Table of Contents
- 11 Duties Executors and Trustees Commonly Violate
- What Executors And Trustees Owe Beneficiaries
- 1. Failing To Follow The Will Or Trust Terms
- 2. Putting Personal Interests Ahead Of Beneficiaries
- 3. Treating Beneficiaries Unequally Without Legal Justification
- 4. Mismanaging Investments Or Estate Assets
- 5. Keeping Poor Records Or No Records At All
- 6. Commingling Funds With Personal Money
- 7. Failing To Inform Beneficiaries And Provide Accountings
- 8. Delaying Administration Without A Valid Reason
- 9. Failing To Pay Taxes, File Returns, Or Address Debts Properly
- 10. Failing To Protect And Recover Assets
- 11. Taking Excessive Fees Or Unauthorized Compensation
- Why These Violations Matter In Litigation
- When Beneficiaries Start Looking For Legal Help
- Final Tip
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11 Duties Executors and Trustees Commonly Violate
When a family member, friend, or professional steps into the role of executor or trustee, people often assume the job is mostly paperwork. In reality, it is a fiduciary role. That means the person in charge is expected to manage someone else’s money or property with loyalty, care, transparency, and attention to the governing documents. Courts, probate statutes, trust codes, and tax authorities all treat that role seriously.
This is where many estate and trust disputes begin. A fiduciary may not think they are doing anything wrong, yet beneficiaries start seeing unexplained delays, missing records, self-interested decisions, uneven treatment, or tax problems. In some situations, those facts can point to a breach of duty. If you want a broader foundation first, it may help to read this overview of how fiduciary duties work in estate and trust cases.
In this post, you’ll learn about 11 duties executors and trustees commonly violate, what those duties usually involve, and what patterns often lead beneficiaries to consult counsel.
What Executors And Trustees Owe Beneficiaries
An executor, also called a personal representative in many states, generally gathers estate assets, addresses debts and taxes, and distributes what remains according to the will or state intestacy law. The IRS describes those general responsibilities as collecting assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing remaining property, while also filing required returns and providing an accounting of assets and debts to the probate court when required by the case. IRS guidance and Publication 559 both outline those obligations.
A trustee’s job is similar in spirit but different in structure. Under the Uniform Trust Code, a trustee is expected to administer the trust in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries. The same code also describes core duties of loyalty, impartiality, prudent administration, recordkeeping, protection of trust property, and reporting to beneficiaries.
Those principles sound straightforward. In practice, they are where many lawsuits live.
1. Failing To Follow The Will Or Trust Terms
A fiduciary’s first job is often the most basic: follow the instrument.
For trustees, the Uniform Trust Code states that upon accepting the role, “the trustee shall administer the trust in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries.” That language appears in Section 801 of the code published by the Uniform Law Commission. Executors are similarly expected to carry out the will and estate administration process according to the governing documents and applicable probate law.
Common examples include:
- distributing assets to the wrong person
- ignoring a specific bequest
- selling property the document says to retain
- making discretionary decisions the document does not authorize
- using estate or trust funds for purposes outside administration
Sometimes the fiduciary argues that they were “just being practical.” Sometimes they claim everyone in the family agreed informally. Those explanations do not always resolve the problem, especially if the written terms point the other way.
2. Putting Personal Interests Ahead Of Beneficiaries
This is the classic duty of loyalty problem.
Section 802 of the Uniform Trust Code says a trustee shall administer the trust “solely in the interests of the beneficiaries.” That duty is a centerpiece of modern fiduciary law, and it often appears in state trust statutes as well. Cornell’s Legal Information Institute also summarizes the prudent investor rule and related fiduciary standards that often work together with loyalty obligations.
For executors and trustees, loyalty issues often look like this:
- purchasing estate or trust property personally at a discount
- steering work to a closely related business
- taking excessive compensation
- favoring one heir because of a personal relationship
- delaying distributions to preserve control over assets
- using estate or trust funds to benefit themselves
Conflicts are not always hidden. Sometimes they are right on the surface. A fiduciary may think, “I’m also a beneficiary, so I can make this call.” In general terms, being both fiduciary and beneficiary is common. The legal trouble often starts when personal benefit begins driving administration decisions.
3. Treating Beneficiaries Unequally Without Legal Justification
Many trust disputes involve partiality rather than outright theft.
Section 803 of the Uniform Trust Code provides that if a trust has two or more beneficiaries, the trustee shall act impartially in investing, managing, and distributing trust property, giving due regard to their respective interests. That does not always mean equal treatment. It usually means fair treatment based on the document and the beneficiaries’ actual rights.
Executors can run into similar issues when communicating with heirs, valuing property, deciding what gets sold, or making interim distributions.
This often shows up when:
- one sibling gets constant updates and another gets silence
- one beneficiary receives early distributions while others wait
- trust income beneficiaries are favored at the expense of remainder beneficiaries, or vice versa
- assets are allocated in a way that benefits one branch of the family over another
These facts can be subtle. If you are trying to evaluate them, it may also help to understand how these claims are generally framed against executors and trustees.
4. Mismanaging Investments Or Estate Assets
Fiduciaries are not expected to predict markets perfectly. They are generally expected to act prudently.
Section 804 of the Uniform Trust Code states that a trustee shall administer the trust as a prudent person would, considering the purposes, terms, distributional requirements, and other circumstances of the trust, and exercising reasonable care, skill, and caution. The Legal Information Institute’s overview notes that modern prudent-investor standards in many states focus on overall portfolio strategy, diversification, and context rather than judging each investment in isolation.
Executor problems in this category can include:
- allowing a vacant house to deteriorate
- failing to insure estate property
- leaving large sums idle for long periods without reason
- holding concentrated stock positions without evaluating risk
- failing to secure business interests or rental property
- ignoring appraisals or market conditions when selling assets
A loss alone does not automatically prove misconduct. But unexplained inaction, lack of investigation, or careless management can become central evidence in a fiduciary case.
5. Keeping Poor Records Or No Records At All
Recordkeeping problems are one of the fastest ways to turn suspicion into litigation.
The IRS states that an executor has a duty to keep complete and detailed records that allow accurate determination of estate tax liability, and to retain documents and vouchers used in preparing returns. That appears in 26 C.F.R. § 20.6001-1. The IRS also explains that estate administrators commonly provide the probate court with an accounting of assets and debts. IRS estate administrator guidance.
For trustees, Section 810 of the Uniform Trust Code states that a trustee shall keep adequate records of trust administration and keep trust property separate from the trustee’s own property. Uniform Trust Code.
In real cases, recordkeeping issues often include:
- no ledger of receipts and disbursements
- missing bank statements
- undocumented reimbursements
- cash withdrawals with vague explanations
- missing closing statements from asset sales
- no backup for fiduciary fees
When the paper trail is weak, courts may become far less receptive to a fiduciary’s explanation. Beneficiaries often view this as the point where “bad administration” starts looking like concealment.
6. Commingling Funds With Personal Money
Commingling is one of the most common and most damaging fiduciary mistakes.
Section 810 of the Uniform Trust Code expressly says trust property is to be kept separate from the trustee’s own property. The reason is simple: once funds are mixed, it becomes much harder to tell what belongs to whom, whether unauthorized withdrawals happened, and whether fiduciary expenses were real or invented. Uniform Trust Code.
Examples include:
- depositing estate checks into a personal account
- paying personal credit cards with trust money and calling it “temporary”
- using one account for several unrelated estates or trusts
- failing to retitle accounts into the name of the estate or trust
- treating estate cash as a personal line of credit
Sometimes commingling begins as sloppiness rather than fraud. That distinction may matter factually, but it does not always eliminate exposure. In many disputes, once funds are mixed, nearly every later transaction becomes harder to defend.
7. Failing To Inform Beneficiaries And Provide Accountings
Beneficiaries often do not expect perfect administration. They do expect information.
Section 813 of the Uniform Trust Code says a trustee shall keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed about trust administration and the material facts necessary for them to protect their interests. It also requires prompt responses to reasonable information requests and, in many situations, at least annual reports containing trust property, liabilities, receipts, disbursements, compensation, and asset information. Uniform Trust Code.
The IRS likewise discusses the executor’s responsibility to account for estate assets and debts in the course of administration. IRS guidance.
Communication failures often sound familiar:
- “We’ve asked for statements for a year and got nothing.”
- “Nobody told us the house was being sold.”
- “The trustee refuses to explain where the money went.”
- “The executor says we’ll get information when everything is over.”
For beneficiaries, lack of reporting is often not just frustrating. It can block them from spotting self-dealing, missed tax filings, undervalued sales, or improper distributions. If you are looking at those patterns, this discussion of loyalty, prudence, conflicts, and surcharge issues can provide added context.
8. Delaying Administration Without A Valid Reason
Some estates are genuinely complex. Some trusts involve hard-to-value assets, litigation, tax disputes, or real property that takes time to sell. Delay by itself is not always misconduct.
But excessive delay can become a breach when a fiduciary is not moving administration forward.
The IRS describes the personal representative’s duties as gathering assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing the remaining assets. Publication 559 and the IRS Internal Revenue Manual both describe that sequence. The Uniform Probate Code framework, summarized by Cornell’s personal representative entry, similarly treats estate property as being managed for creditors and interested persons during administration, not held indefinitely for the fiduciary’s convenience.
Red flags include:
- years passing with no inventory or accounting
- no visible effort to market estate property
- uncashed checks or dormant accounts
- unexplained refusal to make partial distributions
- repeated excuses without documents to support them
Delay often increases damages too. Properties decline, taxes accrue, investment opportunities are lost, and family conflict deepens.
9. Failing To Pay Taxes, File Returns, Or Address Debts Properly
Tax mistakes can expose both the estate or trust and, in some situations, the fiduciary personally.
The IRS states that a personal representative has the duty to file the decedent’s and estate’s returns when due, and if appointed in a fiduciary capacity, to give notice to the IRS. Publication 559 and the Instructions for Form 56 address those responsibilities. The IRS also notes that executors keep records and provide supplemental information necessary to determine estate tax liability. 26 C.F.R. § 20.6001-1.
Common tax and debt-related violations include:
- failing to file the decedent’s final income tax return
- failing to file fiduciary income tax returns for the estate or trust
- missing estate tax filing deadlines where applicable
- distributing assets before resolving creditor claims
- paying lower-priority claims while tax liabilities remain unresolved
- ignoring penalties and interest that accumulate during inaction
These errors can transform an ordinary administration matter into a more expensive dispute, because the financial harm is often measurable.
10. Failing To Protect And Recover Assets
A fiduciary is not just a bookkeeper. The role often includes active asset protection.
Section 811 of the Uniform Trust Code says a trustee shall take reasonable steps to enforce claims of the trust and defend claims against the trust. Section 812 says a trustee shall take reasonable steps to compel a former trustee or other person to deliver trust property and to address a known breach by a former trustee. Uniform Trust Code.
For executors, similar issues arise when they fail to marshal estate property, secure title documents, pursue assets wrongfully taken before death, or collect money owed to the estate.
This category often includes:
- not gathering accounts and tangible property
- failing to change locks, secure insurance, or preserve valuables
- ignoring unpaid debts owed to the estate or trust
- failing to challenge suspicious pre-death transfers where appropriate
- doing nothing after discovering a predecessor’s misconduct
When a fiduciary knows assets exist and still does not act, beneficiaries often begin asking whether the inaction was mere neglect or something more self-interested.
11. Taking Excessive Fees Or Unauthorized Compensation
Executors and trustees are often entitled to compensation, but compensation disputes are common because the fiduciary controls the books, the timing, and sometimes the narrative.
The IRS makes clear that executor fees are taxable income to the recipient. IRS executor fee guidance. The Uniform Trust Code also contains provisions on compensation and reporting, including notice to beneficiaries of changes in method or rate of trustee compensation and inclusion of compensation information in trustee reports. Uniform Trust Code.
Problems tend to arise when a fiduciary:
- pays themselves before obtaining required approval
- bills for work not performed
- charges professional rates for basic family tasks
- duplicates fees across related entities
- takes “reimbursements” without receipts
- increases compensation without notice or authority
Fee disputes are often emotionally charged because they can look like the fiduciary profiting from delay, secrecy, or family confusion.
Why These Violations Matter In Litigation
Not every mistake becomes a lawsuit. But certain patterns tend to push matters in that direction:
- missing money
- missing records
- silence in response to requests
- favoritism
- unauthorized transactions
- long delay with no explanation
- tax exposure
- obvious conflicts of interest
In many states, remedies may include removal of the fiduciary, an order for accounting, repayment of losses, denial or reduction of compensation, or a surcharge. Courts often focus on the documents, the timeline, the records, and whether the fiduciary can explain their conduct with objective support.
That is one reason beneficiaries often spend significant time building a paper trail before making formal claims. Bank statements, tax filings, probate dockets, accountings, emails, text messages, property records, and trust reports frequently become the backbone of these cases.
When Beneficiaries Start Looking For Legal Help
People usually do not search for an estate or trust litigator after one mildly delayed email. They start looking when the situation begins to feel structurally wrong.
That often happens when:
- the fiduciary controls all the information
- there is no clear accounting
- asset values do not make sense
- family explanations keep changing
- deadlines pass with no progress
- distributions are blocked without documentation
At that point, an attorney may help evaluate whether the problem is ordinary administration friction or evidence of fiduciary misconduct. And because estate and trust disputes are so fact-specific, many families look for counsel with documented experience in highly similar matters, not just a general estate planning background.
Final Tip
A beneficiary does not always need proof of theft to start asking questions. In many fiduciary disputes, the first serious sign is simpler than that: the person in charge cannot produce a clear, credible, documented account of what they did and why.
If you’re dealing with unexplained delay, missing records, self-dealing concerns, or uneven treatment in an estate or trust matter, you may want to consider speaking with counsel who has relevant, demonstrable experience handling fiduciary-breach claims. Visit ReferU.AI to get matched with an attorney who has demonstrable experience in cases like yours — for free.
