What Section 736.0707 Says
Two subsections, quoted in full from the Legislature's own text.
(1) Unless a cotrustee remains in office or the court otherwise orders and until the trust property is delivered to a successor trustee or other person entitled to the property, a trustee who has resigned or been removed has the duties of a trustee and the powers necessary to protect the trust property.
(2) A trustee who has resigned or been removed shall within a reasonable time deliver the trust property within the trustee's possession to the cotrustee, successor trustee, or other person entitled to the property, subject to the right of the trustee to retain a reasonable reserve for the payment of debts, expenses, and taxes. The provisions of this subsection are in addition to and are not in derogation of the rights of a removed or resigning trustee under the common law.
The section has never been amended. It reads today as it was enacted in 2006 and took effect on July 1, 2007.
The Outgoing Trustee Is Still a Trustee
Subsection (1) is the part people on both sides forget. Removal or resignation does not end the job while the property is still in the outgoing trustee's hands. Until delivery it has the duties of a trustee and the powers necessary to protect the property.
For a beneficiary that means the gap between removal and handover is not a lawless period. The duties continue and so does the exposure. For an outgoing trustee it means the same thing from the other direction, and it is why simply stopping work on being removed is a poor idea.
The exception is where a cotrustee remains in office, or the court orders otherwise, in which case the arrangement is whatever the court says or whatever the remaining cotrustee can handle.
The Reserve, and the $8.9 Million Case
Subsection (2) gives the outgoing trustee a right to hold money back, for debts, expenses and taxes. It is the provision that produces litigation, because the beneficiaries want the money moved and the trustee wants cover for what it may still owe.
In May 2025 Florida's Fourth District decided a case about exactly that. The successor to a charitable trust's settlor removed a corporate trustee and appointed another. The outgoing trustee transferred the assets but retained a reserve of $8.9 million, which the court noted was less than ten percent of the trust's assets. The trust sued, saying the reserve was unreasonable and the money had been invested imprudently in the meantime.
The court set out the statutory framework in its own words.
A trustee who has been removed is required to "deliver the trust property within the trustee's possession" to a "successor trustee" within a reasonable time, "subject to the right of the trustee to retain a reasonable reserve for the payment of debts, expenses, and taxes." § 736.0707(2), Fla. Stat. (2016) (emphasis supplied).
Mastriana v. Brown Brothers Harriman Trust Co., No. 4D2024-0950 (Fla. 4th DCA May 14, 2025).
The court also quoted subsection (1).
Until property is transferred to a successor trustee, a trustee who has been removed "has the duties of a trustee and the powers necessary to protect the trust property." § 736.0707(1), Fla. Stat. (2016).
Mastriana v. Brown Brothers Harriman Trust Co., No. 4D2024-0950 (Fla. 4th DCA May 14, 2025).
After a trial without a jury the circuit court found the reserve reasonable and the investments made in good faith, and the Fourth District affirmed, on the footing that the trial court was best placed to weigh the witnesses and that competent, substantial evidence supported the judgment.
Read that carefully, because it is easy to over-claim. The appellate court did not hold that ten percent is reasonable, or set any benchmark. It upheld a trial judge's finding on the evidence in that case. What the decision gives you is a real example and a clear signal that these are won and lost at trial.
What Reasonable Time Means
The statute requires delivery within a reasonable time and does not define it. We located no Florida decision construing that phrase under this section.
In practice the question is answered by the handover itself. What was transferred and when, what remained outstanding, whether tax returns or creditor claims were genuinely pending, and whether the outgoing trustee was communicating or stonewalling. A trustee working through a real tax exposure sits differently from one that has gone quiet.
The Sentence Most People Skip
Subsection (2) ends by saying its provisions are in addition to and are not in derogation of the rights of a removed or resigning trustee under the common law.
That is a saving clause and it is worth noticing. The statutory reserve right is a floor, not a ceiling. An outgoing trustee may have other rights at common law, and this section does not sweep them away. Equally it means a beneficiary arguing that the statute is the whole of the trustee's entitlement is arguing against the text.
Frequently Asked Questions
When Must a Removed Trustee Hand Over the Trust Property?
Within a reasonable time. Section 736.0707(2) says a trustee who has resigned or been removed shall within a reasonable time deliver the trust property within the trustee's possession to the cotrustee, successor trustee, or other person entitled to the property, subject to the right of the trustee to retain a reasonable reserve for the payment of debts, expenses, and taxes. The statute does not define reasonable time, and we located no Florida decision construing it under this section, so it is decided on the facts of the handover rather than by a fixed period.
Can a Removed Trustee Keep Money Back?
