Title 35, Fiduciaries And Trust Estates

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 as the interests of such beneficiaries are defined under the terms of the trust.

(a) 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. (b) If the terms of a charitable trus…

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

Except as required by a statute other than this chapter, a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument, but the creation of an oral trust and its terms may be established only by clear and convincing evidence.

(a) 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 (1) animal alive during the settlor's lifetime, upon the de…

(1) Except as otherwise provided in § 35-15-408 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 …

(a) In addition to the methods of termination prescribed by §§ 35-15-411 — 35-15-414, a trust terminates to the extent the trust is revoked or expires pursuant to its terms, no purpose of the trust remains to be achieved, or the purposes of the trust have become unlawful or impos…

(a) During the settlor's lifetime, a noncharitable irrevocable trust may be modified or terminated by the trustee upon consent of all qualified beneficiaries, even if the modification or termination is inconsistent with a material purpose of the trust if the settlor does not obje…

(a) The court may modify the administrative or dispositive terms of a trust or terminate the trust if, because of circumstances not anticipated by the settlor, modification or termination will further the purposes of the trust. To the extent practicable, the modification must be …

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), if a particular charitable purpose becomes unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve, obsolete or ineffective:(1) The trust does not fail, in whole or in part;(2) The trust property does not revert to the settlor or the set…

(a) After notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the trustee of a trust consisting of trust property having either a total value less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) or for which the trustee's annual fee for administering the trust, as set forth in the trustee'…

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 (2) or more trusts into a single trust or divide a trust into two (2) or more separate trusts, if the result does not impair rights of any beneficiary or adversely affect the achievement of the purposes of the…

This part applies to a creditor's or assignee's claims and ability to reach mandatory, support and discretionary interests regardless of whether such interests are subject to a spendthrift provision. To the extent not otherwise prohibited by this part, the court may authorize a c…

(a) A spendthrift provision is valid only if it restrains both voluntary and involuntary transfer of a beneficiary's interest. (b) A term of a trust providing that the interest of a beneficiary is held subject to a “spendthrift trust,” or words of similar import, is sufficient to…

A spendthrift provision is unenforceable against a claim of this state to the extent a statute of this state so provides.

(a) A discretionary interest is neither a property interest nor an enforceable right; it is a mere expectancy. (b) Relative to a discretionary interest, whether or not a trust contains a spendthrift provision:(1) No creditor or assignee shall force or otherwise reach a distributi…

(a) Whether or not the terms of a trust contain a spendthrift provision, the following rules apply:(1) During the lifetime of the settlor, the property of a revocable trust is subject to claims of the settlor's creditors;(2) Except as provided in chapter 16 of this title regardin…

(a) Relative to a support interest, whether or not a trust contains a spendthrift provision:(1) Although a beneficiary of a support interest has enforceable rights under § 35-15-814, those rights do not raise the beneficiary's support interest to the level of a property interest;…

Trust property is not subject to personal obligations of the trustee, even if the trustee becomes insolvent or bankrupt.

(a) No creditor or assignee of a beneficiary shall have the power to reach an interest of a beneficiary or any other person who holds an unconditional or conditional removal or replacement power over a trustee or other fiduciary. Such power over a trustee or other fiduciary is pe…

(1) Regardless of whether or not a trust contains a spendthrift provision:(1) No beneficial interest, power of appointment, or reserved power in a trust shall be judicially foreclosed;(2) No creditor or assignee shall reach a power of appointment or a remainder interest at the tr…

(a) (a) As used in this section, “proceeds” means:(1) Property acquired by the trustee upon the sale, lease, license, exchange, or other disposition of property originally conveyed by a husband and wife as tenants by the entirety to a trustee or trustees;(2) Property collected by…

The capacity required to create, amend, revoke, or add property to a revocable trust, or to direct the actions of the trustee of a revocable trust, is the same as that required to make a will. To be effective as a post death disposition of property transferred during the transfer…

(a) Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend the trust. This subsection (a) does not apply to a trust created under an instrument executed before July 1, 2004. (b) If a revocable trust is created or funded by mor…

