Bill > S08373

This bill modifies the rules for calculating and allocating commissions for trustees of charitable trusts in the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act. The bill changes how trustees can receive annual commissions from trusts established for public, religious, charitable, scientific, literary, educational, or fraternal purposes. Specifically, trustees will now be entitled to annual commissions at 80% of the standard rates for trusts, with a further reduction to 50% for any portion of a trust exceeding $20 million in principal value. The bill also clarifies that these commissions will be payable one-third from income and two-thirds from principal of the trust, unless the trust instrument explicitly states otherwise. For certain types of trusts, such as those with a unitrust definition of income, commissions will be payable from the trust's corpus after accounting for annuity or unitrust amounts. The bill provides flexibility for trustees of existing trusts, allowing them to continue using the previous commission calculation method until December 31 of the year the act takes effect. These changes aim to provide more standardized and potentially reduced commission rates for trustees of charitable trusts, potentially helping to preserve more of the trust's assets for its intended charitable purposes.

Justice

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S8373