A trustee is obligated to 1) follow the terms (or instructions) of the trust; and 2) to act loyally for the benefit of the beneficiary, not for himself. Generally, a trustee could only take money out of the trust for himself personally if a) he is reimbursing himself for a legitimate trust expense (like filing a legal document, or hiring someone to do work on property owned by the trust) which he laid out of his own money; or b) if the trust provides that he may pay himself some compensation (basically, wages or salary) for his work. If he takes out money other than as the above, he may be violating the terms of the trust and breaching his "fiduciary duty" (the duty of loyalty) owed to the beneficiary. If there is reason to think that a trustee is improperly taking money out, an interested party (the beneficiary or, if the beneficiary is a minor or legally incompentent, his/her legal guardian) could bring a lawsuit in chancery court (a division or part of county court) for an "accounting"--that is, for the court to review the trustee's actions and disbursements. If the court were to find that the trustee improperly took money out, he or she could be ordered to return  or repay it.