The article proposes that the standing duties are best understood as facets of a single fiduciary obligation rather than as a list of separate rules. Loyalty bounds the trustee's interest; prudence bounds the trustee's judgment; impartiality bounds the trustee's discretion among beneficiaries.
Each duty is read against its statutory expression in the Uniform Trust Code and against the leading appellate authority. The article notes the cases in which a court has reasoned from one duty to another and the cases in which a court has treated the duties as if they did not communicate.
A closing section addresses the implications for trustee training, for the drafting of trust instruments, and for the litigator who must plead a breach.