How Much Can a Trustee Charge in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania law entitles a trustee to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances. Market custom runs 0.5% to 1.0% of trust assets per year. Most Pennsylvania fees land somewhere in that band.
Pennsylvania trustee fee at a glance
Fee basis
Reasonable compensation, statutory standard
Customary range
$1,250 to $50,000/yr by trust size
Court involvement
No pre-approval needed
- $250,000 trust$1,250 – $2,500
- $750,000 trusttypical$3,750 – $7,500
- $2,000,000 trust$10,000 – $20,000
- $5,000,000 trust$25,000 – $50,000
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Three groups tend to land here. A successor trustee who never expected the role and wants to understand what compensation is allowed. A family member deciding whether to waive any fee at all. And a beneficiary reviewing whether a proposed fee is within the customary range. Pennsylvania answers all three with a single statute: 20 Pa.C.S. § 7768. This page explains what it means in plain language, including how it connects to what are trust minutes and why documenting the fee decision protects everyone.
The statute Pennsylvania trustees follow
The governing law is 20 Pa.C.S. § 7768, part of the Pennsylvania Uniform Trust Act enacted in 2006. You can read the full text on the Pennsylvania General Assembly's site. It works like this:
- Subsection (a), the default right. If neither the terms of a trust nor a separate written agreement signed by the settlor specifies the trustee's compensation, the trustee is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances.
- Subsection (b), the court's adjustment role. The court may allow more or less than the instrument specifies. That happens when duties turned out substantially different from those contemplated, the specified compensation would be unreasonable, or the trustee performed extraordinary services.
To be direct: Pennsylvania does not publish a percentage schedule for trustee compensation. No statute sets a percent of assets, and no statute lists the factors courts weigh. Any figure you hear, including the customary band this page uses, is market practice. It is not something a judge is obligated to copy.
Illustrative fees at four trust sizes
These are arithmetic illustrations of the customary band, not statutory amounts. Each card shows the trust size, the 0.5% low end, and the 1.0% high end.
A $250,000 trust
0.5% low end: $1,250/yr
1.0% high end: $2,500/yr
Customary: $1,250 – $2,500
A $750,000 trust typical
0.5% low end: $3,750/yr
1.0% high end: $7,500/yr
Customary: $3,750 – $7,500
A $2,000,000 trust
0.5% low end: $10,000/yr
1.0% high end: $20,000/yr
Customary: $10,000 – $20,000
A $5,000,000 trust
0.5% low end: $25,000/yr
1.0% high end: $50,000/yr
Customary: $25,000 – $50,000
If you are the family trustee
In practice, family trustees in Pennsylvania do one of two things. They charge a fee and document it, or they waive the fee and document the waiver. Both are common, and neither is wrong. Many successor trustees charge when the work is real and recurring. Others waive because the trust is going to people they love, and they would rather not touch the money.
Waiving is usually treated as final. Courts generally treat a knowing waiver as binding, so if you are leaning that way, pause and check with an attorney before waiving, especially if the trust will pay you back in some other form later. If you charge instead, write the decision down. Our family trustee compensation guide covers how to document the choice, and the trust minutes template shows the fee-approval section ready to fill in.
Pennsylvania traps to avoid
Most fee disputes trace back to ignoring one of these rules.
- The $5 per thousand statute does not apply to private trust trustees. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3537, personal representatives of estates receive $5.00 per $1,000 on the first $400,000 and $3.00 per $1,000 above. That is for probate estates, not private trusts. For a private trust trustee, the standard is reasonable compensation under 20 Pa.C.S. § 7768.
- The court adjusts, it does not pre-approve. § 7768(b) gives the court a role when there is a dispute. The trigger is duties substantially different from those contemplated, unreasonable specified compensation, or extraordinary services. Nothing in the statute requires you to petition for approval before taking a fee. To see how the fee decision gets recorded, start with how to write trust minutes.
- Beneficiaries must be kept reasonably informed. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 7780.3, a trustee shall keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed about the trust and its administration. That includes fee decisions. Skip this step and the fee you took can look like a surprise, which is never good for family harmony.
Run your numbers right here
Enter the trust's approximate size — this page uses Pennsylvania's customary annual range (PA rates locked).
Estimated annual fee in Pennsylvania
$1,250 – $2,500
Pennsylvania: 20 Pa.C.S. § 7768. Reasonable compensation standard. No statutory percentage or schedule. Customary 0.5–1% of assets.
Pennsylvania trustee fee FAQ
Is there a fixed percentage for Pennsylvania trustee fees?
There is not. Pennsylvania has no statutory percentage schedule for private trust trustees. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 7768(a), a trustee is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances when neither the trust terms nor a separate written agreement specifies the amount. The 0.5% to 1.0% of assets per year band you often see quoted is market custom among Pennsylvania fiduciaries, not a rule written into law.
Can a trustee collect a fee if the trust instrument says nothing about it?
Yes. When the trust instrument is silent, 20 Pa.C.S. § 7768(a) supplies the default right to reasonable compensation. You do not need a paragraph in the trust authorizing a fee. The practical step is to document what you did and how you set the fee in your minutes so the amount can be defended later.
Do Pennsylvania trustees need court approval before taking a fee?
No. Pennsylvania does not require a trustee to file anything or see a judge before paying themselves. The court's role under 20 Pa.C.S. § 7768(b) is to adjust compensation on dispute, when the duties turned out substantially different from what was contemplated, the specified compensation would be unreasonable, or the trustee performed extraordinary services.
What about the $5 per thousand statute I heard about?
That is 20 Pa.C.S. § 3537, which sets annual commissions for personal representatives ($5.00 per $1,000 on the first $400,000 of corpus and $3.00 per $1,000 above). It applies to estate fiduciaries, not private living trust trustees. For a private trust trustee, the standard is reasonable compensation under 20 Pa.C.S. § 7768.
Can a trustee bill extra for tasks like selling real estate?
Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 7768(b)(3), a trustee may seek additional reasonable compensation for extraordinary services not specified in the trust instrument. An unusual project (litigation support, contested accountings, real-estate closings) does not automatically fold into the baseline fee. The extra charge still has to be reasonable under the circumstances.
Pennsylvania in context
Pennsylvania uses a reasonableness standard, which is the approach taken by most states. New York stands apart with its statutory commission schedule ($10.50/$4.50/$3.00 per $1,000 of principal). California also uses reasonableness, though its customary band runs slightly higher at 1% to 1.5%. States like Arizona, New Jersey, and Texas fall into the same 0.5% to 1.0% customary range as Pennsylvania. For a complete national overview, visit our Trustee Fees by State guide.
Where TrustMinutes fits
Whatever fee you land on, your trust administration file should show how you got there. Trust record keeping requirements apply to the fee decision like any other. The state-specific side you can read about in our guide to trust minutes requirements in Pennsylvania.
TrustMinutes writes one meeting's minutes free. If your trust needs ongoing governance (distributions, records, year after year), TrustOffice is the paid platform built for that. Take a look at trustoffice.app.
Some fees end up contested. Our sister service WingPoint takes trust administration end to end, and it's living at wingpointtrust.com.
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice for your specific trust. For guidance on a live matter, see our disclaimer and consult a Pennsylvania estates attorney.
Updated October 2026.