Trustee Compensation

Sec. 736.0708, Fla. Stat. reads:

736.0708 Compensation of trustee.

(1)  If the terms of a trust do not specify the trustee’s compensation, a trustee is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances.

(2)  If the terms of a trust specify the trustee’s compensation, the trustee is entitled to be compensated as specified, but the court may allow more or less compensation if:

(a)  The duties of the trustee are substantially different from those contemplated when the trust was created; or

(b)  The compensation specified by the terms of the trust would be unreasonably low or high.

(3)  If the trustee has rendered other services in connection with the administration of the trust, the trustee shall also be allowed reasonable compensation for the other services rendered in addition to reasonable compensation as trustee.

In general, a trustee’s compensation depends upon the extent and character of the duties and responsibilities involved during the administration of the trust and must be reasonable in relation to the circumstances and the services actually rendered. See Osius v. Miami Beach First Nat. Bank, 74 So. 2d 779 (Fla.1954) (Trustees are entitled to a reasonable compensation “for their services, and the care and responsibility incident to their position.”). The following factors should be considered in establishing/opposing the reasonableness of a trustee’s compensation:

• The amount of capital and income received and disbursed by the trustee;
• The wages or salary customarily granted to agents or servants for performing like work in the community;
• The success or failure of the administration of the trustee;
• Any unusual skill or experience which the trustee in question may have brought to his work;
• The fidelity or disloyalty displayed by the trustee;
• The amount of risk and responsibility assumed;
• The time consumed in carrying out the trust;
• The custom in the community as to allowances to trustees by settlors or courts and as to charges exacted by trust companies and banks;
• The character of the work done in the course of administration, whether routine or involving skill and judgment;
• Any estimate which the trustee has given of the value of his own services; and
• Payments made by the cestuis to the trustee and intended to be applied toward his compensation.”

West Coast Hospital Association v. The Florida National Bank of Jacksonville, 100 So. 2d 807 (Fla. 1958). The weight to be given to any one factor and what is reasonable compensation rests in the discretion of the court in its consideration of the facts and circumstances of each trust and the performance of the trustee.