Title 11 — Title 11 PROBATE AND TRUST LAW
52 chapters · 970 sections in this title.
RCW 11.98.002 Definitions.
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The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter, and throughout this title where specifically referenced, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Permissible distributee" means a trust beneficiary who is currently eligible to receive distributions of trus…
RCW 11.98.005 Trust situs and governing law.
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(1) If provisions of a trust instrument designate Washington as the situs of the trust or designate Washington law to govern the trust or any of its terms, then the situs of the trust is Washington provided that one of the following conditions is met:(a) A trustee has a place of …
RCW 11.98.008 Trust creation—Methods.
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A trust may be created by:(1) Transfer of property to another person as trustee during the trustor's lifetime or by will or other disposition taking effect upon the trustor's death;(2) Declaration by the owner of property that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee; or(…
RCW 11.98.009 Application of chapter.
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Except as provided in this section, this chapter applies to express trusts executed by the trustor after June 10, 1959, and does not apply to resulting trusts, constructive trusts, business trusts where certificates of beneficial interest are issued to the beneficiary, investment…
RCW 11.98.011 Trust creation—Requirements.
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(1) A trust is created only if:(a) The trustor has capacity to create a trust;(b) The trustor indicates an intention to create the trust;(c) The trust has a definite beneficiary or is:(i) A charitable trust;(ii) A trust for the care of an animal, as provided in chapter 11.118 RCW…
RCW 11.98.012 Trust creation—Other jurisdictions.
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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 or in the case of a revocable trust, at the time the trust became …
RCW 11.98.013 Trust creation—Allowable purposes.
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A trust may be created only to the extent its purposes are lawful, not contrary to public policy, and possible to achieve.[ 2011 c 327 s 18.]Notes:Application—Effective date—2011 c 327: See notes following RCW 11.103.020.
RCW 11.98.014 Trust creation—Oral trusts.
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Except as required by a statute other than this title, 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, cogent, and convincing evidence.[ 2011 c 327 s 19.]Notes:Application—Effective date—2011 c…
RCW 11.98.015 Noncharitable trusts without ascertainable beneficiaries.
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Except as otherwise provided in chapter 11.118 RCW 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 …
RCW 11.98.016 Exercise of powers by co-trustees.
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(1) Any power vested in three or more trustees jointly may be exercised by a majority of such trustees; but no trustee who has not joined in exercising a power is liable to the beneficiaries or to others for the consequences of such exercise; nor is a dissenting trustee liable fo…
RCW 11.98.017 Trusteeship—Accepting and declining—Powers without acceptance.
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(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of this section, a person designated as trustee accepts the trusteeship:(a) By substantially complying with a method of acceptance provided in the terms of the trust; or(b) If the terms of the trust do not provide a method of acc…
RCW 11.98.019 Relinquishment of powers by trustee.
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Any trustee may, by written instrument delivered to any then acting co-trustee and to the permissible distributees of the trust, relinquish to any extent and upon any terms any or all of the trustee's powers, rights, authorities, or discretions that are or may be tax sensitive in…
RCW 11.98.029 Resignation of trustee.
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Any trustee may resign, without judicial proceedings, by a writing signed by the trustee and filed with the trust records, to be effective upon the trustee's discharge as provided in RCW 11.98.041.[ 1989 c 10 s 3. Prior: 1985 c 30 s 43; prior: 1959 c 124 s 4. Formerly RCW 30.99.0…
RCW 11.98.039 Nonjudicial change of trustee—Judicial appointment or change of trustee—Liability and duties of successor fiduciary.
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(1) Where a vacancy occurs in the office of the trustee and there is a successor trustee who is willing to serve as trustee and (a) is named in the governing instrument as successor trustee or (b) has been selected to serve as successor trustee under the procedure established in …
RCW 11.98.041 Change of trustee—Discharge of outgoing trustee, when.
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Where a vacancy occurs in the office of trustee under the circumstances described in RCW 11.98.039 (1) or (2), the outgoing trustee is discharged upon the agreement of all parties entitled to notice or upon the expiration of thirty days after notice is given of such vacancy as re…
RCW 11.98.045 Criteria for transfer of trust assets or administration.
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(1) If a trust is a Washington trust under RCW 11.98.005, a trustee may transfer the situs of the trust to a jurisdiction other than Washington if the trust instrument so provides or in accordance with RCW 11.98.051 or 11.98.055.(2) Transfer under this section is permitted only i…
RCW 11.98.051 Nonjudicial transfer of trust assets or administration—Notice—Consent required.
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(1) The trustee may transfer trust situs (a) in accordance with RCW 11.96A.220; or (b) by giving written notice to the attorney general in the case of a charitable trust subject to chapter 11.110 RCW and to the qualified beneficiaries not less than sixty days before initiating th…
RCW 11.98.055 Judicial transfer of situs of trusts.
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(1) Any trustee, beneficiary, or beneficiary representative may petition the superior court of the county of the situs of the trust for a transfer of the situs of a trust in accordance with RCW 11.96A.080 through 11.96A.200.(2) At the conclusion of the hearing, if the court finds…
RCW 11.98.060 Power of successor trustee.
