Trustee Commissions NJ
3B:18-23 "Fiduciary" defined
As used in this
article "fiduciary" means a trustee acting under a will, a
nontestamentary trustee as defined in N.J.S. 3B:17-9 or a guardian.
L. 1981, c. 405, s. 
3B:18-23
, eff. May 1,
1982. Amended by L. 1985, c. 434, s. 1, eff. Jan. 13, 1986.
3B:18-23, eff. May 1,
1982. Amended by L. 1985, c. 434, s. 1, eff. Jan. 13, 1986.
3B:18-24. Income commissions
Commissions in the amount of 6% may be taken without
court allowance on all income received by the fiduciary. For the
purposes of this section, income which is withheld from payment to the
fiduciary pursuant to any law of this State, or of the United States, or
any other state, country or sovereignty or of any political subdivision
or governmental unit of any of the foregoing, for income tax or other tax
purposes, shall be deemed to be income received by the fiduciary, and
shall be subject to income commissions as if actually received by the
fiduciary.
L.1981, c. 405, s. 3B:18-24,
eff. May 1, 1982.
3B:18-25. Fiduciaries may take annual commissions on corpus
3B:18-25. a.
Fiduciaries may annually, without court allowance, take commissions on corpus
(including accumulated income which has been invested by the fiduciary) in the
amount of $5.00 per thousand dollars of corpus value on the first $400,000.00
of value of corpus and $3.00 per thousand dollars of the corpus value in excess
of $400,000.00.
3B:18-25. a.
Fiduciaries may annually, without court allowance, take commissions on corpus
(including accumulated income which has been invested by the fiduciary) in the
amount of $5.00 per thousand dollars of corpus value on the first $400,000.00
of value of corpus and $3.00 per thousand dollars of the corpus value in excess
of $400,000.00.
b.
Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection a. of this section, if the fiduciary is a banking
institution, foreign bank or savings and loan association authorized to
exercise fiduciary powers, the fiduciary shall be entitled to such commissions
as may be reasonable.
c.
Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection a. of this section, a fiduciary may take a minimum
commission of $100.00 annually.
d.
The value of the corpus
for the purpose of this section shall be the "presumptive value" as
defined in N.J.S.3B:18-18 or, at the option of the fiduciary, the value at the
end of the period.
e.
Upon application of a
person interested in the trust or guardianship, a court may review the
reasonableness of the commissions of the fiduciary, provided, however, the
fiduciary shall be entitled to receive at least the compensation provided for
all fiduciaries as set forth in subsections a. and c. of this section.
3B:18-25.1. Taking annual amount
on accounts of corpus commissions: two or more fiduciaries
Taking
annual amount on accounts of corpus commissions: two or more fiduciaries.
If there are two or more fiduciaries, the amount of the annual commissions
taken pursuant to N.J.S. 3B:18-25 may equal the commissions which may be taken
pursuant to that section when there is but one fiduciary, plus one-fifth of the
commissions for each fiduciary more than one. No one fiduciary shall be
entitled to any greater commission than that which would be allowed if there
were but one fiduciary involved.
L. 1989, c. 7, s. 1.
3B:18-25.2. Powers of qualified bank; duties of agent
12. a.
Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a qualified bank acting in any
capacity authorized pursuant to section 28 of P.L.1948, c.67 (C. 17:9A-28) on
behalf of a trust or estate may employ and pay reasonable compensation to any
person, including attorneys, auditors, investment advisers or other agents,
even if they are affiliated or associated with the qualified bank, to advise or
assist the qualified bank in the performance of any of its administrative
duties, whether or not discretionary, and to act without independent
investigation upon their recommendation, so long as the qualified bank
exercises care, skill, and caution in: selecting the agent; establishing
the scope and terms of the agent's duties consistent with the purpose and terms
of the governing trust instrument; and periodically reviewing the agent's
actions in order to monitor the agent's performance. A qualified bank
that delegates investment functions to an investment adviser shall also comply
with the requirements of sections 8 and 10 of P.L.1997, c.26
(C.3B:20-11.8 and 3B:20-11.10).
12. a.
Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a qualified bank acting in any
capacity authorized pursuant to section 28 of P.L.1948, c.67 (C. 17:9A-28) on
behalf of a trust or estate may employ and pay reasonable compensation to any
person, including attorneys, auditors, investment advisers or other agents,
even if they are affiliated or associated with the qualified bank, to advise or
assist the qualified bank in the performance of any of its administrative
duties, whether or not discretionary, and to act without independent
investigation upon their recommendation, so long as the qualified bank
exercises care, skill, and caution in: selecting the agent; establishing
the scope and terms of the agent's duties consistent with the purpose and terms
of the governing trust instrument; and periodically reviewing the agent's
actions in order to monitor the agent's performance. A qualified bank
that delegates investment functions to an investment adviser shall also comply
with the requirements of sections 8 and 10 of P.L.1997, c.26
(C.3B:20-11.8 and 3B:20-11.10).
b.
