Florida District Courts of Appeal, 1987

Barnett Banks Trust Co., N.A. v. Hyman

Barnett Banks Trust Co., N.A. v. Hyman
Florida District Courts of Appeal · Decided April 1, 1987 · Gunther, Hersey, Leonard, Rivkind
504 So. 2d 791; 12 Fla. L. Weekly 916; 1987 Fla. App. LEXIS 7458 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

Barnett Banks Trust Co., N.A. v. Hyman

Opinion of the Court

GUNTHER, Judge.

Barnett Banks Trust Company, N.A., (Trustee) appeals an order directing the Trustee to pay attorney’s fees from the income and/or principal of the Grace P. Brissel Revocable Trust to the law firm retained by the court-appointed guardian of Grace P. Brissel, incompetent. We reverse the trial court because there is no statutory or contractual basis for the award of attorney’s fees. Payment of attorney’s fees was clearly not legally mandated by the trust provisions and thus, the court had no authority to compel the trustee to make such payments. Giglio v. Perretta, 493 So.2d 470 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986).

Reversed and remanded.

HERSEY, C.J., and RIVKIND, LEONARD, Associate Judge, concur.

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