Trustees are entitled to reasonable fees for their services — but does this financial interest place them in unavoidable conflict with the very beneficiaries they are meant to serve? This debate explores whether the legal framework genuinely resolves the inherent tension between fiduciary duty and remuneration. Are disclosure and court-approved fee regimes enough to “smooth over” this conflict, or do they merely paper over a deeper structural issue? With rising scrutiny on trustee conduct and increasing litigation around trust management costs, this is a question that cuts to the heart of modern fiduciary responsibility.