Title 20, DECEDENTS, ESTATES AND FIDUCIARIES

(a) Majority decision.--Cotrustees who do not reach a unanimous decision may act by majority decision. (a.1) When no majority.--When a dispute arises among trustees as to the exercise or nonexercise of any of their powers and there is no agreement by a majority of them, unless ot…

(a) When vacancy occurs.--A vacancy in a trusteeship occurs if: (1) a person designated as trustee rejects the trusteeship; (2) a person designated as trustee cannot be identified or does not exist; (3) a trustee resigns; (4) a trustee is disqualified or removed; (5) a trustee di…

(a) Court approval.--(Deleted by amendment). (a.1) General rule.--A trustee may resign: (1) with court approval; (2) without court approval if authorized to resign by the terms of the trust; or (3) pursuant to a nonjudicial settlement agreement described in section 7710.1 (relati…

(a) Request to remove trustee; court authority.--The settlor, a cotrustee or a beneficiary may request the court to remove a trustee or a trustee may be removed by the court on its own initiative. (b) When court may remove trustee.--The court may remove a trustee if it finds that…

(a) Duties and powers of trustee.--Unless a cotrustee remains in office or the court otherwise orders, a trustee who has resigned or been removed has the duties of a trustee and the powers necessary to protect the trust property until the trust property is delivered to a successo…

(a) If unspecified.--If neither the terms of a trust nor a separate written agreement signed by the settlor or anyone who is authorized by the terms of the trust to do so specifies the trustee's compensation, the trustee is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the ci…

(a) Reimbursement from trust property.--A trustee is entitled to be reimbursed out of the trust property, with interest as appropriate, for: (1) expenses that were properly incurred in the administration of the trust; and (2) to the extent necessary to prevent unjust enrichment o…

A successor trustee shall not be personally liable for the acts or omissions of the trustee's predecessor and shall have no duty to investigate the acts or omissions of the predecessor. Cross References. Section 7770 is referred to in section 7780.1 of this title.

Upon acceptance of a trusteeship, the trustee shall administer the trust in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries and in accordance with applicable law. (July 15, 2024, P.L.786, No.64, eff. 90 days) 2024 Amendment. See sectio…

(a) Duty of trustee.--A trustee shall administer the trust solely in the interests of the beneficiaries. (b) Effect of conflict of interest.--Subject to the rights of persons dealing with or assisting the trustee as provided in section 7790.2 (relating to protection of person dea…

If a trust has two or more beneficiaries, the trustee shall act impartially in investing, managing and distributing the trust property, giving due regard to the beneficiaries' respective interests in light of the purposes of the trust. The duty to act impartially does not mean th…

A trustee shall administer the trust as a prudent person would, by considering the purposes, provisions, distributional requirements and other circumstances of the trust and by exercising reasonable care, skill and caution.

In administering a trust, the trustee may incur only costs that are reasonable in relation to the trust property, the purposes of the trust and the skills of the trustee.

A trustee who has special skills or expertise relevant to a trust or who is named trustee in reliance upon the trustee's representation that the trustee has special skills or expertise relevant to a trust shall use those special skills or expertise in the administration of the tr…

(a) Standards for delegation.--A trustee may delegate duties and powers that a prudent trustee of comparable skills might delegate under the circumstances. The trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill and caution in: (1) selecting an agent; (2) establishing the scope and spe…

(a) Direction of settlor.--(Deleted by amendment). (b) Compliance with power.--(Deleted by amendment). (c) Modification or termination of trust.--(Deleted by amendment). (d) Fiduciary relationship.--(Deleted by amendment). (e) Directed trust.--If the terms of a trust provide that…

A trustee shall take reasonable steps to take control of and protect the trust property.

(a) Records.--A trustee shall keep adequate records of the administration of the trust. (b) Commingling trust property prohibited.--A trustee shall keep trust property separate from the trustee's own property. (c) Designating trust property.--Except as otherwise provided in subse…

Except as provided in section 7770 (relating to liability of successor trustee), a trustee shall take reasonable steps to enforce claims of the trust and to defend claims against the trust. When one of several trustees is individually liable to the trust, the other trustee or tru…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the Directed Trust Act.

The following words and phrases when used in this subchapter shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Directed trust." A trust for which the terms of the trust grant a power of direction. "Directed trustee." A trustee …

(a) General rule.--This subchapter applies to a trust, whenever and wherever created, that is governed by Pennsylvania law. (b) Exclusion.--This subchapter has no application to decisions or actions that occurred before the effective date of this subchapter.

