Trustee

Where the statute uses it: Minn. Stat. § 501C.0103(t)

What it means

The definitions section of Minnesota’s trust code does not say what a trustee is. It says who counts as one: the original trustee, an added trustee, a successor, a cotrustee, and it does not matter whether a court ever appointed or confirmed any of them. A trustee named in a document and acting under it is a trustee for every purpose in the chapter.

What a trustee has to do is set out in the 501C.08xx sections, under the Revisor’s heading “DUTIES AND POWERS OF TRUSTEE.” It starts one sentence after acceptance.

Upon acceptance of a trusteeship, the trustee shall administer the trust in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries, and in accordance with this chapter and all other applicable law.

Section 501C.0802(a) adds the loyalty rule in two sentences: the trustee owes a duty of loyalty to the beneficiaries, and “[a] trustee shall not place the trustee’s own interests above those of the beneficiaries.” Section 501C.0813(a) adds the reporting duty for irrevocable trusts.

Where the word shows up

In the signature block of every deed, account application, and contract the trust enters, where the person signs as trustee rather than personally. In a certificate of trust, which has to name each trustee empowered to act and state how many of them are required to act.

The word carries the job whether or not the person wanted it. A settlor who names an adult child as successor trustee has named a fiduciary, not an honoree, and those duties attach on acceptance rather than on appointment.