Skip to content
Hull and Hull LLP
  • Home
  • About
  • Lawyers
  • Knowledge
  • Contact
Hull and Hull LLP
  • Home
  • About
  • Lawyers
  • Knowledge
  • Contact
Hull and Hull LLP Knowledge
  • All
  • Articles
  • News / Events
  • The Probater
  • Solicitor's Tips
  • Podcasts
  • Webinars / Videos

Is Acting as an Estate Trustee a Good Idea?

By Hull & Hull LLP | January 15, 2018 | 3 minutes of reading | Leave a Comment

If someone asks you to act as their Estate Trustee, or you learn to your surprise that you are named as an Estate Trustee after the person’s passing, there are a number of things that you should consider before accepting such a responsibility. Given the significant duties involved in such a role, it is important to be aware of the potential for personal liability.

An Estate Trustee’s Legal Duties

An Estate Trustee is a fiduciary and, as such, s/he owes a duty to exercise the care, diligence and skill that a person of ordinary prudence would exercise in dealing with the property of the Deceased.

Furthermore, an Estate Trustee owes a “duty of loyalty”, which has been described as the duty to act honestly and in good faith, and to use powers solely for the purposes for which they were granted (see Oosterhoff on Trusts: Text, Commentary and Materials, 8th ed.). The “duty of loyalty” means that:

(a) An Estate Trustee must exercise powers and perform duties solely in the interest of the Estate.

(b) An Estate Trustee must not knowingly permit a situation to arise where:

(i) The Estate Trustee’s personal interest conflicts in any way with the exercise of powers or performance of duties; or

(ii) The Estate Trustee derives a personal benefit or a benefit to a third party, except as far as the law or the Will expressly permit.

Additional legal duties of an Estate Trustee are:

  • The “prudent investor” rule which ensures that the Estate Trustee properly invests the Estate assets;
  • The “even-hand” rule which ensures that the Estate Trustee acts impartially among all the beneficiaries;
  • The “duty of transparency” which ensures that the Estate Trustee provides information to the beneficiaries; and
  • The “duty to account”.

Some Practical Considerations

From a practical stand point it is also prudent to consider the overall complexity of the Estate and what type and quantity of work will be expected from you in your role as an Estate Trustee. Certainly, some Estate Trustees can be compensated for the work they perform; however, there is a limit to what one may claim and it largely depends on the circumstances.

There are certain tasks that an Estate Trustee may want to delegate to third parties; however, there is a limit as to what type of work may be delegated and what is considered reasonable.

You should consider whether the Will properly sets out the powers as well as the responsibilities of the Estate Trustee which will aid you in the future, should any of your decisions be challenged. Another useful consideration is whether there are any third parties, or specifically, any beneficiaries who may be difficult to deal with in your role as an Estate Trustee, or may want to challenge your authority in the future.

In making the decision whether or not to act as an Estate Trustee, it may also be a good idea to speak to a lawyer regarding whether taking on this role may present an unacceptable legal risk for you in the future.

Thanks for reading.

Kira Domratchev

Find this blog interesting? Please consider these other related posts:

The Difference Between Powers and Duties of an Estate Trustee

Estate Trustees’ Standard of Care

Estate Trustee Duties


Related Posts

  • Recent Guidance from the ONSC on Will Interpretation and Trustee Removal By Hull & Hull LLP, October 8, 2024
  • Imprisonment for Failing to Pass Accounts By Hull & Hull LLP, December 18, 2023
  • Should You Be an Executor? The Choice is Yours By Hull & Hull LLP, September 15, 2023
  • Protecting Your M(ost) V(aluable) P(et) By Darien Murray, January 16, 2023
  • Are Beneficiary Designations in the Future of Cryptocurrencies? By Nick Esterbauer, August 15, 2022
  • Limits on Testamentary Freedom – Restrictions in Will Planning By Hull & Hull LLP, July 26, 2022
Previous

Jail Time for Contempt of Civil Order

Next

Who Decides How to Dispose of Human Remains?

Subscribe

Sign up receive email communications from Hull & Hull LLP.

We send three types of communications: our quarterly Probater Newsletter, monthly Solicitor's Tips, and a daily summary of articles from our blog. By default you will receive all communications. You may set your personal preferences by deslecting the options below.

Hull and Hull LLP logo

Contact

Practice Areas

Hull e-State Planner

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Hull and Hull LLP

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}