{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-60-60-175.57","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 60, § 60-175.57","heading":"Breach of trust – Remedies - Liability","body":"A. A violation by a trustee of a duty the trustee owes a\n\nbeneficiary is a breach of trust.\n\nB. To remedy a breach of trust that has occurred or may occur,\n\nthe court may:\n\n1. Compel the trustee to perform the trustee's duties;\n\n2. Enjoin the trustee from committing a breach of trust;\n\n3. Compel the trustee to redress a breach of trust by payment\n\nof money or otherwise;\n\n4. Order a trustee to account;\n\n5. Appoint a receiver or temporary trustee to take possession\n\nof the trust property and administer the trust;\n\n6. Suspend or remove the trustee;\n\n7. Reduce or deny compensation to the trustee;\n\n8. Subject to subsection I of this section, void an act of the\n\ntrustee, impose an equitable lien or a constructive trust on trust\n\nproperty, or trace trust property wrongfully disposed of and recover\n\nthe property or its proceeds; or\n\n9. Grant any other appropriate remedy.\n\nC. A beneficiary may charge a trustee who commits a breach of\n\ntrust with the amount required to restore the value of the trust\n\nproperty and trust distributions to what they would have been had\n\nthe breach not occurred, or, if greater, the profit that the trustee\n\nmade by reason of the breach.\n\nD. In a judicial proceeding involving a trust, the court may in\n\nits discretion, as justice and equity may require, award costs and\n\nexpenses, including reasonable attorney fees, to any party, to be\n\npaid by another party or from the trust which is the subject of the\n\ncontroversy.\n\nE. 1. For purposes of this subsection, \"accounting\" means any\n\ninterim or final report or other statement provided by a trustee\n\nreflecting all transactions, receipts, and disbursements during the\n\nreporting period and a list of assets as of the end of the period\n\ncovered by the report or statement.\n\n2. For any trust that is before a district court under\n\nsubsection A of Section 175.23 of this title, the trustee may submit\n\nan accounting and seek approval of the accounting by the court.\n\nSuch accounting and the final approval by a district court, whether\n\nor not such accounting is contested, shall be conclusive against all\n\npersons interested in the trust, and the trustee, absent fraud,\n\nintentional misrepresentation, or material omission, shall be\n\nreleased and discharged from any and all liability as to all matters\n\nset forth in the accounting.\n\n3. If a trust is not before a district court under subsection A\n\nof Section 175.23 of this title and if no objection has been made by\n\na beneficiary who is an eligible distributee or permissible\n\ndistributee of the trust's income or principal within one hundred\n\neighty (180) days after a copy of the trustee's accounting has been\n\nprovided to such beneficiaries together with written notice of the\n\nprovisions of this section, the distribution beneficiary is deemed\n\nto have approved such accounting of the trustee, and the trustee,\n\nabsent fraud, intentional misrepresentation, or material omission,\n\nshall be released and discharged from any and all liability to all\n\nbeneficiaries of the trust as to all matters set forth in such\n\naccounting.\n\n4. If paragraphs 2 and 3 of this subsection do not apply,\n\nabsent fraud, intentional misrepresentation, or material omission,\n\nan action to recover for breach of trust against a trustee who is a\n\nresident of this state or who has its principal place of business in\n\nthis state, or an officer, director, or employee of such trustee may\n\nbe commenced only within two (2) years of a trustee's accounting for\n\nthe period of the breach. In the case of fraud, intentional\n\nmisrepresentation, or material omission, the limitation period shall\n\nnot commence until discovery of the breach of trust.\n\n5. For the purpose of this subsection, a beneficiary is deemed\n\nto have received a report or other statement:\n\na. in the case of an adult, if it is received by the\n\nadult personally, or if the adult lacks capacity, if\n\nit is received by the adult's conservator, guardian,\nnal\n\nmisrepresentation, or material omission, the limitation period shall\n\nnot commence until discovery of the breach of trust.\n\n5. For the purpose of this subsection, a beneficiary is deemed\n\nto have received a report or other statement:\n\na. in the case of an adult, if it is received by the\n\nadult personally, or if the adult lacks capacity, if\n\nit is received by the adult's conservator, guardian,\n\nor agent with authority, or\n\nb. in the case of a minor, if it is received by the\n\nminor's guardian or conservator or, if the minor does\n\nnot have a guardian or conservator, if it is received\n\nby a parent of the minor who does not have a conflict\n\nof interest.\n\n6. Except as otherwise provided by the terms of a trust, while\n\nthe trust is revocable and the settlor has capacity to revoke, the\n\nrights of the beneficiaries are held by, and the duties of the\n\ntrustee are owed exclusively to, the settlor; the rights to be held\n\nby and owed to the beneficiaries arise only upon the settlor's death\n\nor incapacity. The trustee may follow a written direction of the\n\nsettlor, even if contrary to the terms of the trust. The holder of\n\na presently exercisable power of withdrawal or a testamentary\n\ngeneral power of appointment has the rights of a settlor of a\n\nrevocable trust under this section to the extent of the property\n\nsubject to the power.