
• Identify the beneficiaries. Determine who the qualified beneficiaries are, because they are owed formal notice almost immediately.

For owners of operating companies, this stage is where succession planning either pays off or falls apart. If the trust and the company’s operating agreement were drafted to work together — naming who controls the entity, how interests transfer, and whether buy-sell provisions trigger — the trustee can keep the business running. If they conflict, the trustee may be stuck. This is exactly why I push business clients to coordinate their with their corporate documents rather than treating them as separate files.

The 60-Day Notice to Qualified Beneficiaries

One of the most important — and most commonly botched — deadlines in Florida trust administration is the notice requirement under section 736.0813. Within 60 days after the trustee acquires knowledge that a formerly revocable trust has become irrevocable, the trustee must notify the qualified beneficiaries of:

1. The existence of the trust;
2. The identity of the settlor or settlors;
3. The beneficiary’s right to request a complete copy of the trust instrument;
4. The beneficiary’s right to a trust accounting; and
5. That the fiduciary lawyer-client privilege applies between the trustee and any attorney the trustee retains.

Skipping or delaying this notice is a fiduciary breach, and it also keeps the clock from running on contest deadlines (more on that below). A careful trustee sends the notice promptly, in writing, and keeps proof of delivery. Beyond the initial notice, section 736.0813 imposes an ongoing duty to keep the qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed of the trust and its administration.

Paying the Grantor’s Debts, Taxes, and Expenses

A common myth is that putting assets in a revocable trust shields them from the grantor’s creditors after death. It does not. Under section 736.05053, the portion of a trust over which the decedent held a right of revocation at death is liable for the expenses of administration and the obligations of the decedent’s estate, to the extent the probate estate is insufficient to pay them. In plain terms: revocable trust assets can be reached to satisfy the grantor’s legitimate debts.

The trustee should therefore:

• Identify the decedent’s known liabilities — mortgages, lines of credit, business guarantees, medical bills, and taxes.
• Consider filing a Notice of Trust with the clerk of the court in the county of the grantor’s domicile, as required by section 736.05055. This notice puts the world on record that the trust exists and contains the grantor’s date of death and Social Security number, coordinating the trust with any probate proceeding.
• Reserve sufficient assets to cover debts, taxes, and administration costs before making distributions. A trustee who distributes too soon and leaves nothing for a valid creditor can be held personally responsible.

For estates with real property in more than one state, coordination gets more complicated. A grantor who owned, say, a vacation home or rental property in New York may have left assets that interact with that state’s rules; understanding tools like can matter when out-of-state property is part of the picture. Multi-state holdings are common among Palm Beach business families, and they deserve attention early.

Trust Accountings and Beneficiary Rights

Once the trust is irrevocable, beneficiaries gain enforceable rights to information. Under section 736.08135, the trustee of an irrevocable trust must provide a trust accounting to each qualified beneficiary at least annually, at termination, and on a change of trustee, unless the beneficiary waives that right in writing. A Florida trust accounting is not a casual summary — the statute specifies what it must contain, including a statement of receipts and disbursements, assets and liabilities, and the trustee’s compensation.

Good record-keeping from day one makes this painless. Sloppy record-keeping invites exactly the kind of beneficiary suspicion that turns into litigation. I tell every trustee the same thing: keep trust money in trust accounts, never commingle it with personal funds, document every decision, and assume a beneficiary or a judge will one day read your ledger.

The Six-Month Window to Contest a Trust

Beneficiaries and disinherited heirs sometimes want to challenge a trust’s validity — alleging undue influence, lack of capacity, or improper execution. Under section 736.0207, such a contest generally cannot be brought until the trust becomes irrevocable, which for a revocable trust means after the grantor’s death.

Critically, the trustee can shorten the contest window. Under section 736.0604, an action to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable at the settlor’s death is barred if not commenced within the earlier of the period set by Florida’s general statute of limitations (Chapter 95) or six months after the trustee serves the person with a copy of the trust instrument and a notice informing them of the trust’s existence, the trustee’s name and address, and the time allowed to file a proceeding. A trustee who serves that notice properly can close the contest period in six months instead of years — a powerful reason to do the paperwork correctly and on time.

Distributing the Trust and Closing It Out

After debts, taxes, and expenses are paid or adequately reserved, the trustee distributes the remaining assets according to the trust’s terms. This may be outright distributions, ongoing sub-trusts for minor or spendthrift beneficiaries, or funding of marital and credit-shelter trusts for tax planning. Before making final distributions, prudent trustees often obtain signed receipts and releases from beneficiaries to confirm the accounting was received and accepted.

The process generally tracks this sequence:

1. Confirm trusteeship and read the document in full.
2. Secure assets and obtain valuations and an EIN.
3. Send the 60-day notice; file a Notice of Trust if appropriate.
4. Identify and address creditors, debts, and taxes.
5. Provide accountings; resolve any disputes.
6. Distribute remaining assets and obtain releases.
7. File final fiduciary tax returns and close trust accounts.

How long does all this take? A clean administration with cooperative beneficiaries and liquid assets can wrap in a few months. One holding a family business, commercial property, or a contested distribution can run a year or more. The variable is rarely the law — it is the complexity of the assets and the temperature of the family.

Why Business Owners Should Plan the Administration in Advance

The best trust administrations are the ones the grantor made easy before death. If you own a business, the trust should expressly authorize the trustee to continue, sell, or wind down the company; coordinate with your buy-sell agreement; and name a trustee who actually understands the enterprise. A foundational still belongs in the plan as a pour-over backstop for any asset that never made it into the trust. And the trust must be funded — an unfunded trust forces the very probate it was meant to avoid.

If you are a successor trustee staring at a binder you did not write, or a business owner who wants the next generation to inherit a company instead of a lawsuit, the answer is the same: get qualified counsel early. You can learn more about our Florida probate and trust services or contact our Palm Beach office to talk through your situation. Acting deliberately in the first 60 days saves months of friction later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a Florida revocable trust avoid probate after the grantor dies?

Generally yes, for assets properly titled in the trust before death. Those assets pass under the trust’s terms without formal probate. However, the trust still requires administration, and any asset left outside the trust may need a probate proceeding, which is why a pour-over will is used as a backstop.

How long does the trustee have to notify beneficiaries in Florida?

Under section 736.0813 of the Florida Trust Code, the trustee must notify the qualified beneficiaries within 60 days after learning that the trust has become irrevocable due to the grantor’s death. The notice must disclose the trust’s existence, the settlor’s identity, and the beneficiaries’ rights to a copy of the trust and to accountings.

Can creditors reach assets in a revocable trust after the grantor dies?

Yes. Under section 736.05053, assets the grantor could revoke at death are liable for the expenses of administration and the obligations of the grantor’s estate to the extent the probate estate is insufficient. A revocable trust does not shield the grantor’s assets from their legitimate creditors after death.

How long do beneficiaries have to contest a Florida trust?

A trust contest generally cannot begin until the grantor dies. Once the trustee serves a beneficiary with a copy of the trust and a statutory notice under section 736.0604, that person has only six months to file a contest, or the earlier deadline set by Chapter 95, whichever comes first.

What happens to a business owned by a trust when the grantor dies?

The successor trustee takes control of the business interest held by the trust and must manage it as a fiduciary — keeping operations, payroll, and insurance intact. Whether the trustee continues, sells, or transfers the business depends on the trust’s terms and any buy-sell agreement, which is why coordinating trust and corporate documents in advance is essential.