California vs. Florida court accounting formats.
A fiduciary accounting has to be in the form the local court accepts — and that form differs by state. Here's how California and Florida compare, the code sections that govern each, and what the move to UFIPA changed in both.
What every court accounting has in common
Regardless of state, a fiduciary accounting tells the court the same story: what the fiduciary started with, what came in, what went out, and what's left — with total charges equal to total credits to the dollar. It also requires separating principal from income, because beneficiaries' rights to each can differ. Both California and Florida now draw that principal/income line under a version of the Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act (UFIPA). The differences are in the schedules, the forms, and the citations.
California: Probate Code §1061 and the GC-400/405 forms
California trust and estate accountings follow Probate Code §1061–1063. Section 1061 sets out the summary of account and the supporting schedules — receipts, disbursements, gains and losses on sales, distributions, and property on hand — and §1062–1063 add further schedule requirements. For conservatorships and guardianships, accountings are presented on the Judicial Council forms in the GC-400/GC-405 series.
On the principal/income side, California adopted UFIPA as Probate Code §16320 et seq., effective January 1, 2024 (SB 522), replacing the prior Uniform Principal and Income Act. Multi-year accountings that straddle that date are governed act-by-act depending on when each transaction occurred — a detail that matters for any catch-up covering both sides of 2024.
Florida: Fla. Prob. R. 5.346 and the guardianship rules
Florida fiduciary accountings follow Florida Probate Rule 5.346, which prescribes the form of a fiduciary accounting — a schedule of receipts, a schedule of disbursements, and a statement of assets at the end of the period, among other elements. For guardianships (Florida's counterpart to a California conservatorship), the annual accounting is required under Fla. Stat. §744.3678.
Florida adopted its version of UFIPA as the Florida Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act, Fla. Stat. Chapter 738, effective January 1, 2025 — so Florida, like California, now allocates principal and income under the uniform framework, with its own enacted provisions.
Why the format matters more than it sounds
A correct set of numbers in the wrong format can still be rejected or sent back. The court expects its schedules, its totals, and its principal/income treatment. That's why reconstructing the ledger is only part of the job — the last step is presenting it exactly as the relevant state requires, whether that's a California §1061 summary or a Florida Rule 5.346 accounting.
One engine, both states
Because both states now sit on UFIPA, the underlying accounting work — reconstruct, classify, separate principal from income, balance to the dollar — is largely the same; the court-output layer is what changes. We prepare accountings in both California and Florida formats from the same clean ledger, so a trustee, fiduciary, or attorney working across state lines doesn't need two different providers.
This is general information about court-accounting formats, not legal or tax advice, and citations can change. Confirm the applicable rules and local requirements with your attorney or the court.
Need an accounting in California or Florida format?
We reconstruct the records and deliver it in the form your court accepts. Free scope, fixed price before you commit.