By Steve Levine · Updated August 24, 2026 · 8 min read
Quick Answer
A trustee holds and manages property for someone else's benefit, and owes that person fiduciary duties — loyalty, prudence, impartiality — in doing it. The word covers three roles that matter in class actions, and they are not interchangeable. The trustee of a private trust controls assets held in trust rather than in a probate estate. A bankruptcy trustee administers a debtor's bankruptcy estate and generally controls legal claims that existed before the filing, including class action claims. A plan trustee holds the assets of a retirement or benefit plan. Which one is involved decides who may file a settlement claim and who the money belongs to.
On this page
- What a trustee is
- The duties the role carries
- Trust trustees and settlement claims
- Bankruptcy trustees
- Plan trustees and ERISA cases
- Proving authority to an administrator
- Frequently asked questions
A trust splits ownership in two. Legal title to the property goes to the trustee; the benefit of it goes to the beneficiaries. The trustee holds and manages what is in the trust, but does so for someone else, under terms set by whatever created the trust — a trust document, a statute, or a court order.
That split is why the role keeps appearing in class action practice. Whenever a claim or a payment belongs to property that someone else is holding, the question of who may act is a question about the trustee. The answer differs depending on which kind of trustee is involved, which is the substance of this page.
Trusteeship is a fiduciary position, not merely an administrative one. The core obligations are loyalty — acting for the beneficiaries rather than for the trustee's own benefit — and prudence in handling the property. Alongside those sit duties of impartiality among beneficiaries, of keeping trust property separate from the trustee's own, and of keeping records and reporting to those entitled to information.
The precise formulation comes from the trust instrument plus the trust law of the governing state, many of which have adopted versions of the Uniform Trust Code. The consequence worth knowing is that a trustee who breaches these duties can be held personally liable, which is why a trustee who is unsure about a step is generally right to ask a lawyer rather than to improvise.
A properly funded living trust does not pass through probate. If the class member's accounts, property or business interests were titled in a trust, there may be no probate estate to open and no executor to appoint — the successor trustee simply takes over under the trust's own terms.
For settlement purposes that changes who signs. The trustee files the claim form in that capacity and documents authority with the trust rather than with court letters. It is common for the same individual to hold both roles, named as executor in a will and as successor trustee of the family trust, which is exactly why people describe themselves loosely as "handling the estate." The distinction only becomes concrete when an administrator asks what document establishes the authority, and the answer depends on which container the asset was actually in.
Trusts also change nothing about the claim itself. The deadline is the deadline, and if the settlement is gated on a claim ID or notice ID from the mailed notice, the trustee needs that identifier the same as anyone else.
This is the version of the role most likely to surprise someone. Filing a bankruptcy case creates a bankruptcy estate, and a trustee is appointed to administer it. Legal claims a debtor held before filing generally become property of that estate, and class action claims are legal claims. The practical effect is that the trustee, rather than the debtor, controls whether such a claim is pursued and where any recovery goes, subject to any exemption the debtor is entitled to claim.
The chapter matters. Claims that arise after a Chapter 7 filing usually fall outside the estate; Chapter 13 operates on different mechanics again, with the debtor typically remaining in possession while a standing trustee administers plan payments. Timing — when the underlying conduct happened relative to the filing date — is what drives the analysis, and it is a genuinely technical question.
The part that is not technical is disclosure. Failing to list a known claim in a bankruptcy schedule creates serious problems, including the risk that a later attempt to pursue it is barred. Anyone who has filed bankruptcy and then receives a settlement notice should raise it with their bankruptcy attorney or the trustee rather than quietly submitting a claim form.
Retirement and benefit plan assets are held in trust too, and the fiduciaries who hold them are trustees. This shapes how recoveries reach people in ERISA cases: money typically flows back into the plan and is allocated among participant accounts under the plan's terms and the court's distribution order, rather than being mailed out as individual checks.
For a participant, the visible result is usually an adjustment to an account balance and a notice explaining it, not a claim form. The plan administrator's communications are the authoritative source for how a particular recovery is being allocated. The same structure appears in ESOP cases, where the plan holds employer stock in trust.
A settlement administrator will not take a description of authority at face value; it asks for a document. For a trust trustee, that is usually the trust instrument or a certification of trust — a short summary recognized by statute in many states that confirms the trust exists and identifies the trustee without exposing the trust's full terms or its beneficiaries. A successor trustee may also be asked for whatever the trust says triggers the succession, commonly a death certificate.
A bankruptcy trustee documents authority with the appointment in the bankruptcy case. Requirements are set separately by each settlement, so the official settlement website's contact page is where to confirm what a particular one accepts, and it is worth doing that before the claim deadline rather than after.
What is the difference between a trustee and an executor?
They operate through different legal containers. An executor is appointed by a probate court and administers a deceased person's estate under a will. A trustee holds property under a trust document, and a properly funded trust does not go through probate at all, so the trustee's authority comes from the trust instrument rather than from court letters. The same individual is frequently both — named as executor in a will and as successor trustee of the family trust — which is why the roles get blurred in conversation even though the paperwork proving each one is different.
I filed bankruptcy. Can I still claim a class action settlement?
It depends on when the claim arose and what chapter you filed. Legal claims a debtor held before filing generally become property of the bankruptcy estate, which means the trustee, not the debtor, controls whether they are pursued and where the money goes, subject to any exemption the debtor can claim. Claims arising after a Chapter 7 filing are usually outside the estate; Chapter 13 works differently again. Undisclosed claims cause serious problems, so the reliable step is to tell your bankruptcy attorney or the trustee about the settlement rather than quietly filing a claim.
What fiduciary duties does a trustee owe?
The core duties are loyalty — acting for the beneficiaries rather than for the trustee's own benefit — and prudence in managing the property. Trustees also generally owe duties of impartiality among beneficiaries, of keeping trust property separate from their own, and of keeping records and reporting to beneficiaries. The precise formulation comes from the trust document plus the trust law of the governing state, many of which have adopted versions of the Uniform Trust Code. A trustee who breaches those duties can be held personally liable.
How does a trustee prove authority to a settlement administrator?
Usually with the trust document or a certification of trust — a short summary document, recognized by statute in many states, that confirms the trust exists and identifies the trustee without disclosing the trust's full terms or its beneficiaries. Administrators may also ask for identification and, for a successor trustee, for whatever the trust says triggers the succession, such as a death certificate. Requirements are set by each settlement, so the official settlement website's contact page is where to confirm what that one accepts.
Who files the claim when a retirement plan was the class member?
Generally the plan's fiduciaries rather than individual participants. In an ERISA plan the assets are held in trust, and recoveries typically flow back into the plan for allocation among participant accounts under the plan's terms and the court's distribution order, rather than being paid out directly as individual checks. Participants normally see the result as an adjustment to their account. The plan administrator's communications are the authoritative source for how a particular recovery is being allocated.
