Читать книгу Form 1041 - Stephen Brooks - Страница 18

The “trustee” is the person or entity that holds legal title to the trust property and manages that property for the sole benefit of the trust beneficiary or beneficiaries. The interests of the beneficiaries are protected under the law against mismanagement or misappropriation by the trustee.¹⁶ In performing its duties, the trustee is held to a “fiduciary standard” of conduct. Fundamentally, the fiduciary standard requires a duty of loyalty and a duty of prudence. This means that the trustee must act for the sole benefit of the trust beneficiaries and in a prudent manner in administering the trust. The trustee must also exercise the same care and skill as a man of ordinary prudence would exercise in dealing with his own property,¹⁷ and act in a manner which makes the trust property productive.¹⁸

The fiduciary standard also includes a host of subsidiary duties which act to reinforce the duties of loyalty and prudence.¹⁹ Those duties include the duty to keep accurate records with respect to the administration of the trust,²⁰ and to provide complete and accurate information to the trust beneficiaries concerning the nature of the trust property upon reasonable request.²¹