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What "prudent" means for a Pennsylvania trustee

Prudence is the standard a court would measure a trustee's decisions against. This guide explains what Pennsylvania's statute says it means and where the related duties sit.

Le texte intégral de ce guide est en anglais ; le résumé ci-dessus est dans votre langue. Les résumés des lois et l'anglais restent la source de référence.

Core duties · 6 min de lecture

The standard

20 Pa.C.S. §7774 provides that a trustee administers the trust as a prudent person would, considering its purposes, provisions, distribution requirements and other circumstances, and exercising reasonable care, skill and caution. The trustee takes reasonable steps to take control of and protect the trust property (§7779).

Investing

A Pennsylvania trustee accepts, holds, invests in and retains investments under the prudent investor rule of Chapter 72 of Title 20 (20 Pa.C.S. §7780.6(a)(1)). Where a trust's terms appoint a trust director for investments, the director's powers and the directed trustee's protections come from the Directed Trust Act (§§7780.16, 7780.20).

Loyalty and impartiality

A trustee administers the trust solely in the beneficiaries' interests; a transaction affected by a conflict between the trustee's fiduciary and personal interests is voidable by an affected beneficiary unless an exception the statute states applies (20 Pa.C.S. §7772). Where a trust has two or more beneficiaries, the trustee acts impartially, giving due regard to their respective interests (§7773).

Discretion

A trustee exercises a discretionary power in good faith and in accordance with the trust's terms and purposes and the beneficiaries' interests, however broad the discretion the terms grant (20 Pa.C.S. §7780.4). Many trustees write down the facts they weighed before each discretionary decision.

Les textes de loi, mot pour mot

  • Duty of loyalty - UTC 802

    20 Pa.C.S. §7772 ↗

    Explication claire et simple ; le texte intégral de la loi n'est pas encore attesté dans notre bibliothèque. Consultez la loi officielle via le lien ci-dessus.

  • Prudent administration - UTC 804

    20 Pa.C.S. §7774 ↗

    Explication claire et simple ; le texte intégral de la loi n'est pas encore attesté dans notre bibliothèque. Consultez la loi officielle via le lien ci-dessus.

  • Discretionary powers

    20 Pa.C.S. §7780.4 ↗

    Explication claire et simple ; le texte intégral de la loi n'est pas encore attesté dans notre bibliothèque. Consultez la loi officielle via le lien ci-dessus.

  • Illustrative powers of trustee

    20 Pa.C.S. §7780.6 ↗

    Explication claire et simple ; le texte intégral de la loi n'est pas encore attesté dans notre bibliothèque. Consultez la loi officielle via le lien ci-dessus.

Questions fréquentes

What standard applies to a Pennsylvania trustee's decisions?

The prudent person standard: reasonable care, skill and caution, considering the trust's purposes, provisions and distribution requirements (20 Pa.C.S. §7774).

How must a Pennsylvania trustee invest?

Under the prudent investor rule of Chapter 72 of Title 20, which governs the power to accept, hold, invest in and retain investments (20 Pa.C.S. §7780.6(a)(1)).

Can a Pennsylvania trustee buy trust property?

A transaction between the trust and the trustee is voidable by an affected beneficiary unless the terms, the court, the beneficiary's consent or another exception in 20 Pa.C.S. §7772 applies.

Le Centre d'apprentissage est de l'information générale sur la loi de la Pennsylvanie — pas un avis juridique, ni un substitut aux conseils d'un avocat de la Pennsylvanie agréé sur vos faits précis. TrusteeClear est un logiciel, pas un cabinet.