Yes, a reasonable reserve for debts, expenses and taxes. That right is written into subsection (2) itself, so it is not something the outgoing trustee is claiming beyond the statute. What counts as reasonable is a question of fact. In 2025 Florida's Fourth District affirmed a trial court finding that a corporate trustee's reserve of $8.9 million, which the court noted was less than ten percent of the trust, was reasonable, and that the funds had been invested in good faith. The appellate court did not define reasonable; it upheld the trial court's finding because competent, substantial evidence supported it.
Does a Removed Trustee Still Have Duties?
Yes, and this surprises people on both sides. Subsection (1) says that unless a cotrustee remains in office or the court orders otherwise, and until the trust property is delivered, a trustee who has resigned or been removed has the duties of a trustee and the powers necessary to protect the trust property. So the outgoing trustee cannot simply down tools. It still owes fiduciary duties over what it holds, and it retains the powers needed to protect the property in the meantime.
Can I Sue a Former Trustee Over the Reserve?
You can challenge whether the reserve was reasonable, and that is what happened in the 2025 case. Be aware of two things before you do. A claim that the outgoing trustee held too much, or invested it badly, is a breach of trust claim, so the remedies in Fla. Stat. 736.1001 are what is available. And the same appellate decision held there is no right to a jury trial on a beneficiary's surcharge claim against a trustee, because trust claims sit in equity. You are planning a case for a judge.
Does This Section Replace a Trustee's Common Law Rights?
No, and subsection (2) says so expressly. It ends by providing that the provisions of that subsection are in addition to and are not in derogation of the rights of a removed or resigning trustee under the common law. That sentence is easy to skim past and it matters. The statutory reserve right is a floor rather than a ceiling, and an outgoing trustee may have other rights, for instance in relation to indemnity, that the section does not disturb.
Has Section 736.0707 Been Amended?
No. It reads today exactly as enacted in chapter 2006-217 and took effect with the rest of the Florida Trust Code on July 1, 2007. So the one Florida decision citing it, which applied the 2016 version, was reading the same words that apply now.
Common Situations
The bank that will not let go. A family replaces a corporate trustee and months later a substantial sum is still sitting with the old one, described as a reserve for taxes. The statute permits a reserve, so the question is not whether it may hold anything back but whether the amount is reasonable for what is genuinely outstanding. Ask for the specific liabilities it is reserving against.
The trustee who stopped working. A trustee resigns in a dispute and simply stops doing anything while the successor is appointed. Subsection (1) says the duties continue until delivery, so a loss suffered in that window is not automatically nobody's responsibility.
The successor who wants everything today. A new trustee demands immediate transfer of the entire fund. The statute says within a reasonable time and expressly permits a reserve, so an outgoing trustee acting in good faith on genuine liabilities is not in breach for declining.
Sources of Law
- Fla. Stat. §736.0707 (delivery of property by former trustee: subsection (1) continuing duties and protective powers until delivery; subsection (2) delivery within a reasonable time, the right to retain a reasonable reserve for debts, expenses and taxes, and the preservation of common law rights). Official text, Online Sunshine, quoted in full above. History: s. 7, ch. 2006-217. Never amended since the Florida Trust Code took effect on July 1, 2007. (retrieved 2026-08-13)
- Related sections from the same official source: §736.0706 (removal of trustee); §736.1001 (remedies for breach of trust); §736.0814 (discretionary powers). (retrieved 2026-08-13)
- Mastriana v. Brown Brothers Harriman Trust Company, N.A., No. 4D2024-0950 (Fla. 4th DCA May 14, 2025), Gross, J.; appeal from the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County; affirmed. Quoted above for both subsections. Reading note: the court quoted the statute as the governing framework and affirmed the trial court's finding that the reserve was reasonable because competent, substantial evidence supported it. It did not define what a reasonable reserve is, and this page does not suggest otherwise. No Southern Reporter citation had issued when this page was prepared, so the decision is cited by docket number and date. The same decision is discussed for its jury trial holding on our §736.0814 page. Source: CourtListener. (retrieved 2026-08-13)
- Gap note, stated for the record: a search of Florida state and federal decisions for this section number, restricted to Florida courts, returned one case on August 13, 2026. We located no Florida decision construing what constitutes a reasonable time for delivery, or setting any benchmark for a reasonable reserve. A section-number search does not find decisions that discuss a provision without naming it, and no citator pass was run.
- Quotation note: the passages above reproduce a Florida court's own published words and the Legislature's own statutory text. Nothing is drawn from a headnote, case summary, or other editorial layer of a commercial research service.
- Nothing on this page predicts a result. Whether a reserve is reasonable depends on the liabilities it is held against and the evidence.
Updated on August 13, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. Attorney Kevin Klagge represents families, businesses, and international clients in estate and tax planning, business structuring, and international law, with a focus on Florida legal tools. He litigates estate and business issues in court. General information about Florida law and published court decisions, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Whether a particular reserve or delay is reasonable depends on the facts, which we review at a free consult. Please do not send confidential details until we have connected.
