Fiduciary Duty Highest Duty Known In Civil Law In exercising its powers, the trustee has a fiduciaries responsibility to the beneficiaries of a trust. This is the highest duty known in civil law, and should not be ever taken lightly. Powers can, or course, be limited in relationship to the purpose of the trust. However, in most cases expansive powers are desirable to permit the current, and future trustees, to act in circumstance unforeseeable at the time the trust is formed.No Self-Dealing Equal Treatment All Beneficiaries- Annual Accounting No one beneficiary can be favored. In addition of diligence in preserving trust property, the trustee has a duty to document its actions by keeping complete and accurate records. Unless expressly limited in the trust, each beneficiary has a right to an annual accounting upon demand. | Preserve Property Follow Prudent Investor Rule Courts apply a higher standard of care for trustees who have special financial skills. The Prudent Investor Act requires a trustee to preserve the trust property and to make it productive, while acting with reasonable care, skill, caution, and undivided loyalty to the beneficiaries. Trustee should be aware that fiduciary litigation is on the rise. The Center of Fiduciary Analysis reports a 22% compound annual increase in fiduciary litigation. When the trust document waives the Prudent Man Rule, beneficiaries have no recourse against the trustee poor investment performance. In Hoffman v. First Virginia Bank of Tidewater, 220 Va. 834, 263 S.E.2d 402, the court held that when the Prudent Man Rule has been waived, the trustee could only be liable for fraud, dishonesty or bad faith. Under the will, the trustee was given power to invest in any type of property “regardless of diversification or State laws.” The trustee invested in more than one-third of the trust assets in REIT securities which became “substantially worthless.” The court decided that the trustee was not liable. |
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