In performing any agency
function, the agent shall owe to the qualified bank and the beneficiaries the
same duties as the qualified bank and shall be held to the same fiduciary
standards as the qualified bank.
c.
In the absence of
express contrary provisions in the trust instrument, a qualified bank which
employs an agent other than an investment adviser or investment manager, may
pay the agent from the fiduciary fund if the qualified bank reasonably believes
in the exercise of its discretion that such an arrangement is in the best
interests of all interested persons and will improve the efficiency of the
administration of the fiduciary fund. In the absence of express contrary
provisions in the trust instrument, a qualified bank which delegates investment
and trust asset management functions to an investment adviser or an investment
manager shall comply with the cost control and other requirements of sections 8
and 10 of P.L.1997, c.26 (C.3B:20-11.8 and 3B:20-11.10).
d.
A qualified bank which
substantially complies with the requirements of subsections a. and c. of
this section shall not be liable to the beneficiaries or to the trust or estate
for the decisions or actions of the agent, and shall not, solely by reason of
the delegation, be deemed to engage in acts of self-dealing or a conflict of
interest.
e. By accepting an
appointment as agent from a qualified bank acting as a fiduciary of a trust or
estate that is subject to the law of New Jersey, the agent submits to the
jurisdiction of the courts of New Jersey, even if the agency agreement provides
otherwise.
L.1999,c.159,s.12.
3B:18-26. Failure to take commissions annually shall not constitute a
waiver thereof
The failure of a fiduciary to take commissions in any
year shall not constitute a waiver by the fiduciary to take in a subsequent
year the commissions not taken for that year.
3B:18-27. Commissions taken
annually subject to review
Commissions taken as provided in N.J.S. 3B:18-25 shall
be subject to review on intermediate and final accountings, and to the
extent that aggregate commissions so taken exceed the commissions
allowable under this article, they may be disallowed.
L.1981, c. 405, s. 3B:18-27,
eff. May 1, 1982.
3B:18-28. Corpus commissions on termination of trust, guardianship or
upon distribution of assets
In addition to the annual commissions on corpus, upon
termination of the trust or guardianship, or upon distribution of assets from
the trust or guardianship, the fiduciary may take a commission on corpus distributed,
including accumulated income, which has been invested by the fiduciary.
The value of the corpus for the purpose of computing the commissions shall be
the "presumptive value" or, at the option of the fiduciary, the
value at the time of distribution, as defined in N.J.S. 3B:18-18. The
amounts of the commissions to be taken are as follows:
a. If the distribution of
corpus occurs within 5 years of the date when the corpus is received by
the fiduciary, an amount equal to the annual commissions on corpus
authorized pursuant to N.J.S. 3B:18-25, but not actually taken by the
fiduciary, plus an amount equal to 2% of the value of the corpus distributed;
b. If distribution of the
corpus occurs between 5 and 10 years of the date when the corpus is
received by the fiduciary, an amount equal to the annual commissions on
corpus authorized pursuant to N.J.S. 3B:18-25, but not actually received
by the fiduciary, plus an amount equal to 1 1/2 % of the value
of the corpus distributed;
c. If the distribution of
corpus occurs more than 10 years after the date the corpus is received by the
fiduciary, an amount equal to the annual commissions on corpus authorized
pursuant to N.J.S. 3B:18-25, but not actually received by the fiduciary, plus an
amount equal to 1% of the value of the corpus distributed; and
d. If there are two or more
fiduciaries, their corpus commissions shall be the same as for a single
fiduciary plus an additional amount of one-fifth of the commissions for
each additional fiduciary.
L.1981, c. 405, s. 3B:18-28,
eff. May 1, 1982.
3B:18-29. Corpus commissions; unusual or extraordinary services
The court may, on
an intermediate or the final settlement of fiduciaries' accounts, allow corpus
commissions in addition to those provided in this article, on a showing that
unusual or extraordinary services have been rendered by the fiduciary for
which he should receive additional compensation.
3B:18-30. Burden of proving value
In the event of a
dispute as to the value of corpus on the settlement of the account of a
fiduciary, the burden of proving that the value of any item of corpus
differs from the presumptive value of the item shall be upon the party
claiming the difference.
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