{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-60-60-175.24","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 60, § 60-175.24","heading":"Powers of trustees - Enumeration - Others not excluded","body":"- Bond of trustee.\n\nA. In the absence of contrary or limiting provisions in the\n\ntrust agreement or a subsequent order or decree of a court of\n\ncompetent jurisdiction, the trustee of an express trust is\n\nauthorized:\n\n1. To exchange, reexchange, subdivide, develop, improve,\n\ndedicate to public use, make or vacate public plats, adjust\n\nboundaries, or partition real property, and to adjust differences in\n\nvaluation by giving or receiving money or money's worth. Easements\n\nmay be dedicated to public use without consideration if deemed by\n\nthe trustee to be for the best interest of the trust;\n\n2. To grant options and to sell real or personal property at\n\npublic auction or at private sale for cash, or upon credit secured\n\nby lien upon the property sold or upon such property or a part\n\nthereof or other property;\n\n3. To grant or take leases of real property and of all rights\n\nand privileges above or below the surface of real property for any\n\nterm or terms, including exploration for and removal of oil, gas,\n\nand other minerals, with or without options of purchase, and with or\n\nwithout covenants as to erection of buildings or as to renewals\n\nthereof, through the term of the lease or renewals thereof, or of\n\nsuch options extend beyond the term of the trust;\n\n4. To raze existing party walls or buildings or erect new party\n\nwalls or buildings alone or jointly with owners of adjacent\n\nproperty. To make ordinary repairs and in addition thereto such\n\nextraordinary alterations in buildings or other structures which are\n\nnecessary to make the property productive. To effect and keep in\n\nforce, fire, rent, title, liability, casualty, or other insurance of\n\nany nature, in any form and in any amount;\n\n5. To compromise, contest, arbitrate, or settle any and all\n\nclaims of or against the trust estate or the trustee as such. To\n\nabandon property deemed by the trustee burdensome or valueless;\n\n6. To pay calls, assessments, and any other sums chargeable or\n\naccruing against, or on account of shares of stock or other\n\nsecurities in the hands of the trustee where such payment may be\n\nlegally enforceable against the trustee or any property of the\n\ntrust, or the trustee deems payment expedient and for the best\n\ninterest of the trust. To sell or exercise stock subscription or\n\nconversion rights, participate in foreclosures, reorganizations,\n\nconsolidations, mergers, liquidations, pooling agreements and voting\n\ntrusts; to assent to corporate sales, leases, and encumbrances, and\n\nin general, except as limited by the particular trust agreement,\n\nhave and exercise all powers of an absolute owner in respect of such\n\nsecurities. In the exercise of the foregoing powers the trustee\n\nshall be authorized, where he or she deems such course expedient, to\n\ndeposit stocks, bonds, or other securities with any protective or\n\nother committee formed by or at the instance of persons holding\n\nsimilar securities, under such terms and conditions respecting the\n\ndeposit thereof as the trustee may approve. Any stock or other\n\nsecurities obtained by conversion, reorganization, consolidation,\n\nmerger, liquidation, or the exercise of subscription rights shall be\n\nfree, unless the trust agreement provides otherwise, from any\n\nrestrictions on sale or otherwise contained in the trust agreement\n\nrelative to the securities originally held;\n\n7. To make such investment directly or in the form of\n\nsecurities of, or other interests in, any open-end or closed-end\n\nmanagement type investment company or investment trust registered\n\nunder the Investment Company Act of 1940, 15 U.S.C.A., Section 80a-1\n\net seq.; provided, that the portfolio of such investment company or\n\ninvestment trust is limited to United States government obligations\n\nand to repurchase agreements fully collateralized by such United\n\nStates government obligations, and provided further, that any such\n\ninvestment company or investment trust shall take delivery of such\ne Investment Company Act of 1940, 15 U.S.C.A., Section 80a-1\n\net seq.; provided, that the portfolio of such investment company or\n\ninvestment trust is limited to United States government obligations\n\nand to repurchase agreements fully collateralized by such United\n\nStates government obligations, and provided further, that any such\n\ninvestment company or investment trust shall take delivery of such\n\ncollateral, either directly or through an authorized custodian;\n\n8. To borrow money or create an indebtedness or obligation\n\nincluding any bond indebtedness or obligation, except as limited by\n\nthe provisions of the Oklahoma Trust Act, and generally to execute\n\nany deed or other instrument and to do all things in relation to\n\nsuch trust necessary or desirable for carrying out any of the above\n\npowers or incident to the purposes of such trust; and\n\n9. To employ attorneys, accountants, agents, and brokers\n\nreasonably necessary in the administration of the trust estate;\n\npermit real estate held in trust to be occupied by a surviving\n\nspouse or minor child of the trustor and, where reasonably necessary\n\nfor the maintenance of the surviving spouse or minor child or\n\nchildren, invest trust funds in real property to be used for a home\n\nby such beneficiary; make any contracts pertaining to oil, gas, or\n\nother natural resources as are customary in the community where the\n\nreal property held in trust is situated; in the trustee's discretion\n\npay funeral expenses of any beneficiary actually receiving benefits\n\nfrom the trust estate at the time of the death of the beneficiary.