Title 64.2, Title 64.2. Wills, Trusts, and Fiduciaries

This article applies to a trust created before, on, or after July 1, 2017, that: 1. Has its principal place of administration in the Commonwealth, including a trust whose principal place of administration has been changed to the Commonwealth; or 2. Provides by its trust instrumen…

A trust director is subject to the same rules as a trustee in a like position and under similar circumstances in the exercise or nonexercise of a power of direction or further power under subdivision B 1 of § 64.2-779.29 regarding: 1. A payback provision in the terms of a trust n…

A. Subject to subsection B, with respect to a power of direction or further power under subdivision B 1 of § 64.2-779.29: 1. A trust director has the same fiduciary duty and liability in the exercise or nonexercise of the power: a. If the power is held individually, as a sole tru…

A. 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 or further power under subdivision B 1 of § 64.2-779.29, and the trustee is not liable for the action. B. A directed trust…

A. Subject to § 64.2-779.34, a trustee shall provide information to a trust director to the extent the information is reasonably related both to: 1. The powers or duties of the trustee; and 2. The powers or duties of the trust director. B. Subject to § 64.2-779.34, a trust direct…

A. Unless the terms of a trust provide otherwise: 1. A trustee does not have a duty to: a. Monitor a trust director; or b. Inform or give advice to a settlor, beneficiary, trustee, or trust director concerning an instance in which the trustee might have acted differently than the…

A. An action against a trust director for breach of trust must be commenced within the same limitation period as under § 64.2-796 for an action for breach of trust against a trustee in a like position and under similar circumstances. B. A report or accounting has the same effect …

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

A. By accepting appointment as a trust director of a trust subject to this article, the trust director submits to personal jurisdiction of the courts of the Commonwealth regarding any matter related to a power or duty of the trust director. B. This section does not preclude other…

Unless the terms of a trust provide otherwise, the rules applicable to a trustee apply to a trust director regarding the following matters: 1. Acceptance under § 64.2-754; 2. Giving of bond to secure performance under § 64.2-755; 3. Reasonable compensation under § 64.2-761; 4. Re…

A trustee or other person that reasonably relies on the validity of a distribution of part or all of the property of a trust to another trust, or a modification of a trust, under this article, a law of the Commonwealth other than this article, or the law of another jurisdiction i…

A. In this section, a notice period begins on the day notice is given under subsection C and ends 59 days after the day notice is given. B. Except as otherwise provided in this article, an authorized fiduciary may exercise the decanting power without the consent of any person and…

A. On application of an authorized fiduciary, a person entitled to notice under subsection C of § 64.2-779.5, a beneficiary, or with respect to a charitable interest the Attorney General or other person that has standing to enforce the charitable interest, the court may (i) provi…

An exercise of the decanting power shall be made in a record signed by an authorized fiduciary. The signed record shall, directly or by reference to the notice required by § 64.2-779.5, identify the first trust and the second trust or trusts and state the property of the first tr…

A. As used in this section: "Noncontingent right" means a right that is not subject to the exercise of discretion or the occurrence of a specified event that is not certain to occur. "Noncontingent right" does not include a right held by a beneficiary if any person has discretion…

A. As used in this section, "limited distributive discretion" means a discretionary power of distribution that is limited to an ascertainable standard or a reasonably definite standard. B. An authorized fiduciary that has limited distributive discretion over the income or princip…

As used in this article: "Controlling document" means the will, agreement, power of attorney, court order, or other instrument creating the fiduciary powers. "Trust" includes the assets under the control or management of the trustee. "Trustee" includes any fiduciary as defined in…

A. Except as otherwise provided in subsection B or § 2.2-4519 or 64.2-1502, a trustee who invests and manages trust assets owes a duty to the beneficiaries of the trust to comply with the prudent investor rule set forth in this article. B. The prudent investor rule, a default rul…

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 tr…

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, …

A. A trustee shall invest and manage the trust assets solely in the interest of the beneficiaries. B. If a trust has two or more beneficiaries, the trustee shall act impartially in investing and managing the trust assets, taking into account any differing interests of the benefic…

In investing and managing trust assets, a trustee may only incur costs that are appropriate and reasonable in relation to the assets, the purposes of the trust, and the skills of the trustee.

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

A. A trustee may delegate investment and management functions that a prudent trustee of comparable skills could properly delegate under the circumstances. The trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill, and caution in: 1. Selecting an agent; 2. Establishing the scope and terms…

The following terms or comparable language in the provisions of a trust, unless otherwise limited or modified by language articulating the investment standard to which the trustee is to be held, authorizes any investment or strategy permitted under this article: "investments perm…

This article applies to trusts existing on and created after January 1, 2000. As applied to trusts existing on its effective date, this article governs only decisions or actions occurring after that date.

This article shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this article among the states enacting it.

A. A violation by a trustee of a duty the trustee owes to a beneficiary is a breach of trust. B. 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 trustee from committing a breach of tru…

A. A trustee who commits a breach of trust is liable to the beneficiaries affected for the greater of: 1. The amount required to restore the value of the trust property and trust distributions to what they would have been had the breach not occurred; or 2. The profit the trustee …

A. 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. B. Absent a breach of trust, a trustee is not liable to a beneficiary for a loss or depreciation in the value of …

In a judicial proceeding involving the administration of a trust, the court, as justice and equity may require, may award costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney fees, to any party, to be paid by another party or from the trust that is the subject of the controversy.

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 result…

A. A term of a trust relieving a trustee of liability for breach of trust is unenforceable to the extent that it: 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 the ben…

A. 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: 1. The consent, release, or ratifi…

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 as otherwise provided in subsection C or unless 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…

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…

In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration shall be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

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 § 102 of the Electronic Signature…

A. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter: 1. This chapter applies to all trusts created before, on, or after July 1, 2006; 2. This chapter applies to all judicial proceedings concerning trusts commenced on or after July 1, 2006; 3. This chapter applies to judicial proceedi…