Loyalty
Administer solely in the interests of the beneficiaries. Self-dealing is voidable without inquiry into fairness unless authorized by the terms, the court, statute, or informed consent.
UTC 802; Restatement (Third) of Trusts 78.The standard
Fiduciary duty is the highest standard the law imposes: the duty to act for another's benefit while subordinating one's own interests. Every file in this firm is built to that standard, because the people we serve are held to it. The catalog, stated plainly:
Adherence
Administer in accordance with the terms and purposes of the instrument and applicable law.
UTC 801.Good faith
Honesty of purpose in every act, including every exercise of discretion, however broadly granted. No instrument can remove it.
UTC 105(b), 814(a).Prudence and skill
The care a prudent person would exercise in light of the purposes, terms, and circumstances. Special skills raise the bar.
UTC 804, 806.Prudent investment
Portfolio-level management with risk and return suited to the trust, diversification absent special circumstances, and review of assets on taking office.
Uniform Prudent Investor Act 2 through 4.Impartiality
Due regard for current and remainder beneficiaries alike, which is where the income-and-principal allocation rules do their work.
UTC 803; UPIA/UFIPA.Disclosure and reporting
Keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed of the administration and the facts needed to protect their interests.
UTC 813.Records, control, and separation
Adequate records, property under control and protected, trust assets earmarked and never commingled.
UTC 809, 810.Costs, claims, and predecessors
Only reasonable costs; claims of the trust enforced and claims against it defended; property collected from prior fiduciaries and known breaches redressed.
UTC 805, 811, 812.Delegation and co-fiduciaries
Delegate only what a prudent fiduciary could, with care in selection, terms, and monitoring; participate in administration and act on a co-trustee's breach.
UPIA 9; UTC 807, 703.The floor no drafting moves
- Even absolute discretion is exercised in good faith and in accordance with the terms, purposes, and the beneficiaries' interests.
- Exculpation cannot reach bad faith or reckless indifference.
- The trust must have purposes that are lawful and possible to achieve.
- The court's authority over the administration remains.
Our posture within it
Corvus is the examiner and the drafter, and, where an instrument appoints it, the office-holder.
No fiduciary authority arises from this site, the Platform, or any inquiry. Where a governing instrument expressly appoints Corvus as trust protector or trust director and a written service agreement defines the engagement, the firm serves in the capacity the instrument and the enacting statute assign, fiduciary where the law makes the role fiduciary. Service as a compliance officer of a client entity is service as an officer of that company, owing the duties officers owe under the law of its formation. In every other matter, the appointed parties hold the office, and Corvus builds and tests the work of it: the analysis a trustee should have before deciding, the audit a beneficiary needs before demanding, the instrument and the recognition package that let an appointed fiduciary act and be honored. The standard above is the measure for every deliverable, because it is the measure our clients answer to.