Title 14 — Trusts, Estates and Protective Proceedings

A trustee shall take reasonable steps to compel a former trustee or other person to deliver trust property to the trustee and to redress a breach of trust known to the trustee to have been committed by a former trustee.

A. Unless the trust instrument provides otherwise, a trustee shall keep the qualified beneficiaries of the trust reasonably informed about the administration of the trust and of the material facts necessary for them to protect their interests. Unless the trustee determines that i…

A. Notwithstanding the breadth of discretion granted to a trustee in the terms of the trust, including the use of terms such as absolute, sole or uncontrolled, the trustee shall exercise a discretionary power in good faith as to only beneficiaries of the trust and creditors of th…

A. A trustee, without authorization by the court, may exercise: 1. Powers conferred by the terms of the trust. 2. Except as limited by the terms of the trust: (a) All powers over the trust property that an unmarried competent owner has over individually owned property. (b) Any ot…

Without limiting the authority conferred by section 14-10815, a trustee may: 1. Collect trust property and accept or reject additions to the trust property from a settlor or any other person. 2. Acquire or sell property, for cash or on credit, at public or private sale. 3. Exchan…

A. On termination or partial termination of a trust, the trustee may send to the beneficiaries a proposal for distribution. The right of any beneficiary to object to the proposed distribution terminates if the beneficiary does not notify the trustee of an objection within thirty …

A. A trust instrument may provide for the appointment of a trust protector. For the purposes of this section, a person designated in the instrument with a status or title, other than that of a beneficiary, with powers similar to those specified in subsection B of this section, or…

A. Unless the terms of the trust instrument expressly provide otherwise, a trustee who has the discretion under the terms of a testamentary instrument or irrevocable inter vivos agreement to make distributions, regardless of whether a standard is provided in the trust instrument …

A person whose license as a fiduciary has been suspended or revoked pursuant to section 14-5651 may not serve as a trustee in any capacity unless the person is related to the beneficiary by blood, adoption or marriage. This prohibition does not apply if the person's license has b…

A. Except as provided in subsection B, a trustee who invests and manages trust assets owes a duty to the beneficiaries of the trust to comply with the prudent investor rule requirements of this article. B. The prudent investor rule is a default rule and may be expanded, restricte…

A. A trustee shall invest and manage trust assets as a prudent investor would by considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements and other circumstances of the trust. In satisfying this standard the trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill and caution. B. A truste…

A trustee shall diversify the investments of the trust unless the trustee reasonably determines that, because of special circumstances, the purposes of the trust are better served without diversifying.

Within a reasonable time after accepting a trusteeship or receiving trust assets, a trustee shall review the trust assets and make and implement decisions concerning the retention and disposition of assets in order to bring the trust portfolio into compliance with the purposes, t…

Compliance with this article is determined in light of the facts and circumstances existing at the time of a trustee's decision or action and not by hindsight.

The following terms or comparable language in the provisions of a trust, unless otherwise limited or modified, authorizes any investment or strategy permitted under this article: 1. Investments permissible by law for investment of trust funds. 2. Legal investments. 3. Authorized …

A. A fiduciary may delegate investment and management functions that a prudent investor of comparable skills might delegate under the circumstances. B. A fiduciary is not responsible for the investment decisions or actions of the investment agent to which the investment functions…

A trustee may acquire or retain a contract of life insurance on the life of the settlor or the settlor's spouse, or both, without liability for a loss arising from the trustee's failure to: 1. Determine whether the contract is or remains a proper investment. 2. Investigate the fi…

A. This article applies to trusts existing on and created after July 20, 1996. B. As applied to trusts existing on July 20, 1996, this article governs only decisions or actions occurring after that date.

A. A violation by a trustee of a duty the trustee owes to a beneficiary is a breach of trust. B. Except as provided in section 14-7404, to remedy a breach of trust that has occurred or may occur, the court may: 1. Compel the trustee to perform the trustee's duties. 2. Enjoin the …

A. Except as provided in section 14-7404, a trustee who commits a breach of trust is liable to the beneficiaries affected for the greater of either: 1. The amount required to restore the value of the trust property and trust distributions to what they would have been had the brea…

A. Except as provided in section 14-7404, a trustee is accountable to an affected beneficiary for any profit made by the trustee arising from the administration of the trust, even absent a breach of trust. For the purposes of this subsection, profit does not include: 1. Reasonabl…

A. A trustee or a person who is nominated as a trustee is entitled to reimbursement from the trust for that person's reasonable fees, expenses and disbursement, including attorney fees and costs, that arise out of and that relate to the good faith defense or prosecution of a judi…

A. A beneficiary may not commence a proceeding against a trustee for breach of trust more than one year after the date the beneficiary or a representative of the beneficiary was sent a report that adequately disclosed the existence of a potential claim for breach of trust and inf…

A trustee who acts in reasonable reliance on the terms of the trust as expressed in the trust instrument is not liable to a beneficiary for a breach of trust to the extent the breach resulted from the reliance.

