Title 59 — Trusts

A trust may be created by transfer of property to another person as trustee during the settlor's lifetime or by will or other disposition taking effect upon the settlor's death, declaration by the owner of property that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee, or exercis…

1. A trust is created only if the settlor has capacity to create a trust, the settlor indicates an intention to create the trust, the trust has a definite beneficiary or is a charitable trust, a trust for the care of an animal, as provided in section 59-12-08, or a trust for a no…

A trust not created by will is validly created if its creation complies with the law of the jurisdiction in which the trust instrument was executed, or the law of the jurisdiction in which at the time of creation the settlor was domiciled, had a place of abode, or was a national;…

A trust may be created only to the extent its purposes are lawful and possible to achieve. A trust and its terms must be for the benefit of its beneficiaries.

1. A charitable trust may be created for the relief of poverty, the advancement of education or religion, the promotion of health, governmental or municipal purposes, or other purposes the achievement of which is beneficial to the community. 2. If the terms of a charitable trust …

A trust is void or subject to reformation by the court to the extent its creation was induced by fraud, duress, or undue influence.

Except as required by section 47-11-02 or a statute other than chapters 59-09, 59-10, 59-11, 59-12, 59-13, 59-14, 59-15, 59-16, 59-17, 59-18, and 59-19, a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument, but the creation of an oral trust and its terms, or an amendment or revoca…

1. A trust may be created to provide for the care of an animal alive during the settlor's lifetime. The trust terminates upon the death of the animal or, if the trust was created to provide for the care of more than one animal alive during the settlor's lifetime, upon the death o…

Except as otherwise provided in section 59-12-08 or by another statute, the following rules apply: 1. A trust may be created for a noncharitable purpose without a definite or definitely ascertainable beneficiary or for a noncharitable but otherwise valid purpose to be selected by…

1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, if a particular charitable purpose becomes unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve, or wasteful, the trust does not fail, in whole or in part; the trust property does not revert to the settlor or the settlor's successors in …

1. After notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the trustee of a trust consisting of trust property having a total value less than one hundred thousand dollars may terminate the trust if the trustee concludes that the value of the trust property is insufficient to justify the cos…

The court may reform the terms of a trust, even if unambiguous, to conform the terms to the settlor's intention if it is proved by clear and convincing evidence that both the settlor's intent and the terms of the trust were affected by a mistake of fact or law, whether in express…

To achieve the settlor's tax objectives, the court may modify the terms of a trust in a manner that is not contrary to the settlor's probable intention. The court may provide that the modification has retroactive effect.

After notice to the qualified beneficiaries, a trustee may combine two or more trusts into a single trust or divide a trust into two or more separate trusts, if the result does not impair rights of any beneficiary or adversely affect achievement of the purposes of the trust. The …

A trust in relation to real property is not valid unless the trust is created or declared: 1. By a written instrument, subscribed by the trustee or by the trustee's agent thereto authorized in writing; 2. By the instrument under which the trustee claims the estate affected; or 3.…