‘A commission is neither a gratuity nor a sinecure.”1 At first blush, New York statutory law appears firm: A fiduciary is entitled to an award of statutory commissions on the settlement of his or her account. However, despite this seemingly straight forward mandate, a fiduciary cannot simply breathe a sigh of relief and expect compensation for his or her service to be a foregone conclusion, regardless of his or her conduct in managing the affairs of an estate or trust.
Case law makes it clear that regardless of a fiduciary’s right to commissions, a court may exercise its discretion to deny commissions, in whole or in part, if the fiduciary acted in an egregious manner. Simply stated, a gross breach of fiduciary duty could result not only in the surcharge of a fiduciary but also in the denial of commissions.
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