Virginia Code 64.2-1416: Liability of fiduciary for actions of cofiduciary.
A. As used in this section, “fiduciary” has the same meaning as provided in § 8.01-2, except that it shall not include trustees subject to the requirements and provisions of the Uniform Trust Code (§ 64.2-700 et seq.).
Terms Used In Virginia Code 64.2-1416
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Fiduciary: includes a guardian, committee, trustee, executor, conservator, or personal representative. See Virginia Code 64.2-100
- in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Virginia Code 1-257
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
B. Any power vested in three or more fiduciaries may be exercised by a majority of the fiduciaries, but a fiduciary who has not joined in exercising a power is not liable to the beneficiaries or to others for the consequences of the exercise. A dissenting fiduciary is not liable for the consequences of an act in which he joins at the direction of the majority of the fiduciaries if he expressed his dissent in writing to any of his cofiduciaries, if the act is not of itself a patent breach of trust.
C. A fiduciary shall be answerable and accountable only for his own acts, receipts, neglects, or defaults, and not for those of any cofiduciary, or for those of any banker, broker, or other person with whom the trust money or securities may be lawfully deposited, or for any loss that does not result from his own default or negligence.
D. Whenever the instrument under which a fiduciary or fiduciaries are acting reserves the authority to direct the making or retention of any investment for the settlor, testator, or creator or vests such authority in an advisory or investment committee or any other person, including a cofiduciary, to the exclusion of the fiduciary or the exclusion of one or more of several fiduciaries,, the excluded fiduciary or cofiduciary shall be liable, if at all, only as a ministerial agent and shall not be liable as fiduciary or cofiduciary for any loss resulting from the making or retention of any investment pursuant to such authorized direction.
E. This section does not excuse a cofiduciary from liability for failing to (i) participate in the administration of trust, (ii) attempt to prevent a breach of trust, or (iii) seek advice and guidance from the circuit court in an apparently recurring situation unless otherwise expressly provided by the instrument under which the cofiduciary is acting.
1978, c. 327, § 26-5.2; 1980, c. 440; 2005, c. 935; 2012, c. 614.