Technical article
The Same Family at US$500,000, US$2 Million, US$10 Million and US$50 Million
Trustees publish who accepts accounts of each size and what they charge.
Picture a couple in the United States with two grown children. They want to leave money in a trust that lasts. Now picture the same family at four sizes: US$500,000, US$2 million, US$10 million and US$50 million. These are examples, not forecasts.
Who holds the trustee, adviser and protector jobs at each size? Trustees publish who accepts accounts of each size and what they charge. The role column below is an illustration built from those numbers. It is a reading of the schedules, not a published standard.
Four sizes side by side
| Size | Roles that would fit (illustration) | What the published schedules show |
|---|---|---|
| US$500,000 | One trustee, professional or a family member. Investments run by an adviser inside the trust. | Corporate trustee minimums in one Morgan Stanley list mostly run US$1 million to US$3 million; one is US$500,000. Minimum yearly trust fees there run US$2,500 to US$10,000. Advisers charge 1.00% to 1.25% at US$500,000 to US$1 million (2026 estimate). |
| US$2 million | A corporate trustee, or a directed trustee with an outside adviser. A family member may sit as protector. | One trust company asks US$1.5 million to US$2 million to start. A traditional bank trustee charges about 1% for trusts of US$1 million to US$5 million; an unbundled trustee about 0.5%. Many discount above US$2 million. |
| US$10 million | A directed trust: an administrative trustee, an investment adviser and sometimes a distribution adviser, plus a protector. | One bank charges 0.50% on the first US$1 million, 0.40% on the next and 0.35% after that for a directed trust, negotiable over US$5 million. A South Dakota firm lists 0.10% plus US$1,000 per line item. Multi-family office entry points start near US$10 million. |
| US$50 million | A directed trust with a multi-family office as adviser. A private trust company comes into view. | A multi-family office at 0.40% to 0.70% costs US$200,000 to 350,000 a year at US$50 million. Private trust company arrangements sit in the US$50 million-plus bracket, one source says. |
What changes as the money grows
Small trusts hand most duties to one professional trustee. Larger ones split the jobs. That is how the trustees' own wording reads.
At US$500,000 the sources point to a short list of trustees who accept the account. The trust pays a minimum fee that is large against the size. At US$2 million more doors open, and the percentage fee starts to fall. A fixed-fee schedule shows the pattern. The Stonehage Fleming US schedule lists a US$10,250 minimum trustee fee a year, US$5,250 to settle the trust and US$7,750 to exit it.
At US$10 million the directed model fits. One bank charges 0.50% for a directed personal trust and 0.65% for a delegated one on the first US$1 million. The directed trustee does the paperwork. An outside adviser, which may be a family member, picks the investments. The bank has no duty to watch that adviser. A South Dakota firm says its average trust is about US$30 million, and its clients usually serve as the directed administrative trustee.
At US$50 million the sources describe a multi-family office, or a wealth adviser's own trust company acting as directed trustee. The adviser's team runs the investments while the trust company handles filings and compliance.
You could
You could ask a trustee for its schedule in writing and read the minimum fee first. You could ask who holds the investment power and who holds the removal power, because the size rows change those two answers more than any others.
If your family has moved from one row to the next, did the people change or did the paperwork? Share it here. Someone may be standing at the row you just left.
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: October 2026.
Sources
- Morgan Stanley list of partner trust companies, 2022 to 2024 (C)
- Investormint adviser fee estimates, August 2026 (U), trust-advisor article on bank and unbundled trustees, May 2023 (U), law-firm answer page on trustee fees (U)
- BOK Financial Advisor Trust Services fee schedule, January 2026 (C)
- JTC South Dakota Trust Company fact sheet, about July 2024 (C)
- Brown Brothers Harriman family office guide, May 2025 (B)
- AssetVantage multi-family office minimums, July 2026 (C)
- Stonehage Fleming US fee schedule, 2026 (C)
- Mariner Wealth Advisors directed trustee article, September 2024 (C)
- CitizenX offshore trust cost guide, 2026 (U)
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