(a) While a trust is revocable and the settlor has capacity to revoke the trust, rights of the beneficiaries are subject to the control of, and the duties of the trustee are owed exclusively to, the settlor. (b) If a revocable trust has more than one (1) settlor, the duties of th…

(a) A person may commence a judicial proceeding to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable immediately preceding the settlor's death within the earlier of:(1) Two (2) years after the settlor's death; or(2) One hundred twenty (120) days after the trustee sent the person…

(a) (1) A revocable (living) trust that becomes irrevocable upon the death of its settlor may refer to a written statement or list to dispose of items of tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of by the revocable trust, other than money, evidences of indeb…

(a) The settlor of a revocable trust may remove a trustee and appoint a successor trustee by giving written notice to the trustee being removed and to the successor trustee being appointed. (b) If there are two (2) or more settlors of the same revocable trust, then the removal an…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), a person designated as trustee accepts the trusteeship:(1) By substantially complying with a method of acceptance provided in the terms of the trust; or(2) If the terms of the trust do not provide a method or the method provided…

(a) A trustee shall give bond to secure performance of the trustee's duties only if the court finds that a bond is needed to protect the interests of the beneficiaries or is required by the terms of the trust and the court has not dispensed with the requirement. (b) The court may…

(a) Cotrustees who are unable to reach a unanimous decision may act by majority decision. (b) If a vacancy occurs in a cotrusteeship, the remaining cotrustees may act for the trust. (c) A cotrustee must participate in the performance of a trustee's function unless the cotrustee i…

(a) 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 dies; or(6) A conservator is …

(a) A trustee may resign:(1) Upon at least thirty (30) days' notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the settlor, if living, and all cotrustees; or(2) With the approval of the court. (1) Upon at least thirty (30) days' notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the settlor, if living,…

(a) The settlor, a cotrustee, or a qualified beneficiary may request the court to remove a trustee, or a trustee may be removed by the court on its own initiative. (b) The court may remove a trustee if:(1) The trustee has committed a serious breach of trust;(2) Lack of cooperatio…

(a) Unless a cotrustee remains in office or the court otherwise orders, and until the trust property is delivered to a successor trustee or other person entitled to it, a trustee who has resigned or been removed has the duties of a trustee and the powers necessary to protect the …

(a) If the terms of a trust do not specify a trustee's, trust advisor's or trust protector's compensation, and if the settlor, if living, or otherwise a majority of the qualified beneficiaries as defined in § 35-15-103(24)(A), have not otherwise agreed, a trustee, trust advisor o…

(a) A trustee, trust advisor or trust protector 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 of th…

If the terms of the trust, a nonjudicial settlement agreement, an exercise of the authority described in § 35-15-716, or a court order requires a trustee, trust advisor, or trust protector to follow the direction of a trust advisor, trust protector, or trustee, and the trustee, t…

(a) A trust advisor, trust protector or other fiduciary other than a cotrustee, such cotrustee already being provided for in § 35-15-701(a), may accept its appointment as such respective fiduciary in a like manner as provided for a trustee under § 35-15-701(a). (b) A trust adviso…

(a) Section 35-15-702 applies to trust advisors, trust protectors or other fiduciaries other than cotrustees, such cotrustees already being provided for in § 35-15-702. (b) When exercising its powers under this section, the court shall consider the powers, duties and liabilities …

(a) Except as otherwise provided by the terms of the trust upon obtaining knowledge of a vacancy in the office of trust advisor or trust protector, the trustee shall be vested with any fiduciary power or duty that otherwise would be vested in the trustee but that by the terms of …

(a) A trust advisor, trust protector or other fiduciary other than a cotrustee, such cotrustee's resignation already being provided for in § 35-15-705, may resign its appointment as such respective fiduciary in a like manner as provided for a trustee under § 35-15-705. (b) When e…

(a) A trust advisor, trust protector or other fiduciary other than a cotrustee, such cotrustee's removal already being provided for in § 35-15-706, may be removed as such respective fiduciary in a like manner as provided for a trustee under § 35-15-706. (b) When exercising its po…

(a) The power to appoint a successor trustee under a trust instrument includes the power to appoint multiple successor trustees, trust protectors, and trust advisors. An exercisable power to remove and replace a trustee under a trust instrument includes the power to appoint addit…