The former trustees of a family trust applied to pass their accounts.
The beneficiaries objected to several expenses, including fees paid to a former trustee acting as an agent, a second share valuation report, and certain legal fees.
The court held that despite an exculpatory clause in the trust document, the trustees breached their substratum duties by retaining the conflicted former trustee as an agent and commissioning an unnecessary valuation report.
The court disallowed the agent's fees, the valuation report costs, and a portion of the legal fees, ordering the trustees to repay the disallowed amounts to the trust.