If the happening of an event, including marriage, divorce, performance of educational requirements or death, affects the administration or distribution of a trust, a trustee who has exercised reasonable care to ascertain the happening of the event is not liable for a loss resulti…

A. A term of a trust relieving a trustee of liability for breach of trust is unenforceable to the extent that it either: 1. Relieves the trustee of liability for breach of trust committed in bad faith or with reckless indifference to the purposes of the trust or the interests of …

A trustee is not liable to a beneficiary for breach of trust if the beneficiary consented to the conduct constituting the breach, released the trustee from liability for the breach or ratified the transaction constituting the breach, unless either: 1. The consent, release or rati…

A. Except as otherwise provided in the contract, a trustee is not personally liable on a contract properly entered into in the trustee's fiduciary capacity in the course of administering the trust if the trustee in the contract disclosed the fiduciary capacity. B. A trustee is pe…

A. Except to the extent that personal liability is imposed in the contract, a trustee who holds an interest as a general partner in a general or limited partnership is not personally liable on a contract entered into by the partnership after the trust's acquisition of the interes…

A. A person other than a beneficiary who in good faith assists a trustee or who in good faith and for value deals with a trustee, without knowledge that the trustee is exceeding or improperly exercising the trustee's powers, is protected from liability as if the trustee properly …

A. Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust containing the following information: 1. That the trust exists and the date the trust instrument was executed. 2. The ident…

1. Convert an income trust to a total return unitrust. 2. Reconvert a total return unitrust to an income trust. 3. Change the percentage used to calculate the unitrust amount or the method used to determine the fair market value of the trust, or both, if: (a) The trustee adopts a…

B. Distribution of a fixed percentage unitrust amount is considered a distribution of all of the income of the total return unitrust and is not a fundamental departure from applicable state law, regardless of whether the total return unitrust is created and governed pursuant to s…

The provisions of this chapter governing the legal effect, validity or enforceability of electronic records or electronic signatures, and of contracts formed or performed with the use of such records or signatures, conform to the requirements of section 102 of the electronic sign…

If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this chapter that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provision…

This chapter may be cited as the uniform adult guardianship and protective proceedings jurisdiction act.

1. "Adult" means an individual who is at least eighteen years of age. 2. "Conservator" means a person appointed by the court to manage the estate of an adult protected person, including a person appointed under chapter 5 of this title. 3. "Court of this state" or "court in this s…

A court of this state may treat a foreign country as if it were a state for the purpose of applying this article and articles 2, 3 and 5 of this chapter.

A. A court of this state may communicate with a court in another state concerning a proceeding arising under this chapter. The court may allow the parties to participate in the communication. Except as provided in subsection B, the court shall make a record of the communication. …

A. In a guardianship or protective proceeding in this state, a court of this state may request the appropriate court of another state to do any of the following: 1. Hold an evidentiary hearing. 2. Order a person in that state to produce evidence or give testimony pursuant to proc…

A. In a guardianship or protective proceeding, in addition to other procedures that may be available, testimony of a witness who is located in another state may be offered by deposition or other means allowable in this state for testimony taken in another state. The court on its …

A. In this article, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Emergency" means a circumstance that likely will result in substantial harm to a respondent's health, safety or welfare, and for which the appointment of a guardian is necessary because no other person has authority a…

This article provides the exclusive jurisdictional basis for a court of this state to appoint a guardian or issue a protective order for an adult.

A court of this state has jurisdiction to appoint a guardian or issue a protective order for a respondent if any of the following is true: 1. This state is the respondent's home state. 2. On the date the petition is filed, this state is a significant-connection state and either: …

A. A court of this state lacking jurisdiction under section 14-12203 has special jurisdiction to do any of the following: 1. Appoint a guardian in an emergency for a term not exceeding ninety days for a respondent who is physically present in this state. 2. Issue a protective ord…

Except as otherwise provided in section 14-12204, a court that has appointed a guardian or issued a protective order consistent with this chapter has exclusive and continuing jurisdiction over the proceeding until it is terminated by the court or the appointment or order expires …

A. A court of this state that has jurisdiction under section 14-12203 to appoint a guardian or issue a protective order may decline to exercise its jurisdiction if it determines at any time that a court of another state is a more appropriate forum. B. If a court of this state dec…

A. If at any time a court of this state determines that it acquired jurisdiction to appoint a guardian or issue a protective order because of unjustifiable conduct, the court may: 1. Decline to exercise jurisdiction. 2. Exercise jurisdiction for the limited purpose of fashioning …

If a petition for the appointment of a guardian or issuance of a protective order is brought in this state and this state was not the respondent's home state on the date the petition was filed, in addition to complying with the notice requirements of this state, notice of the pet…

Except for a petition for the appointment of a guardian in an emergency or issuance of a protective order limited to property located in this state under section 14-12204, subsection A, paragraph 1 or 2, if a petition for the appointment of a guardian or issuance of a protective …