Kenneth Vercammen & Associates, P.C.
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Edison, NJ 08817
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Saturday, April 1, 2017

Trustee Commissions NJ

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:18-24.  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 corpus3B: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 agent12.  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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