18 2007 v. Kenneth J. Abraham, Appellee. (2025)

Appellant, Becky Kersey (“Appellant”), appeals a final order of the trial court awarding Appellee, Kenneth Abraham (“Appellee”), attorney's fees in a case in which the trial court found that Appellant breached her fiduciary duty as a trustee in administering her mother's living trust. We affirm the final judgment without discussion. We write, however, to address Appellee's motion for appellate attorney's fees.

Appellee's motion seeks an award of appellate attorney's fees pursuant to Section 736.1005, Florida Statutes. We agree with the Fourth District, however, that we do not have jurisdiction to award appellate attorney's fees from a trust under Section 736.1005. See Bronstein v. Bronstein, 332 So. 3d 510, 513-14 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021) (citing Garvey v. Garvey, 219 So. 2d 685 (Fla. 1969)). The court below has exclusive jurisdiction pursuant to the statute to award attorney's fees from the trust. Accordingly, Appellee's motion for attorney's fees is denied without prejudice to Appellee seeking attorney's fees for this appeal in the lower court.

AFFIRMED.

PER CURIAM.

SMITH, MIZE and GANNAM, JJ., concur.