New York Consolidated Laws, Surrogate's Court Procedure Act - SCP § 2312. Commissions of corporate trustees

1. If the will or lifetime trust instrument makes provisions for specific rates or amounts of commissions (other than a general reference to commissions allowed by law or words of like import) for a corporate trustee, or, if a corporate trustee has agreed to accept specific rates or amounts of commissions, a corporate trustee shall be entitled to be compensated in accordance with such provisions or agreement, as the case may be.

2. For trusts having a principal value of more than four hundred thousand dollars and subject to the provisions of subdivision 4 of this section, if the will or lifetime trust instrument does not make provisions for specific rates or amounts of commissions, or, contains only a general reference to commissions allowed by law or words of like import, a corporate trustee shall be entitled to such commissions as may be reasonable, and the court, upon application of a person interested in the trust, may review the reasonableness of the commission of such corporate trustee.

4. Notwithstanding anything contained in this chapter, the estates, powers and trusts law or any other provision of law to the contrary,

5. Unless the will or lifetime trust instrument expressly provides otherwise, the commissions allowable by subdivision 1, 2 or 4 hereof, as the case may be, shall be payable one-third from the income of the trust and two-thirds from the principal of the trust.  However, in the case of a trust whose definition of income is governed by 11-2.4 of the estates, powers and trusts law or a charitable remainder annuity trust or a charitable remainder unitrust, as defined in section six hundred sixty-four of the Internal Revenue Code of nineteen hundred eighty-six,  1 as amended, such commissions shall be payable from the principal of any such trust after allowance for the annuity or unitrust amounts and shall not be payable out of such annuity or unitrust amounts.

6. The commissions allowed by subdivision 1, 2 or 4 thereof, as the case may be, may be retained, at any time or from time to time during the year in which such commissions are earned, by a corporate trustee, provided it furnishes annually as of a date no more than 30 days prior to the end of the year selected by the corporate trustee, to each beneficiary currently receiving income, and to any other beneficiary interested in the income and to any person interested in the principal of the trust who shall make a demand therefor, a statement showing the principal assets on hand on that date, and at least annually or more frequently if the trustee so elects, a statement showing all his receipts of income and principal during the period with respect to which the statement is rendered including the amount of any commissions retained and the basis upon which the commissions were computed.  A corporate trustee shall not be deemed to have waived any commissions by reason of its failure to retain them at the time when it becomes entitled thereto;  provided however that commissions payable from income for any such year shall be allowed and retained only from income derived from the trust during such year and shall not be supplied from income on hand in respect of any other year.  If a beneficiary receiving income does not desire to be furnished with any such statements his advice to the trustee to that effect in writing shall thereafter excuse the corporate trustee from furnishing such statements to the beneficiary unless and until the beneficiary requests such annual statements from the trustee.  Upon enactment of, and subject to subdivision 1 of this section, a corporate trustee shall continue to receive commissions in the manner provided for a trustee under sections 2308 and 2309, as the case may be, in effect immediately before the effective date of this section until the end of the then current trust year, and thereafter, a corporate trustee may receive commissions in accordance with the provisions of subdivision 2 or 4 of this section.  A corporate trustee shall not change from the commissions provided for by subdivision 2 or 4 of this section, as the case may be, during a trust's calendar or fiscal year but a corporate trustee may change from the commissions provided for by subdivision 2 to the commissions provided for by subdivision 4 of this section, or vice versa, only at the beginning of a calendar or fiscal year of a trust, as the case may be.

7. On the settlement of the account of any trustee under a will or lifetime trust instrument, in addition to the commissions provided for by this section, the court must allow to the corporate trustee the corporate trustee's reasonable and necessary expenses actually paid by the trustee.

8. The value of any property to be determined in such manner as directed by the court and the increment thereof received, distributed or delivered, shall be considered as money in making computation of commissions.  Whenever any portion of the dividends, interests, rents or other income payable to a trustee is required by any law of the United States or other governmental unit to be withheld by the person paying it for income tax purposes, the amount so withheld shall be deemed to have been collected.

9. A trustee who prior to September 1, 1966 shall have received the maximum amount of commissions on principal permitted by subdivision 8 of section 285-a of the surrogate's court act as that subdivision existed prior to that date, shall not be entitled to annual principal commissions for the period from the date when he shall have received such maximum to September 1, 1966, but shall be entitled to receive commissions from and after September 1, 1966 at the rates and in the manner provided in section 2308 as in effect immediately before enactment of this section.  A trustee who is entitled to annual principal commissions pursuant to section 285-a of the surrogate's court act as it existed prior to September 1, 1966, but has not received them, may receive an amount of commissions not in excess of the amount he would have been entitled to if he had taken such commissions, and be entitled to receive in addition commissions from and after September 1, 1966 at the rates and in the manner provided in section 285-a of this act.

10. A trustee who has been acting prior to July 1, 1956 shall be entitled to have commissions on principal and income theretofore received by him computed, allowed and paid under the methods and at the rates set forth herein, except as follows: