What is a Surcharge?

A surcharge is a legal action brought in Orphans' Court to hold a fiduciary (executor, administrator, trustee, guardian, or agent) personally liable for losses caused by their breach of fiduciary duty.

When Surcharge Applies

A surcharge action can be brought when a fiduciary:

• Mismanages or wastes estate assets
• Makes distributions to wrong beneficiaries
• Fails to invest prudently (violating the Prudent Investor Rule, 20 Pa.C.S. § 7203)
• Self-deals or engages in conflicts of interest
• Unreasonably delays administration
• Fails to account for estate assets
• Takes excessive compensation
• Fails to pay taxes resulting in penalties and interest

How Surcharge Works

Surcharge is typically raised as an objection to the fiduciary's accounting. When the fiduciary files their accounting with the Orphans' Court, any interested party may file objections claiming the fiduciary should be surcharged for specific actions or failures.

The surcharge remedy means the fiduciary must repay the estate from their own personal funds for any losses caused by their breach. It is a powerful deterrent against misconduct.

The standard is whether the fiduciary acted as a "prudent person" would under the circumstances. Good faith alone is not a defense if the conduct was objectively unreasonable.

Key Surcharge Authority

In re Estate of Lux , 389 A.2d 1053 (Pa. 1978). The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's foundational statement of surcharge and fiduciary duty principles. Lux establishes the burden framework: the objectant must first show a prima facie breach, then the burden shifts to the fiduciary to justify their conduct. This is the case courts start with in any surcharge analysis.

In re Estate of Geniviva , 675 A.2d 306 (Pa. Super. 1996). Applies the Lux framework with detail on the fiduciary standard of care and burden-shifting where the fiduciary's records are incomplete or contain discrepancies. If the fiduciary cannot produce adequate records to account for estate assets, the court may draw adverse inferences. This case is particularly useful where the executor's bookkeeping is poor, the worse the records, the easier the surcharge.

Statutory content on this page was last verified against Pennsylvania statutes (20 Pa.C.S.) and Orphans' Court Rules: February 2026 . If you are reading this significantly after that date, confirm key provisions with current statute text or contact our office.