Section 5807.03. Cotrustees - delegation - liability  


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  • (A) If there are three or more cotrustees serving, the cotrustees may act by majority decision.

    (B) If a vacancy occurs in a cotrusteeship, the remaining cotrustees may act for the trust.

    (C) A cotrustee must participate in the performance of a trustee's function unless the cotrustee is unavailable to perform the function because of absence, illness, disqualification under other law, or other temporary incapacity or the cotrustee has properly delegated the performance of the function to another trustee.

    (D) If a cotrustee is unavailable to perform duties because of absence, illness, disqualification under other law, or other temporary incapacity and prompt action is necessary to achieve the purposes of the trust or to avoid injury to the trust property, the remaining cotrustee or a majority of the remaining cotrustees may act for the trust.

    (E) A trustee may delegate to a cotrustee duties and powers that a prudent trustee of comparable skills could properly delegate under the circumstances. A delegation made under this division shall be governed by section 5808.07 of the Revised Code. Unless a delegation was irrevocable, a trustee may revoke a delegation previously made.

    (F) Except as otherwise provided in division (G) of this section, and subject to divisions (C) and (E) of this section, a trustee who does not join in an action of another trustee is not liable for the action.

    (G) Except as otherwise provided in this division, each trustee shall exercise reasonable care to prevent a cotrustee from committing a serious breach of trust and to compel a cotrustee to redress a serious breach of trust. A trustee is not required to exercise reasonable care of that nature under this division, and a trustee is not liable for resulting losses, when section 5815.25 of the Revised Code is applicable or there is more than one other trustee and the other trustees act by majority vote.

    (H) A dissenting trustee who joins in an action at the direction of the majority of the trustees and who notified any cotrustee of the dissent at or before the time of the action is not liable for the action.

Effective Date: 01-01-2007