The whole section, and the two groups it reaches
A trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is named trustee in reliance on the trustee’s representation that the trustee has special skills or expertise, shall use those special skills or expertise.
Section 736.0806, Florida Statutes. Enacted in 2006 and never amended since.
Two groups, joined by or. The first is obvious. A trustee who actually has special skills must use them. A trust company with an investment department cannot administer a trust as though it were a private individual with no market knowledge.
The second group is the sharp one
The statute also reaches a trustee named in reliance on the trustee’s representation that they have special skills or expertise. Read that carefully. It does not ask whether the expertise existed. It asks whether the appointment rested on the claim.
So a person who told a settlor they had experience managing property, or handling investments, or running a business, and was appointed on that basis, is measured against what they said. The representation does the work. A trustee cannot obtain the role by describing themselves as capable and then, when something goes wrong, ask to be judged as a well meaning amateur.
This is worth knowing on both sides of a dispute. For a beneficiary, what the trustee said before the appointment is evidence, which is why marketing material, a pitch letter or an engagement discussion can matter. For a professional considering an appointment, the description given at the outset sets the standard for everything that follows.
Skill runs through this Part of the Code
This section does not sit alone, and its practical force comes mostly from what it feeds into.
Section 736.0805 limits expenses to what is reasonable in relation to the trust property, the purposes of the trust, and the skills of the trustee. A trustee who claimed expertise and then paid somebody else to supply it faces that limb directly.
Section 736.0708 governs compensation, and the multi factor test the Second District applied there includes unusual skill or experience as a factor bearing on what a trustee is worth. Skill claimed at the outset can raise the fee and raise the standard at the same time.
Section 736.0807 permits delegation, but only of duties a prudent trustee of comparable skills could properly delegate. The higher the trustee’s own skills, the narrower the set of things it is reasonable to hand off.
And section 736.0801 requires administration in good faith, in accordance with the trust’s terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries, which is the general duty this section calibrates.
No Florida court has construed this section
Our review found no decision citing section 736.0806 anywhere in the Florida state courts, the Florida federal district and bankruptcy courts, or the Eleventh Circuit, searching every precedential status.
That leaves real questions unanswered. What counts as a representation, and whether it must be made to the settlor rather than to the world. Whether a corporate trustee’s general advertising is a representation for this purpose. Whether the standard attaches to the individual officer handling the trust or to the institution. And whether a trustee who disclosed the limits of their expertise, and was appointed anyway, escapes the second limb. None of that is settled in Florida.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are all Florida trustees held to the same standard?
No. Section 736.0806 provides that a trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is named trustee in reliance on the trustee’s representation that the trustee has special skills or expertise, shall use those special skills or expertise. A bank trust department and a grieving adult child are not measured identically.
What if the trustee claimed expertise they did not have?
The statute still applies. It reaches a trustee who was named in reliance on their representation of special skills, and does not ask whether the representation was accurate. Read plainly, a trustee who obtained the appointment by claiming expertise is measured against the claim.
Does this make a professional trustee automatically liable when things go badly?
No. It raises the standard of care, it does not create a guarantee. The trustee is still judged on the conduct rather than the outcome. What changes is the benchmark that conduct is compared against.
Does it apply to a family member with a relevant job?
Potentially. The section is not limited to corporate or professional trustees. An accountant named as trustee has accounting skills, and a settlor who chose them for that reason engages the second limb as well as the first.
Has a Florida court interpreted this section?
Not on our review. No decision in the Florida state courts, the Florida federal district or bankruptcy courts, or the Eleventh Circuit cites it.
Common Situations
A bank or trust company as trustee. The first limb applies directly, and the standard is what a trustee with those skills should have done.
A relative who said they knew about investing. The second limb reaches a trustee named in reliance on a representation of expertise.
An accountant or lawyer serving as trustee. Relevant professional skill engages the section even where nothing was expressly represented.
A trustee who was candid about not knowing. Whether that defeats the second limb has not been decided in Florida.
Sources of Law
- Section 736.0806, Florida Statutes (2025). Enacted by s. 8, ch. 2006-217, and never amended since.
- Section 736.0805, Florida Statutes, measuring expenses partly against the skills of the trustee.
- Section 736.0807, Florida Statutes, permitting delegation of what a prudent trustee of comparable skills could delegate.
- Section 736.0708, Florida Statutes, under which unusual skill or experience is a factor in trustee compensation.
- Section 736.0801, Florida Statutes, the general duty to administer the trust.
- Our review searched the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida District Courts of Appeal, the Florida federal district courts, the Florida bankruptcy courts and the Eleventh Circuit on August 14, 2026, requesting every precedential status rather than the default view. We report a nil result as our own review and not as a certainty. Searching by section number is an imperfect tool in two known ways. It misses decisions that discuss a statute without naming it, and we have confirmed at least one Florida decision that names a section yet does not appear in a search for that number.
- Decisions discussed here are published opinions in other parties’ cases. They are not matters handled by this firm and they predict nothing about any reader’s case. No commercial citator pass has been run on this research.
Updated on August 14, 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. Reading this page does not make us your lawyers. Please do not send confidential details until we have connected.
