The whole statute
Upon the occurrence of an event terminating or partially terminating a trust, the trustee shall proceed expeditiously to distribute the trust property to the persons 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 section are in addition to and are not in derogation of the rights of a trustee under the common law with respect to final distribution of a trust.
Section 736.0817, Florida Statutes.
Two sentences, enacted in 2006 and never amended. The first creates the duty and the exception in the same breath. The second says the Trust Code did not displace whatever the common law already gave a trustee on final distribution.
The reserve is the argument
In practice nobody disputes the duty to distribute. What gets disputed is how much a trustee may sit on while performing it, and for how long.
The statute constrains the reserve in two ways that are easy to read past. It must be reasonable, and it is for debts, expenses, and taxes. That list is not illustrative. A reserve held against the possibility of a lawsuit that nobody has filed, or against a beneficiary’s anticipated objection, or simply because the trustee prefers to keep options open, is not a reserve for debts, expenses or taxes.
What the statute does not supply is any mechanism. There is no deadline, no requirement that the trustee state the reserve’s purpose or amount, no periodic review, and no provision for releasing it. Those gaps have to be filled from elsewhere, from the trustee’s duty to inform and account under section 736.0813, the content requirements for a final accounting, which under section 736.08135(2)(f) must include a plan of distribution for undistributed assets, and the general remedies in section 736.1001.
That last point is the practical one. A trustee holding a reserve has to produce a final accounting containing a plan of distribution for what is still held. A reserve that never appears in an accounting with a plan attached is not being administered under the statute at all.
Partial termination
The section is triggered by an event terminating or partially terminating a trust, and that phrase pairs deliberately with the language in section 736.0410(1), under which a trust terminates to the extent it expires, is revoked, or is properly distributed under its own terms. Florida law contemplates a trust ending in pieces. A beneficiary whose share has vested and become distributable does not have to wait for the whole structure to wind up before this section applies to their share.
The case law, such as it is
Our review located one Florida decision citing this section, and it does so in passing. In Minassian v. Rachins the Fourth District cited section 736.0817 alongside section 736.0410 while working out how a trust ends, in a case whose real subject was the validity of a trust protector’s modification power. It does not construe this section.
So the questions a reader is most likely to have are open ones. How long is expeditious. Whether a reserve must be quantified and explained at the time it is taken. Whether an unreasonably large reserve is itself a breach of trust or merely a matter to be corrected on an accounting. What happens to income earned on a reserve while it is held. None of this has been decided by a Florida appellate court, which means the answer in any given case comes from the trust instrument, the accounting, and the general fiduciary duties rather than from authority on this section.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly must a Florida trustee distribute after a trust ends?
Section 736.0817 says the trustee shall proceed expeditiously. The statute sets no number of days and no Florida appellate decision has put a figure on it, so what counts as expeditious is judged against the circumstances of the particular trust.
Can a trustee hold money back after the trust terminates?
Yes, but only within limits. The statute preserves the right of the trustee to retain a reasonable reserve for the payment of debts, expenses, and taxes. Those three categories are the whole list. A reserve held for something else, or a reserve with no identified purpose, is not what the statute authorizes.
Does this section apply if only part of the trust ends?
Yes. It is triggered by the occurrence of an event terminating or partially terminating a trust, which matches the partial termination language in section 736.0410(1).
Does this replace the trustee’s common law duties on final distribution?
No. The section states that its provisions are in addition to and are not in derogation of the rights of a trustee under the common law with respect to final distribution of a trust.
Common Situations
The trust ended a year ago and nothing has been paid. Expeditiously is the standard and no decision defines it. The accounting and the stated reason for the delay are what the analysis will turn on.
A reserve was taken and never explained. The statute authorizes a reserve for debts, expenses and taxes. A final accounting must include a plan of distribution for undistributed assets.
Your share vested but the trust continues for others. Partial termination is expressly within the section, and section 736.0410(1) reaches the same result from the other direction.
The trustee cites common law authority to hold back more. The section preserves common law rights on final distribution, so that argument is available to a trustee and has to be met on its own terms.
Sources of Law
- Section 736.0817, Florida Statutes (2025). Enacted by s. 8, ch. 2006-217, and never amended since.
- Minassian v. Rachins, 152 So. 3d 719 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014), citing this section alongside section 736.0410.
- Section 736.0410(1), Florida Statutes, on partial termination.
- Section 736.08135(2)(f), Florida Statutes, requiring a plan of distribution in a final accounting.
- Our review searched Florida state courts, the Florida federal district courts, the Florida bankruptcy courts and the Eleventh Circuit on August 13, 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 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. Reading this page does not make us your lawyers. Please do not send confidential details until we have connected.
