— Decedent died August 8, 1924. By his will, he directed that his
All the initial income beneficiaries are still alive and the trusts continue in whole. Due to the death of the individual trustee on January 11, 1948, an account of the trustees has been filed with respect to each trust. In said accounts, credit has been claimed for commissions at the rate of 1% percent on principal to the deceased trustee. These principal commissions are claimed only on assets as to which no executors’ commissions have been charged or paid. The corporate accountant has also claimed commissions of five percent on income since the date of death of the individual trustee.
The accounts have been confronted by exceptions presented on behalf of the income beneficiaries who object to the allowance of any principal commissions at this time and who claim that commissions on income at the rate of five percent are excessive. They also object to the counsel fees noted in the account.
Although the corporate trustee performed all the accounting functions with respect to the trusts and also acted as custodian of the assets of the trust, the
Although, as a general rule, a trustee is not entitled to charge commissions on the corpus of the trust until the termination thereof, an exception to this rule arises where the relationship of the trustee to the trust is terminated by his death. In such circumstances, the estate of the deceased trustee is entitled to receive commissions commensurate with the services performed, and the responsibility incurred and the length of time during which his services and responsibility continued: Wainwright’s Estate, 27 Dist. R. 955 (1918).
The rationale underlining this exception to the general rule is that when the trustee’s duty to the trust estate is fully performed, whether this is accomplished by the distribution of the trust fund or the termination of the trustee’s relation to it, through no fault of his own, he is entitled to his compensation for his labor, care and responsibility pertaining to the conservation of the capital: Murray’s Estate, 103 Pa. Superior Ct. 87 (1931). In that case, the Superior Court held that “the elements to be considered in awarding compensation to a trustee are two: (1) The care, labor and services of the trustee in the performance of the trust; and (2) the responsibility incurred and involved.” It is very important to note that this is not a case of so-called “double commissions”. No
In considering the exceptions filed with respect to counsel fees, it is noted that the fees charged ($2,250 in the larger trust involving a gross estate of $759,-464.32, and $750 in the smaller trust involving a gross estate of $267,166.04) are considerably lower than the amounts suggested by the minimum fee bill of the Montgomery County Bar Association. While such minimum fee bill is not binding on the court, it may be considered in determining the reasonableness of counsel fees: Sower’s Estate, 46 D. & C. 378 (1942). The court is of the opinion that counsel fees charged in connection with the present accounting are not only fair and reasonable but are also moderate. Accordingly, the credits claimed for such counsel fees are hereby approved and the exceptions with respect thereto are hereby dismissed.
The remaining exceptions concern income commissions. From the inception of the trust until early in
It is a matter of common knowledge that most corporate fiduciaries in this vicinity generally charge commissions of five percent on income receipts. The rate is sometimes varied by private agreement between the trustee and the settlor or testator, but there is no evidence of any such contract in this case. The complexity of the business transactions involved in the administration of trusts as large as the ones presently under consideration of necessity entails a large amount of clerical and accounting services in addition to the high degree of discretion which the trustee is called upon to exercise and the considerable responsibility imposed on the trustee with respect thereto. Unless adequate and reasonable compensation is allowed, corporate trustees will be unwilling to continue such services. A careful review of the accounts under consideration convinces the court that these trusts will be benefited by continuing the administration in the hands of the present corporate trustee. The court is further convinced that commissions of five percent on income receipts are entirely fair and reasonable. The fact that the corporate trustee previously shared such commissions with the individual trustee is of little importance. The division of commissions between co-