This subchapter does not apply to: (1) A power of appointment. (2) A power held by the settlor or a beneficiary of a trust to appoint or remove a trustee or a trust director unless the terms of the trust provide that the power is exercisable by the settlor or beneficiary acting a…

(a) Grant of powers.--The terms of a trust may grant a power of direction to one or more trust directors. A power of direction may extend to any one or more of a trustee's powers, subject to section 7780.18 (relating to limitations on powers of trust director - UDTA 7). (b) Share…

The explicit appointment by the terms of a trust of a "trust director for investments," accompanied by a citation to this section, grants to the trust director the following powers unless the terms of the trust provide otherwise: (1) To direct the trustee, or veto the trustee's r…

(a) General rule.--The terms of a trust may expressly grant to a trust director powers, alone or together with powers to direct a trustee's actions, to modify the terms of a trust. In that event, the trust director is a trust protector. (b) Illustrative powers.--Among the powers …

In the exercise or nonexercise of powers affecting the following, a trust director is subject to the same rules as a trustee that holds the same power regarding: (1) A payback provision in the terms of a trust necessary to comply with the reimbursement requirements of Medicaid la…

(a) Scope.--Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), with respect to a power of direction, a trust director has the same fiduciary duty and liability in the exercise or nonexercise of the power if the power: (1) may be exercised by only one trust director, as a sole trustee…

(a) Duty to comply with power of direction.--Subject to subsection (b), a directed trustee shall take reasonable action to comply with a trust director's exercise or nonexercise of a power of direction, and the directed trustee shall not be liable for that action. (b) Exception f…

(a) Duty of directed trustee.--Subject to section 7780.22 (relating to no duty to monitor, inform or advise - UDTA 11), a directed trustee shall provide information to a trust director to the extent that the information is reasonably related to powers or duties of the: (1) direct…

(a) Directed trustee.--Unless the terms of the trust provide otherwise: (1) A directed trustee does not have a duty to: (i) monitor a trust director; or (ii) inform or advise a settlor, beneficiary, cotrustee or trust director as to any matter on which the directed trustee might …

The terms of a trust may assign different duties and standards of care to different trustees and, in doing so, relieve a trustee from liability with respect to a duty assigned to another trustee to the same extent that, in a directed trust, a directed trustee is relieved from dut…

(a) Commencement of action.--An action against a trust director for breach of trust must be commenced within the same limitation period as under section 7785 (relating to limitation of action against trustee) for an action for breach of trust against a trustee in a like position …

In an action against a trust director for breach of trust, the trust director may assert the same defenses that a trustee in a like position and under similar circumstances could assert in an action for breach of trust against the trustee.

(a) Effect of acceptance of appointment.--By accepting an appointment as a trust director, the trust director submits to personal jurisdiction of the courts of this Commonwealth regarding any matter related to a power or duty of the trust director. (b) Other methods of obtaining …

Unless the terms of the trust provide otherwise, the rules applicable to a trustee apply to a trust director regarding the following matters: (1) Acceptance or declining under section 7761 (relating to accepting or declining trusteeship - UTC 701), except that if a trustee reques…

(a) Duty to respond to requests.--A trustee shall promptly respond to a reasonable request by the settlor of a trust or by a beneficiary of an irrevocable trust for information related to the trust's administration. A trustee shall promptly respond to the Department of Human Serv…

The trustee shall exercise a discretionary power in good faith and in accordance with the terms and purposes of the trust and the interests of the beneficiaries, notwithstanding the breadth of discretion granted to a trustee by the terms of the trust, including the use of such te…

(a) Exercise of power.--Except as otherwise provided in the terms of the trust or in other provisions of this title, a trustee has all the powers over the trust property that an unmarried competent owner has over individually owned property and may exercise those powers without c…

(a) Listing.--The powers which a trustee may exercise pursuant to section 7780.5 (relating to powers of trustees - UTC 815) include the following powers: (1) To accept, hold, invest in and retain investments as provided in Chapter 72 (relating to prudent investor rule). (2) To pa…

Upon the occurrence of an event terminating or partially terminating a trust, the trustee shall proceed to distribute the trust property within a reasonable time to the persons entitled to it, subject to the right of the trustee to retain a reasonable reserve for the payment of d…

(a) What constitutes breach of trust.--(Deleted by amendment). (b) Remedies.--To remedy a breach of trust that has occurred or may occur, the court may order any appropriate relief, including the following: (1) Compelling the trustee to perform the trustee's duties. (2) Enjoining…

(a) Liability for breach of trust.--A trustee who commits a breach of trust is liable to the beneficiaries affected. (b) Contribution.-- (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if more than one trustee is liable to the beneficiaries for a breach of trust, a trustee i…

(a) Profit.--A trustee is accountable to an affected beneficiary for any profit, excluding reasonable compensation, made by the trustee arising from the administration of the trust, even absent a breach of trust. (b) Loss or depreciation.--Absent a breach of trust, a trustee is n…

(a) Imposed by trustee's written reports.-- (1) A beneficiary is barred from challenging a transaction or asserting a claim against a trustee for breach of trust if: (i) the trustee provided the beneficiary at least annually with periodic written financial reports concerning the …

(a) Election.--A trustee may elect to proceed under this section to obtain a nonjudicial settlement of account when: (1) the trust terminates in whole or in part; (2) the trustee ceases or intends to cease to serve for any reason; or (3) the trustee seeks discharge for an interim…