Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

It depends on the terms of the trust. If the trust says he serves without pay, he serves without pay. If it states he gets paid, he gets paid out of trust income, or however it provides for his payment.

If the trust is silent, there is a statutory compensation provision and it is paid out of the trust.

The first thing that your husband needs to do is look at the Trust document. Unless the trust provides that he is to serve without pay, i.e. it is silent on the subject or states that he is entitled to be paid, your husband will be entitled to a fee. If the fee is not set in the document (which is somewhat rare) he will be entitled to receive a "reasonable" for his services. What is reasonable will depend on how much is in the Trust and what he has been required to do in administering the Trust. One starting point would be to look at is the statutory fees provided in the California Probate Code for the administration of an estate of similar size. You can also look at the fees private fiduciaries and trust companies might charge for such a trust. Any attorney experienced in this area should be able to give you a range of "fair" fees and help guide you. Whatever the fee is, it will be paid out of the Trust as part of its administrative expenses. Assuming that there are plenty of assets in the Trust is is, therefore, the residuary beneficiaries of the Trust that will be paying the fee.

I hope this helps. If you would like to discuss your situation further, please do not hesitate to give me a call.

Jon Reich

310.478.2541

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The above response is not intended to, and does not, create an attorney-client, fiduciary or other confidential relationship with the responder. Neither does it constitute the providing of legal advice or services or the giving of a legal opinion by the responder. Such a relationship can only be created, and legal advice and/or legal services provided, pursuant to a written agreement with the responder. Accordingly, no obligations of any kind are assumed with respect to any matter or question presented. It should also be noted that legal issues are often time sensitive and legal rights may be lost or compromised if you do not act in a timely fashion.