Is there a frontiers bank and trust?

How can we reduce fee's on my father's trust whereby my mother is a co-trustee along with a corporate bank?

• My father passed away in 2003 and left a trust for my sister and I as beneficiaries. My father made my mother co-trustee along with a corporate bank (trust company). The trust company was Bank of America. My mother thought the fees were "exorbitant" at Bank of America and then was able to switch the trust to be held at a smaller trust company with lower fees. The trust terms indicate that my sister and I receive principal distributions at 25, 30, and 35. We are also to receive quarterly income from the trust. I am 30 and my sister is 33. It makes us sad to see so many fees taken out. My mother has calculated over $90,000 in fees have been taken. At this point there is only $650,000 left in the trust. Do you think we could try to get my mother to be sole trustee? What else could we do to eliminate or reduce fees? Nothing ever gets done to the account. It literally sits there and there are no trades.

• Answer:

  You can petition the probate court to remove and replace a trustee. You will need to look at your particular state's statutes to determine what reasons justify removal of a trustee. Some states specifically allow removal if the fees are too high under the circumstances. Most states have a simple category that allows removal if all the beneficiaries agree to removal, and the court finds that removal is in the best interests of the beneficiaries and not inconsistent with the intent and purposes of the trust. You will likely need to hire a lawyer, because you can expect some pushback from Bank of America.