If you’ve set up a revocable living trust, or plan to, choosing your trustee is one of the most consequential decisions you’ll make. Unlike a personal representative who finishes probate and steps away, a trustee may serve for years or even decades. Here’s what Miami families want to know.
What is the difference between a trustee and an executor?
A personal representative (Florida’s word for executor) settles an estate through probate, a process that ends. A trustee manages assets held in a trust under Florida’s Trust Code (Chapter 736), often long after you’re gone, distributing money to beneficiaries according to your instructions. If your trust is designed to support young children, a beneficiary with special needs, or to spread out an inheritance over time, the trustee’s role can last many years.
What duties does a Florida trustee owe?
Chapter 736 imposes serious fiduciary duties: to act in good faith, to manage and invest assets prudently, to stay loyal to the beneficiaries and avoid self-dealing, to keep the trust property separate, and to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed with accountings. A trustee who breaches these duties can be held personally liable, which is why this is not a role to hand out casually.
While I’m alive, who is the trustee?
With a typical Florida revocable living trust, you usually serve as your own trustee while you’re healthy, keeping full control of your assets. The critical choice is your successor trustee, the person or institution who steps in when you become incapacitated or pass away. That’s who you’re really vetting.
Should I pick a family member or a professional?
Both have trade-offs. A family member knows your values and your beneficiaries and usually charges nothing, but may lack investment experience or become entangled in family conflict, especially if they are also a beneficiary. A professional trustee, such as a Miami bank trust department or a licensed trust company, brings expertise, neutrality, and continuity, but charges fees and may feel impersonal. Some families get the best of both by naming a relative and a professional as co-trustees.
What qualities should I look for?
Prioritize integrity, financial competence, organization, and impartiality. A good trustee can say no to a beneficiary’s premature request when your trust calls for restraint. Longevity matters too: for a trust that may run for decades, consider the candidate’s age and name successors so the trust is never left without a trustee.
Does Florida’s lack of an estate tax affect my choice?
Florida has no state estate or inheritance tax, so your trustee won’t be navigating a Florida death tax. Their focus is sound investment, fair distribution, and protecting beneficiaries, including coordinating with the homestead and other Florida protections that may apply to trust property. The right trustee handles these responsibilities with care rather than treating them as a formality.
The bottom line
Your trustee will carry out your wishes long after you’re gone, so weigh trustworthiness, competence, and staying power, and always name at least one successor. A Miami estate planning attorney can help you choose, document the trustee’s powers under Florida law, and build in checks that protect your beneficiaries.
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For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of powers of attorney in Florida. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles .
