Attorney Fees of Trustee Reduced

It was a breach of fiduciary duty for the trustee to fail to ensure legal fees were reasonable and failing to review and question the fees charged, which were excessive in relation to the value of the trust (almost one third of the value of the trust), the hourly rates that were charged exceeded the rates charged by other lawyers with similar skill and experience, the legal services included preparation of a “form template” petition for a “vanilla” adjudication, attorney time was spent at a deposition to which the trustee was not directly related, and the invoices included duplicate billing for different lawyers performing the same tasks in violation of the fee agreement, and so a surcharge of the trustee was warranted. Vaccarello Trust, 1 Fid.Rep.4th 77 (Montgomery O.C. 2022).

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