Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Trustee Fees

Trustees are entitled to reasonable fees, unless limited by the trust agreement. Trustee fees are typically .75 to 1.5 percent of the trust principal per year, plus some extra fees allowed in certain cases. To determine what's reasonable in your case, you may want to contact a couple of trust companies for their fee schedule and see what they'd charge for work similar to what you are doing.

Re: Trustee Fees

this depends upon the language of the trust agreement. if a "reasonable" fee is provided, you will need to be able to support the fee which you are paid in the event of any inquiry by a beneficiary.

if this trust is under the supervision of the probate court, you may need to obtain approval for the amount of the fee.

Re: Trustee Fees

The amount of trustee fees to which you may be entitled are set forth in the Declaration of Trust. It may say the fees are waived, it may say a "reasonable fee," or set a specific percentage or amount. If it states a "reasonable fee," you should find out what the going rate is in that county. For larger estates, a common fee is about 1% of the trust estate.

I hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Kai H. Wessels, Esq.

(408) 268-2580