1. A person who is required to act for the benefit of another person on all matters within the scope of their relationship; one who owes to another the duties of good faith, trust, confidence, and candor (the corporate officer is a fiduciary to the corporation).
2. One who must exercise a high standard of care in managing another’s money or property (the beneficiary sued the fiduciary for investing in speculative securities). — fiduciary, adj.
“ ‘Fiduciary’ is a vague term, and it has been pressed into service for a number of ends…. My view is that the term ‘fiduciary’ is so vague that plaintiffs have been able to claim that fiduciary obligations have been breached when in fact the particular defendant was not a fiduciary stricto sensu but simply had withheld property from the plaintiff in an unconscionable manner.” D.W.M. Waters, The Constructive Trust 4 (1964).
dilatory fiduciary (dil-[schwa]-tor-ee). A trustee or other fiduciary who is unreasonably slow in administering an estate.
successor fiduciary. A fiduciary who is appointed to succeed or replace a prior one.
temporary fiduciary. An interim fiduciary appointed by the court until a regular fiduciary can be appointed.
