How a Trustee’s “Action” is Defined - Commentary to Florida Trust Code

Legal Commentary on the Definition of “Action”

Fla. Stat. § 736.0103(1) defines the term “action” as it applies to trustees. The text of the subsection reads:

“Action,” with respect to an act of a trustee, includes a failure to act.

Thus, any references in the Florida Trust Code to a trustee’s actions also refer to a trustee’s inactions. This is particularly important for matters of liability. For example, Fla. Stat. § 736.08125 limits successor trustee liability for the “actions” of former trustees. Fla. Stat. § 736.0103(1) informs us that this limited liability also applies to the inactions of a trustee (such as failing to issue a trust accounting or failing to keep adequate records).

History of Definition of “Action”

Fla. Stat. § 736.0103(1) became law on July 1, 2007, as part of the broader Florida Trust Code. This portion of the statute has not been amended since that point.

The definition of “action” in Fla. Stat. § 736.0103(1) was taken word-for-word from Section 103(1) of the Uniform Trust Code. The drafters of the Uniform Trust Code stated in their comment to Section 103 that this definition was included “for drafting convenience.”

This article is part of the PTM Legal Commentary to the Florida Trust Code. Click here to navigate through the entire commentary.