Florida Statute 736.1001 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XLII
ESTATES AND TRUSTS

Chapter 736
FLORIDA TRUST CODE

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736.1001 Remedies for breach of trust.—

(1) A violation by a trustee of a duty the trustee owes to a beneficiary is a breach of trust.

(2) To remedy a breach of trust that has occurred or may occur, the court may:

(a) Compel the trustee to perform the trustee’s duties;

(b) Enjoin the trustee from committing a breach of trust;

(d) Order a trustee to account;

(e) Appoint a special fiduciary to take possession of the trust property and administer the trust;

(f) Suspend the trustee;

(g) Remove the trustee as provided in s. 736.0706;

(h) Reduce or deny compensation to the trustee;

(i) Subject to s. 736.1016, void an act of the trustee, impose a lien or a constructive trust on trust property, or trace trust property wrongfully disposed of and recover the property or its proceeds; or

(j) Order any other appropriate relief.

(3) As an illustration of the remedies available to the court and without limiting the court’s discretion as provided in subsection (2), if a breach of trust results in the favoring of any beneficiary to the detriment of any other beneficiary or consists of an abuse of the trustee’s discretion:

(a) To the extent the breach of trust has resulted in no distribution to a beneficiary or a distribution that is too small, the court may require the trustee to pay from the trust to the beneficiary an amount the court determines will restore the beneficiary, in whole or in part, to his or her appropriate position.

(b) To the extent the breach of trust has resulted in a distribution to a beneficiary that is too large, the court may restore the beneficiaries, the trust, or both, in whole or in part, to their appropriate positions by requiring the trustee to withhold an amount from one or more future distributions to the beneficiary who received the distribution that was too large or by requiring that beneficiary to return some or all of the distribution to the trust.

History.—s. 10, ch. 2006-217; s. 147, ch. 2007-5; s. 19, ch. 2007-153.

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Amendments to 736.1001

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 736.1001

Total Results: 9 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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McCormick v. Cox, 118 So. 3d 980 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013).

Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 12724, 2013 WL 4081414

...McCormick simply retained the funds and waited for the beneficiaries to come after him in their lawsuit. The trial court had the power to review the evidence regarding the trustee’s administration of the trusts and to determine an appropriate trustee’s fee, including no fee at all. § 736.1001(2)(h), Fla....

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SUZANNE TROMBINO, individually & as Tr., etc. v. DALE ECHEVERRIA (Fla. 4th DCA 2022).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

...He alleged that she did not have any other assets in Florida and planned to move to North Carolina, and he did not want to have to “chase her down” to collect a judgment if he prevailed on his petition. He argued that the court could restrict the sale proceeds under either section 69.031(1), Florida Statutes (2021), or section 736.1001(2)(c), Florida Statutes (2021). The court granted Dale’s motions and entered an order requiring Suzanne to deposit the net proceeds from the sale of the Highland Beach property into a restricted depository....

...3d DCA 1987) (“[I]n an action at law for money damages, there is simply no judicial authority for . . . any restraint upon the use of a defendant’s unrestricted assets prior to the entry of judgment.”) (citations and footnote omitted). Neither of the statutes which Dale relied on in this case, section 69.031(1) or section 736.1001(2)(c), provides an exception to support the court’s restriction on Suzanne’s use of the proceeds from the sale of the Highland Beach property before a judgment has been entered....

...the family trust. See BankAtlantic v. Estate of Glatzer, 61 So. 3d 1222, 1223 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011) (holding that section 69.031(1) did not support an order in a probate case restricting funds that were not part of the estate). The second statute, section 736.1001(2)(c), provides that the court may order a trustee, as a remedy for a breach of trust, to pay money or otherwise restore the assets of the trust....

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Kritchman v. Wolk, 152 So. 3d 628 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 15266, 2014 WL 4852057

...among beneficiaries), and 736.0804 (duty to prudently administer the trust by considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust). These breaches of duty establish the liability of the co- trustees for a breach of trust. § 736.1001(1), Fla....

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Doris Rich Corya, etc. & Paul J. Rich Sanders, etc. v. Roy Sanders (Fla. 4th DCA 2014).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

...This subsection shall not affect application of laches at an earlier time in accordance with law. Prior to Sanders filing suit, Corya had not prepared accountings for any of the trusts. Failure to prepare an accounting is a breach of trust by a trustee. § 736.1001(1), Fla....

...Counsel for Sanders conceded in oral argument that Sanders intends to pursue further awards of damages against Corya personally for misconduct as trustee, as established by the accountings, once all the accountings have been completed. 6 We recognize that section 736.1001, Florida Statutes, effective since 2006, provides for a number of remedies other than damages for a breach of trust....

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F. Ronald Mastriana, as Tr. of the James & Beatrice Salah Charitable Trust, Etc. v. Brown Bros. Harriman Trust Co. (Fla. 4th DCA 2025).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

duty owed to a beneficiary is a breach of trust. § 736.1001(1), Fla. Stat. (2016). To remedy such a breach

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Wallace v. Comprehensive Pers. Care Servs., Inc., 275 So. 3d 782 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

consideration of "other potential remedies under Section 736.1001, Florida Statutes, such as, for example, ordering

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Wallace v. Comprehensive Pers. Care Servs., Inc., 275 So. 3d 782 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

consideration of "other potential remedies under Section 736.1001, Florida Statutes, such as, for example, ordering

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David Miller, as Co-Tr., etc. v. Leah Marissa Moore (Fla. 4th DCA 2024).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

...The Florida Trust Code authorizes disgorgement as a remedy to address breaches of trust. See McCormick v. Cox, 118 So. 3d 980, 987 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013) (affirming judgment directing trustee to disgorge a fee that the trustee had paid to himself from a sale of trust property); accord § 736.1001(2), Fla....

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Doris Rich Corya, etc. v. Roy Sanders, 155 So. 3d 1279 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 1846

...Counsel for Sanders conceded in oral argument that Sanders intends to pursue further awards of damages against Corya personally for misconduct as trustee, as established by the accountings, once all the accountings have been completed. 7 We recognize that section 736.1001, Florida Statutes, effective since 2006, provides for a number of remedies other than damages for a breach of trust....

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.