\n\nB. 1. In the exercise of its authority under paragraph 9 of\n\nsubsection A of this section, a trustee may pay, from the assets of\n\nthe trust, reasonable compensation and costs incurred in connection\n\nwith employment of attorneys, accountants, agents, and brokers\n\nreasonably necessary in the administration of the trust estate.\n\n2. In the event of any legal proceeding regarding the trust, a\n\ntrustee may pay the costs or attorney fees incurred in any\n\nproceeding from the assets of the trust without the approval of any\n\nperson and without court authorization unless otherwise ordered by\n\nthe court in such legal proceeding.\n\n3. Unless expressly provided otherwise in a written employment\n\nagreement, the creation of an attorney-client relationship between\n\nan attorney and a person serving as a fiduciary shall not impose\n\nupon the attorney any duties or obligations to other persons\n\ninterested in the estate, trust estate, or other fiduciary property,\n\neven though fiduciary funds may be used to compensate the attorney\n\nfor legal services rendered to the fiduciary. This paragraph is\n\nintended to be declaratory of the common law and governs\n\nrelationships in existence between attorneys and persons serving as\n\nfiduciaries and any such relationship hereafter created.\n\n4. Whenever an attorney-client relationship exists between an\n\nattorney and a fiduciary, communications between the attorney and\n\nthe fiduciary shall be subject to attorney-client privilege unless\n\nwaived by the fiduciary, even though fiduciary funds may be used to\n\ncompensate the attorney for legal services rendered to the\n\nfiduciary. The existence of a fiduciary relationship between a\n\nfiduciary and a beneficiary does not constitute or give rise to any\n\nwaiver of the privilege for communications between the attorney and\n\nthe fiduciary.\n\nC. The following rules of administration shall be applicable to\n\nall express trusts but such rules shall not be exclusive of those\n\notherwise imposed by law unless contrary to these rules:\n\n1. Where a trustee is authorized to sell or dispose of land,\n\nsuch authority shall include the right to sell or dispose of part\n\nthereof, whether the division is horizontal, vertical, or made in\n\nany other way, or undivided interests therein;\n\n2. Where a trustee is authorized by the trust agreement\nwise imposed by law unless contrary to these rules:\n\n1. Where a trustee is authorized to sell or dispose of land,\n\nsuch authority shall include the right to sell or dispose of part\n\nthereof, whether the division is horizontal, vertical, or made in\n\nany other way, or undivided interests therein;\n\n2. Where a trustee is authorized by the trust agreement\n\ncreating the trust or by law to pay or apply capital money subject\n\nto the trust for any purpose or in any manner, the trustee shall\n\nhave and shall be deemed always to have had power to raise the money\n\nrequired by selling, converting, calling in, or mortgaging or\n\notherwise encumbering all or any part of the trust property for the\n\ntime being in possession;\n\n3. A trustee shall have a lien and may be reimbursed with\n\ninterest for, or pay or discharge out of the trust property, either\n\nprincipal or income or both, all advances made for the benefit or\n\nprotection of the trust or its property and all expenses, losses,\n\nand liabilities, not resulting from the negligence of the trustee,\n\nincurred in or about the execution or protection of the trust or\n\nbecause of the trustee holding or ownership of any property subject\n\nthereto; and\n\n4. When the happening of any event, including marriage,\n\ndivorce, attainment of a certain age, performance of educational\n\nrequirements, death, or any other event, affects distribution of\n\nincome or principal of trust estates, the trustees shall not be\n\nliable for mistakes of fact prior to the actual knowledge or written\n\nnotice of such fact.\n\nD. The powers, duties, and responsibilities stated in the\n\nOklahoma Trust Act or the Oklahoma Uniform Prudent Investor Act\n\nshall not be deemed to exclude other implied powers, duties, or\n\nresponsibilities not inconsistent herewith.\n\nE. The trustee shall pay all taxes and assessments levied or\n\nassessed against the trust estate or the trustee by governmental\n\ntaxing or assessing agencies.\n\nF. No trustee shall be required to give bond unless the\n\ninstrument creating the trust, or a court of competent jurisdiction\n\nin its discretion upon the application of an interested party,\n\nrequires a bond to be given.","path":["OK Code","Title 60"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os60.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"c3384a43bc156dfe1553210faf180cefa48a5b298cc0c102aa5d13c8fbb2b17c","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-60-60-175.23","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-60-60-175.25"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}