When you serve as a fiduciary in Texas, you carry serious responsibilities. You must act with honesty, care, and loyalty toward the persons you represent. These duties help ensure you make decisions that prioritize their best interests.
Duty of loyalty
You must avoid conflicts of interest and always put the beneficiary’s interests ahead of your own. This means you can’t profit from your position unless beneficiaries agree. You also need to stay transparent about any potential conflicts and get consent when necessary.
Duty of care
You have to handle the assets with the same care a reasonable person would use in managing their own property. That involves making informed decisions, monitoring investments closely, and seeking professional advice when appropriate to protect the estate or trust assets you oversee.
Duty to inform
You must keep beneficiaries reasonably informed. That includes providing accurate accountings, explaining decisions you make, and updating them about material changes. Open communication keeps trust strong and beneficiaries assured.
Duty to follow the document
You must follow the guidelines laid out in the trust instrument or estate plan. You can’t deviate from its written terms unless a court permits it. That ensures your actions align with the creator’s directives and beneficiaries’ expectations.
Duty of impartiality
When you manage interests for multiple beneficiaries, you must be fair. You can’t favor one beneficiary over another. Treat everyone impartially and distribute assets or income based on the terms of the trust or estate plan without bias.
Duty to invest prudently
You must invest assets responsibly, considering risk, return, and the unique needs of beneficiaries now and in the future. Texas law favors diversified portfolios and expects you to evaluate investments regularly, selling or acquiring assets as needed.
Understanding these core duties helps you carry out fiduciary responsibilities confidently. If you honor the assets of a good fiduciary, you help protect and preserve assets for beneficiaries as the law intends.