Section 6.76 Costs and Fees

• Library: Trusts and Powers 2013 Supp

XII. (§6.76) Costs and Fees

The basic proposition is that, in bringing a trust construction, as opposed to a contest, the plaintiff is protecting the trust assets and attempting to ensure proper administration of the trust in accordance with the settlor’s true intent. On this basis, it is equitable to allow costs and fees to be paid from the trust estate, which, arguably, benefits by the action. Commerce Trust Co. v. Starling, 393 S.W.2d 489, 500–01 (Mo. 1965); Boatmen’s Trust Co. v. Conklin, 888 S.W.2d 347, 355–56 (Mo. App. E.D. 1994).

But when a trust contest is brought, the trust estate is not benefiting, but rather the...