5. Power and Duties of Trustee

5. Powers and Duties of the Trustee
The Trustee shall have the following powers and responsibilities:
[Copied chapter from concise trustee book, and had chatGPT summarize.]
Powers of Trustees:
- General Powers:
- Inherent in trustees due to their official position and conferred by law.
- Special Powers:
- Derived specifically from the trust instrument.
- Discretionary Powers:
- Arise out of necessity for personal judgment.
- Can also be conferred by law or the trust instrument.
- Specific Examples of Trustee Powers:
- Binding the trust in contracts, including those implied by law.
- Managing trust property (e.g., selling, leasing, pledging, or mortgaging).
- Issuing or altering trust securities.
- Providing for the beneficiaries’ needs.
- Prosecution and defense in legal matters.
- Making gifts from trust property.
- Delegating non-essential powers.
- Exercising judgment and personal discretion unless restricted.
Duties of Trustees:
- Fundamental Fiduciary Duties:
- Trustees are bound by a correlative duty for every power they exercise.
- Specific Trustee Duties:
- Supporting beneficiaries’ essential needs using available trust funds.
- Acting in good faith and avoiding misuse of their position or special knowledge.
- Preserving and protecting trust property.
- Taking necessary actions to defend or assert the trust’s interests.
- Administrative Responsibilities:
- Keeping detailed minutes and accounts of trust activities.
- Managing and documenting financial transactions meticulously.
- Investment Duties:
- Investing funds securely to preserve capital for the remainderman.
- Ensuring investments yield a reasonable income for life beneficiaries.
- Co-Trustee Collaboration:
- Acting in concurrence with co-trustees unless explicitly authorized to act independently.
This outline emphasizes the dual responsibility of trustees to manage the trust with both diligence and a high standard of ethical behavior while adhering strictly to the terms of the trust instrument and relevant laws.