Serving as Trustee and wondering what you may charge?
Start the free role checkHow Utah 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 Utah 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 are reimbursed from the Trust (Utah Code § 75B-2-709), and a change in the method or rate of your compensation is noticed to the qualified beneficiaries in advance (Utah Code § 75B-2-811(2)(d)). Among the remedies for a breach of trust, the court may reduce or deny compensation (Utah Code § 75B-2-1001); 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 Utah Code § 75B-2-708; the attorney the Trustee hires is paid the fee they agree — Utah sets no presumptive attorney fee for trust administration.
The governing provisions
Compensation of trustee
Utah Code § 75B-2-708 ↗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
Utah Code § 75B-2-802 ↗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
Utah Code § 75B-2-812 ↗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 (Utah Code § 75B-2-802) 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: Utah Code § 75B-2-812 limits self-dealing discretion, and compensation that looks like a disguised distribution invites challenge.
- Beneficiaries will see it: compensation appears in the Trust accounting (Utah Code § 75B-2-811(3)). 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 Utah law, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Utah trustee paid?
- As the trust's terms specify; where they do not, the trustee is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances (Utah Code § 75B-2-708). Utah has no fee schedule for a trustee.
- Can a court change a Utah trustee's compensation?
- Among the remedies for a breach of trust, the court may reduce or deny compensation to the trustee (Utah Code § 75B-2-1001); the court's power over a trustee's compensation and its review of the trustee's fees are matters of its jurisdiction over the trust's internal affairs (§ 75B-2-201).
- Does a Utah trustee have to tell beneficiaries about a fee change?
- Utah's statute provides notice to the qualified beneficiaries in advance of any change in the method or rate of the trustee's compensation, with no number of days stated (Utah Code § 75B-2-811(2)(d)), and each trustee's report shows the amount of the compensation or a fee schedule or other writing showing how it was determined (§ 75B-2-811(3)).
General information about Utah law, not legal advice.