Steve Masterson has served extensively in court-appointed fiduciary roles, including Trustee, Personal Representative, Conservator, Special Administrator, and Special Master, in matters involving contested estates, fiduciary removals, trust restructurings, asset liquidations, and the administration of complex trust portfolios. His experience includes judicial appointments involving high-value estates, closely held businesses, real estate, investment securities, and alternative assets.

He is frequently retained as an expert witness nationwide in disputes involving individual fiduciaries, trustees, banks, trust companies, and investment advisors. Mr. Masterson has provided deposition, arbitration, and trial testimony on issues including fiduciary standards of care, duties of loyalty and impartiality, trustee discretion, trust accounting and reporting, trustee compensation, asset allocation and diversification, application of the Uniform Trust Code, Uniform Prudent Investor Act, and the Uniform Principal and Income Act, and damages arising from alleged fiduciary breaches. His engagements have involved, among other matters, Ponzi schemes, cryptocurrency assets, timber and ranch properties, and complex multi-entity trust structures.

Prior to his independent fiduciary and consulting practice, Mr. Masterson held senior trust and advisory roles at major financial institutions, including Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Bradford Trust Company, and Independence Trust Company, where he managed and administered trust and investment portfolios exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars in assets. His responsibilities included asset allocation strategy, estate planning coordination, fiduciary risk management, trust operations oversight, and supervision of multi-state trust administration.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Masterson served as President of a commercial finance firm and as Trust Administrator at Gardere & Wynne, LLP, where he developed expertise in federal estate tax, fiduciary income tax, trust accounting, and complex estate planning for high-net-worth individuals.

Mr. Masterson holds a B.A. in Political Science and History, has completed advanced professional education in trust banking and mediation, and has served in leadership roles within professional and nonprofit organizations, including as President of the Coeur d’Alene Estate Planning Council.