Technical article
A Bank as Trustee at US$2 Million: What Readers Say and What the Numbers Say
The trust-advisor article adds that a bank often layers on its own asset-management fee and uses its own products.
Picture a couple in the United States with a family trust holding US$2 million. These are example figures. Their children live in different cities. The couple is deciding who holds the trustee role when they step back. A bank is one name on the list.
The question that follows is simple. Is a bank worth the fee?
What readers ask
Forum threads on a site for do-it-yourself investors carry titles such as "Corporate Trustee Fees - What is Market?" and "Looking for a directed trustee whose fees are based on tasks performed". The titles show what people want to know. They want the going rate, and they want to know whether a trustee can charge by the task.
What the published numbers say
| Source | What it says | At US$2 million |
|---|---|---|
| A trust-advisor article, 2023 | Bank trustee about 1% a year. Trustee that does not manage the money about 0.5% | About US$20,000 against about US$10,000 |
| An attorney's answer page, 2026 | Professional trustees about 1%, with a minimum fee. Many discount above US$2 million | About US$20,000, less with a discount |
| One bank's 2026 schedule, bank also invests | 0.65% on the first US$1 million, 0.53% on the next US$2 million, minimum US$6,000 | About 0.59%, or US$11,800, plus fund costs |
| Same bank, outside adviser invests | 0.50% on the first US$1 million, then 0.40%, minimum US$5,000 | About 0.45% for the trustee. With a hired manager, our arithmetic gives 1.2% to 1.5% in all |
| Family-managed, our arithmetic | Taken from published costs | 0.13% to 0.29% |
Published rates run from about 0.5% to 1.5% at this size. The rate depends on the bank and on whether it also manages the money. The high end comes from a law firm that sells offshore planning (one provider's figure). The trust-advisor article adds that a bank often layers on its own asset-management fee and uses its own products.
The same bank schedule lists extras. A trust tax return is US$750. Hourly work is US$200 to US$250. Closing the account can cost up to 1% of assets.
When advisers say a bank makes sense
Two advisers quoted by a US group for older adults, in 2011, say to consider a corporate trustee only when there is severe family dysfunction, or when no one qualified wants the job. They add that a bank costs more than an individual. One of them said clients had fought over a car worth US$8,000 while inheriting US$3 million.
An Illinois bar article makes a related point. Clients overwhelmingly name family as successor trustees, and it often works well. Some cases call for a corporate trustee.
Who this touches
Your children feel it most, since they deal with whoever holds the role. Your partner may have a view too, since the role decides who answers the questions that come up after you are gone.
The objection
You might say a bank is the one trustee still there in thirty years, and that is worth a fee. It is a fair point. Banks do change hands, and two court cases show what that can look like.
A few doors
You could ask each bank for its written fee schedule. You could ask whether the rate is lower when an outside adviser runs the investments. You could ask what the extras cost and what the minimum is.
Have you weighed a bank against a family member, or against a trustee that charges by the task? Tell us what tipped it for you. Share it here, and someone may benefit from your story.
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: October 2026.
Sources
- Advisor Perspectives guest article, May 2023 (U)
- ElderLawAnswers attorney page, 2026 (U)
- BOK Financial Advisor Trust Services fee schedules, effective January 2026 (C)
- AARP guide on choosing an executor or trustee, 2011 (B)
- Illinois State Bar Association article (B)
- Bogleheads.org thread titles (U)
- Alper Law, 2026 (C)
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