Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 90.5021 (2025)

Fiduciary lawyer-client privilege.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section FL-LEGleg.state.fl.us JustiaFla. Statutes CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

90.5021 Fiduciary lawyer-client privilege.—

(1) For the purpose of this section, a client acts as a fiduciary when serving as a personal representative or a trustee as defined in ss. 731.201 and 736.0103, an administrator ad litem as described in s. 733.308, a curator as described in s. 733.501, a guardian or guardian ad litem as defined in s. 744.102, a conservator as defined in s. 710.102, or an attorney in fact as described in chapter 709.

(2) A communication between a lawyer and a client acting as a fiduciary is privileged and protected from disclosure under s. 90.502 to the same extent as if the client were not acting as a fiduciary. In applying s. 90.502 to a communication under this section, only the person or entity acting as a fiduciary is considered a client of the lawyer.

(3) This section does not affect the crime or fraud exception to the lawyer-client privilege provided in s. 90.502(4)(a).

History.—s. 1, ch. 2011-183.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 12 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2011–2021 · leading case: Bivins v. Rogers, 207 F. Supp. 3d 1321 (S.D. Fla. 2016).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Bivins v. Rogers, 207 F. Supp. 3d 1321 (S.D. Fla. 2016). · cites it 37× “Fla. Stat. § 90.5021 . Plaintiff argues that the statute does not affect the prior case law, such as Tripp, Barton, and Riggs.”

Richard DeLisle v. Crane Co., 258 So. 3d 1219 (Fla. 2018). · cites it 2× “2014) (declining to adopt chapter 2011-183, section 1, Laws of Florida, creating section 90.5021, Florida Statutes (2012), which establishes a "fiduciary lawyer-client privilege," and declining to adopt chapter 2011-233, section 10, Laws of Florida, creating section 766.”

In Re Amendments to the Florida Evidence Code, 144 So. 3d 536 (Fla. 2014). · cites it 4× “In chapter 2011-183, section 1, Laws of Florida, the Legislature enacted section 90.5021, Florida Statutes, which establishes a “fiduciary lawyer-client privilege.”

In Re Amendments to the Florida Prob. Rules, 73 So. 3d 205 (Fla. 2011). · cites it 4× “240 (Notice of Administration) is amended to require that a notice of administration include a statement that “the fiduciary lawyer-client privilege in section 90.5021, Florida Statutes, applies with respect to the personal representative and any attorney employed by the…”

In re Amendments to the Florida Evidence Code, 210 So. 3d 1231 (Fla. 2017). · cites it 2× “2014) (declining to follow the Committee's recommendation to adopt section 90.5021, Florida Statutes (2014), which establishes a fiduciary lawyer-client privilege); In re Amends.”

In Re: Amendments to the Florida Evidence Code - 2017 Out-of-Cycle Report (Fla. 2018). · cites it 13× “212(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2010), to require that a notice of estate administration include a statement that “the fiduciary lawyer-client privilege in section 90.5021, Florida Statutes, applies with respect to the personal representative and any attorney employed by the…”

In Re: Amendments to the Florida Evidence Code, 210 So. 3d 1231 (Fla. 2017). · cites it 2× “2014) (declining to follow the Committee’s recommendation to adopt section 90.5021, Florida Statutes (2014), which establishes a fiduciary lawyer-client privilege); In re Amends.”

In Re: Amendments to the Florida Evidence Code (Fla. 2019). · cites it 3× “018) (“We have for consideration the joint out-of-cycle report filed by the Florida Bar’s Probate Rules Committee (FPR Committee) and the Code and Rules of Evidence Committee (CRE Committee) (collectively Committees) asking this Court to reconsider its 2014 decision not to - 40…”

In Re: Amendments to the Florida Prob. Rules - 2019 Regular-Cycle Report (Fla. 2019). · cites it 2× “file number of the estate, the designation and address of the court in which the proceedings are pending, whether the estate is testate or intestate, and, if testate, the date of the will and any codicils; (2) the name and address of the personal representative and the name and…”

Julian Bivins v. Keith B. Stein (11th Cir. 2018). “Finally, we reject Julian’s claim that Fla. Stat. § 90.5021 violates the Equal Protection Clause because it treats incapacitated wards differently than other classes of clients.”

In Re: Est. of McAleer Apl of: W. McAleer (Pa. 2021). “§ 62-1-110 , and Fla. Stat. § 90.5021 (2) (2011). [J-18-2020] - 22 By the mid-1990s, adoption of the fiduciary exception had stalled, and a rapid succession of state court decisions, rule changes, and statutory amendments turned the tide against recognizing that exception as…”

— 90.5021(1) — 1 case

Bivins v. Rogers, 207 F. Supp. 3d 1321 (S.D. Fla. 2016). “Fla. Stat. § 90.5021 . Plaintiff argues that the statute does not affect the prior case law, such as Tripp, Barton, and Riggs.”

— 90.5021(2) — 1 case

Bivins v. Rogers, 207 F. Supp. 3d 1321 (S.D. Fla. 2016). “Fla. Stat. § 90.5021 . Plaintiff argues that the statute does not affect the prior case law, such as Tripp, Barton, and Riggs.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.