Once a trustee has accepted a trusteeship, the fiduciary obligations of the trustee commence.  To that end, Section 736.0801, Florida Statutes, provides that upon acceptance, “the trustee shall administer the trust in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries” and Section 736.0802(1), Florida Statutes, obligates a trustee to “administer the trust solely in the interest of the beneficiaries.” In the event a trust has two or more beneficiaries, the trustee has a duty to deal impartially with the beneficiaries in administering the trust “giving due regard to the beneficiaries’ respective interests.”

Moreover, Section 518.11(1), Florida Statutes, known as Florida’s Prudent Investor Rule, mandates a trustee to prudently invest the trust by considering “the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust.” Juxtaposed with a trustee’s duty of impartiality, Florida’s Prudent Investor Rule requires the trustee to “pursue an investment strategy that considers both the reasonable production of income and safety of capital, consistent with the fiduciary’s duty of impartiality and the purposes of the trust … .”