Serving as Trustee and wondering what you may charge?
Start the free role checkHow Massachusetts approaches the number
- Trust terms first. If the instrument specifies compensation, the Trustee is entitled to what it says — though a court may allow more or less if the duties turn out substantially different from those contemplated, or the specified amount is unreasonably low or high.
- If the Trust is silent: compensation reasonable under the circumstances. There is no statutory percentage for Massachusetts Trustees — courts weigh things like the size of the Trust, the work actually performed, the skill required, and customary charges.
- Professional help is separate: expenses properly incurred in the administration are reimbursed from the Trust property, with interest as appropriate (G.L. c. 203E, § 709), and the account states the amount of your compensation (G.L. c. 203E, § 813(c)); Massachusetts's statute asks for no advance notice of a change in it. Among the remedies for a breach of trust, the court may reduce or deny compensation (G.L. c. 203E, § 1001); family Trustees commonly charge modestly or waive — choices, not requirements.
- Don't confuse it with the attorney's fee. The Trustee's own compensation is governed by G.L. c. 203E, § 708; the attorney the Trustee hires is paid the fee they agree — Massachusetts sets no presumptive attorney fee for trust administration.
The governing provisions
Compensation of trustee
G.L. c. 203E, § 708 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Duty of loyalty
G.L. c. 203E, § 802 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Discretionary powers; tax savings
G.L. c. 203E, § 814 ↗Clear, simple explanation; the verbatim statute text is not yet attested in our library. See the official statute via the link above.
Why paying yourself needs care
- Paying yourself is a self-interested act by a fiduciary — the duty of loyalty (G.L. c. 203E, § 802) is in the room. Document the basis, the rate, the time, and the work before the money moves.
- If you are also a beneficiary, the line between compensation and distribution matters: G.L. c. 203E, § 814 limits self-dealing discretion, and compensation that looks like a disguised distribution invites challenge.
- Beneficiaries will see it: compensation appears in the Trust accounting (G.L. c. 203E, § 813(c)). A number that surprises them there is how disputes start.
- TrusteeClear treats paying yourself as a gated action — the record is assembled before the payment, and a firm-supervised matter routes it to the attorney first.
General information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Massachusetts trustee paid?
- As the terms of the trust specify; if they do not specify the trustee's compensation, a trustee is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances (G.L. c. 203E, § 708(a)). Massachusetts has no statutory fee schedule for a trustee, and its statute asks for no advance notice of a change in compensation; the trustee's account includes the amount of the trustee's compensation (§ 813(c)), and expenses properly incurred in the administration are reimbursed from the trust property, with interest as appropriate (§ 709(a)).
- Can a court change a Massachusetts trustee's compensation?
- Yes. Where the terms specify the compensation, the court may allow more or less if the trustee's duties are substantially different from those contemplated when the trust was created or the specified compensation would be unreasonably low or high (G.L. c. 203E, § 708(b)) — a power the terms of the trust cannot take away (§ 105(b)(7)); among the remedies for a breach of trust, the court may reduce or deny compensation to the trustee (§ 1001(b)(8)).
- What about a trust the Probate and Family Court supervises?
- No trust is subject to continuing judicial supervision unless the court orders it (G.L. c. 203E, § 201(b)), and a proceeding to review and settle a trustee's accounts may be begun by petition with notice to interested parties (§ 201(d)). An account rendered to the probate court covers a distinctly stated period in three schedules and states the receipts and payments of principal and income separately (G.L. c. 206, § 2). Compensation follows G.L. c. 203E, § 708 in either case — the terms, or else compensation reasonable under the circumstances, with the court's power to allow more or less — and a testamentary trustee furnishes a bond, with a surety unless the terms waive it or the court finds it not necessary (§ 702).
General information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice.