SESSION WATCH
Superseded — its companion passed SENATE · SESSION 2026

No. CS/SB 786

Trusts
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SPONSOR
Judiciary; Berman
FILED BY
Lori Berman — District 26, Democrat [search donations]
EFFECTIVE
Upon becoming a law
COMPANION
HB 895 — CS/SB 786 was set aside and its companion carried the policy

Filed under Legal.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Trusts; Authorizing a trustee to obtain a settlement of his or her accounts and be discharged under certain circumstances; requiring a trustee seeking settlement and discharge to send a trust disclosure document to specified persons; providing that a trustee is discharged upon completion of distributions or transfers if no timely written objections are received and is discharged from all liability and claims arising out of any matter disclosed in the trust disclosure document, etc.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Discharges trustees from liability when beneficiaries do not object.

A trustee who has been substantially compliant with disclosure duties can now settle accounts and be discharged without going to court, once 6 months have passed since taking office and the trust ends or the trustee leaves.

The trustee must send beneficiaries a disclosure document detailing planned distributions, debts, and any past-due accounting, along with a formal notice that claims are barred unless a written objection arrives within 60 days.

If nobody objects in time, the trustee is fully discharged from all liability over anything disclosed, with the same legal effect as if a judge had approved it, no matter how minor the objection would need to be.

This new process only applies to irrevocable trusts, and it adds to, rather than replaces, a trustee's existing options for settling accounts, including going to court.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 New out-of-court path to trustee settlement and discharge majors. 736.10081

AIA trustee who has substantially complied with disclosure duties may now obtain settlement of accounts and discharge without a court proceeding, once 6 months have passed since acceptance and the trust ends or the trustee leaves.

“may obtain a settlement of his or her accounts and be discharged pursuant to this section when either of the following occurs” bill text, line 29 →
§ 2 Trustee must send a detailed disclosure document majors. 736.10081

AIA trustee seeking discharge must send beneficiaries a document with the trustee's contact information, a full plan of distribution, any outstanding accounting, and a statement that the trust ended or the trustee left.

“must send to the trust's qualified beneficiaries and any cotrustee, and the immediate successor trustee if the trust is not terminating” bill text, line 36 →
§ 3 Silence discharges the trustee from all disclosed liability majors. 736.10081

AIIf no timely written objection arrives, the trustee is discharged from all liability and claims over anything disclosed, including a failure-to-account claim, with the same effect as a final court order.

“is discharged from all liability and claims arising from any matter adequately disclosed in the trust disclosure document” bill text, line 79 →
§ 4 Any written objection, however unexplained, blocks the discharge moderates. 736.10081

AIA beneficiary can stop this discharge process entirely by sending a written objection within 60 days, and that objection does not need to state any grounds or take any particular form.

“An objection does not need to state the grounds for the objection or be in any particular form” bill text, line 74 →
§ 5 Mechanism limited to irrevocable trusts moderates. 736.10081

AIThis new discharge process applies only to trusts that are irrevocable or become irrevocable on or after the effective date, leaving revocable trusts outside its reach.

“This act applies to all trusts that are irrevocable or become irrevocable on or after the effective date of this act” bill text, line 91 →
TIMELINE
2/26/2026
Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see HB 895 (Ch. 2026-54 ) -SJ 446
2/26/2026
Substituted HB 895 -SJ 446
2/26/2026
Read 2nd time -SJ 446
2/23/2026
Placed on Special Order Calendar, 02/26/26
2/18/2026
Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading
2/17/2026
Favorable by- Rules; YEAS 24 NAYS 0
2/12/2026
On Committee agenda-- Rules, 02/17/26, 12:00 pm, 412 Knott Building
2/11/2026
Now in Rules
2/11/2026
Favorable by Banking and Insurance; YEAS 9 NAYS 0
2/6/2026
On Committee agenda-- Banking and Insurance, 02/11/26, 9:00 am,...
2/4/2026
Now in Banking and Insurance
2/4/2026
CS by Judiciary read 1st time
2/4/2026
Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)
2/3/2026
CS by Judiciary; YEAS 11 NAYS 0
1/29/2026
On Committee agenda-- Judiciary, 02/03/26, 1:00 pm, 110 Senate Building
1/13/2026
Introduced
12/16/2025
Referred to Judiciary; Banking and Insurance; Rules
12/8/2025
Filed
12 EARLIER →
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 736.10081
+537 / −0
STAFF ANALYSES
2 MORE →