\n\nF. 1. A term of the trust relieving a trustee of liability for\n\nbreach of trust is unenforceable to the extent that it:\n\na. relieves a trustee of liability for breach of trust\n\ncommitted in bad faith or with reckless indifference\n\nto the purposes of the trust or the interest of the\n\nbeneficiaries, or\n\nb. was inserted as the result of an abuse by the trustee\n\nof a fiduciary or confidential relationship to the\n\nsettlor.\n\n2. An exculpatory term drafted by or on behalf of the trustee\n\nis presumed to have been inserted as a result of an abuse of a\n\nfiduciary or confidential relationship unless the trustee proves\n\nthat the exculpatory term is fair under the circumstances and that\n\nits existence and contents were adequately communicated to the\n\nsettlor.\n\nG. A beneficiary may not hold a trustee liable for a breach of\n\ntrust if the beneficiary, while having capacity, consented to the\n\nconduct constituting the breach, released the trustee from liability\n\nfor the breach, or ratified the transaction constituting the breach,\n\nunless:\n\n1. The beneficiary at the time of the consent, release, or\n\nratification did not know of the beneficiary's rights and of the\n\nmaterial facts that the trustee knew, or with the exercise of\n\nreasonable inquiry, the beneficiary should have known, and that the\n\ntrustee did not reasonably believe that the beneficiary knew; or\n\n2. The consent, release, or ratification of the beneficiary was\n\ninduced by improper conduct of the trustee.\n\nH. 1. Except as otherwise agreed, a trustee is not personally\n\nliable on a contract properly entered into in the trustee's\n\nfiduciary capacity in the course of administration of the trust if\n\nthe trustee in the contract discloses the fiduciary capacity.\n\n2. A trustee is personally liable for obligations arising from\n\nownership or control of trust property, or for torts committed in\n\nthe course of administering a trust, only if the trustee is\n\npersonally at fault, whether negligently or intentionally.\n\n3. A trustee who does not join in exercising a power held by\n\nthree or more trustees is not liable to third persons for the\n\nconsequences of the exercise of the power. A dissenting trustee who\n\njoins in an action at the direction of the majority cotrustees is\n\nnot liable to third persons for the action if the dissenting trustee\n\nexpressed the dissent in writing to any other cotrustee at or before\n\nthe time the action was taken.\n\n4. A claim based on a contract entered into by a trustee in the\n\ntrustee's fiduciary capacity, on an obligation arising from\naction at the direction of the majority cotrustees is\n\nnot liable to third persons for the action if the dissenting trustee\n\nexpressed the dissent in writing to any other cotrustee at or before\n\nthe time the action was taken.\n\n4. A claim based on a contract entered into by a trustee in the\n\ntrustee's fiduciary capacity, on an obligation arising from\n\nownership or control of trust property, or on a tort committed in\n\nthe course of administering a trust, may be asserted against the\n\ntrust in a judicial proceeding against the trustee in the trustee's\n\nfiduciary capacity, whether or not the trustee is personally liable\n\non the claim.\n\nI. 1. A person who in good faith assists a trustee or who in\n\ngood faith and for value deals with a trustee without knowledge that\n\nthe trustee is exceeding or improperly exercising the trustee's\n\npowers is protected from liability as if the trustee properly\n\nexercised the power.\n\n2. Dealing in good faith with another person with knowledge\n\nthat the other person is a trustee does not place a third person on\n\nnotice to inquire into the extent of the trustee's powers or the\n\npropriety of his or her exercise.\n\n3. A person who in good faith deals with another person with\n\nknowledge that the other person is a trustee is not solely on that\n\naccount placed on notice to inquire into the extent of the trustee's\n\npowers or the propriety of his or her exercise or to see to the\n\nproper application of assets of the trust paid or delivered to a\n\ntrustee.\n\n4. A person who in good faith assists a former trustee or who\n\nfor value and in good faith deals with a former trustee without\n\nknowledge that the person is no longer a trustee is protected from\n\nliability as if the former trustee were still a trustee.\n\n5. The protection provided by this section to persons assisting\n\nor dealing with a trustee is secondary to that provided under\n\ncomparable provisions of other laws relating to commercial\n\ntransactions or to the transfer of securities by fiduciaries.","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":"fa400bdd9af28eef9d9d104690125ec335768c9f3ab5bda9038aab8b4e367609","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-60-60-175.56","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-60-60-175.6"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}