| 英文摘要 |
The agency problem exists in a trust relationship, because a trustee, as a legal owner but an equitable owner, has discretionary power of management over the trust property. The fiduciary duty can be effectively used to mitigate the agency problem to some degree. However, there are deficiencies in rules of fiduciary duty in trust laws, which cannot be expected to provide a settlor with sufficient protection. Recently, the functions of trusts have been highly emphasized in the family succession planning, a hot topic in practice, but a settlor may be concerned that the agency cost remains relatively high due to the lack of effective rules of fiduciary duty in Taiwan trust laws. Therefore, it is necessary for trust laws to be amended as soon as possible to fix such deficiencies in rules of fiduciary duty which are most fundamental to a trust. The U.S. trust laws which have developed a variety of rules regulating fiduciary duty in a comprehensive manner and many of them have been codified, can be good sources for Taiwan to consider how to explain or reform its trust laws. After referring to the U.S. laws and a body of academic literature, this article is expected to offer some insights into current provisions of the Taiwan Trust Act and its future reform. |