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A successor trustee of a trust shall succeed to all the powers, duties and discretionary authority of the original trustee.[ 1985 c 30 s 48. Prior: 1959 c 124 s 6. Formerly RCW 30.99.060.]Notes:Short title—Application—Purpose—Severability—1985 c 30: See RCW 11.02.900 through 11.0…
RCW 11.98.065 Change in form of corporate trustee.
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Any appointment of a specific bank, trust company, or corporation as trustee is conclusively presumed to authorize the appointment or continued service of that entity's successor in interest in the event of a merger, acquisition, or reorganization, and no court proceeding is nece…
RCW 11.98.070 Power of trustee.
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A trustee, or the trustees jointly, of a trust, in addition to the authority otherwise given by law, have discretionary power to acquire, invest, reinvest, exchange, sell, convey, control, divide, partition, and manage the trust property in accordance with the standards provided …
RCW 11.98.071 Trustee's delegation of duties.
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(1) A trustee may delegate duties and powers that a prudent trustee of comparable skills could properly delegate under the circumstances. The trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill, and caution in:(a) Selecting a delegate;(b) Establishing the scope and terms of the delegat…
RCW 11.98.072 Trustee—Notification requirements.
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(1) A trustee must keep all qualified beneficiaries of a trust reasonably informed about the administration of the trust and of the material facts necessary for them to protect their interests. Unless unreasonable under the circumstances, a trustee must promptly respond to any be…
RCW 11.98.075 Certification of trust.
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(1) 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:(a) That the trust exists and the date the trust instrument was executed;(b) The iden…
RCW 11.98.078 Trustee duty of loyalty.
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(1) A trustee must administer the trust solely in the interests of the beneficiaries.(2) Subject to the rights of persons dealing with or assisting the trustee as provided in RCW 11.98.105, a sale, encumbrance, or other transaction involving the investment or management of trust …
RCW 11.98.080 Consolidation of trusts.
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(1)(a) Two or more trusts may be consolidated if:(i) The trusts so provide; or(ii) Whether provided in the trusts or not, the requirements of subsection (2), (3), or (4) of this section are satisfied.(b) Consolidation under subsection (2), (3), or (4) of this section is permitted…
RCW 11.98.085 Trustee—Breach of trust—Damages.
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(1) A trustee who commits a breach of trust is liable for the greater of:(a) 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(b) The profit the trustee made by reason of the breach.…
RCW 11.98.100 Nonliability for action or inaction based on lack of knowledge of events.
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When the happening of any event, including but not limited to such events as marriage, divorce, performance of educational requirements, or death, affects the administration or distribution of the trust, then a trustee who has exercised reasonable care to ascertain the happening …
RCW 11.98.105 Nonliability of third persons without knowledge of breach.
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(1) 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…
RCW 11.98.107 Trustee exculpation.
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(1) An exculpatory term which was inserted as the result of an abuse of a fiduciary or confidential relationship between the trustor and the trustee is unenforceable.(2) An exculpatory term drafted or caused to be drafted by the trustee is invalid as an abuse of a fiduciary or co…
RCW 11.98.108 Nonliability of trustee—Beneficiary's consent, release, or ratification.
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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 ratificat…
RCW 11.98.110 Contract and tort liability.
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As used in this section, a trust includes a probate estate, and a trustee includes a personal representative. The words "trustee" and "as trustee" mean "personal representative" and "as personal representative" where this section is being construed in regard to personal represent…
RCW 11.98.130 Rule against perpetuities.
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No provision of an instrument creating a trust, including the provisions of any further trust created, and no other disposition of property made pursuant to exercise of a power of appointment granted in or created through authority under such instrument is invalid under the rule …
RCW 11.98.140 Distribution and vesting of assets.
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If, during the one hundred fifty years following the effective date of an instrument creating a trust, any of the trust assets should by the terms of the instrument or pursuant to any further trust or other disposition resulting from exercise of the power of appointment granted i…
RCW 11.98.145 Distribution upon termination.
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(1) Upon termination or partial termination of a trust, the trustee may send, by personal service, certified mail with return receipt requested, or in an electronic transmission if there is a consent of the recipient to electronic transmission then in effect under the terms of RC…
RCW 11.98.150 Distribution of assets after one hundred fifty-year period.
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If, at the end of the one hundred fifty years following the effective date of an instrument creating a trust, any of the trust assets have not by the terms of the trust instrument become distributable or vested, then the assets shall be distributed as the superior court having ju…
RCW 11.98.160 Effective date of irrevocable inter vivos trust—Effective date of revocable inter vivos or testamentary trust.
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For the purposes of RCW 11.98.130 through 11.98.150 the effective date of an instrument purporting to create an irrevocable inter vivos trust is the date on which it is executed by the trustor, and the effective date of an instrument purporting to create either a revocable inter …
RCW 11.98.170 Designation of trustee as beneficiary of life insurance policy or retirement plan—Determination of proper recipient of proceeds—Definitions—Beneficiary designations executed before January 1, 1985, not invalidated.
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(1) Any life insurance policy or retirement plan payment provision may designate as beneficiary:(a) A trustee named or to be named by will, and immediately after the proving of the will, the proceeds of such insurance or of such plan designated as payable to that trustee, in part…
RCW 11.98.200 Beneficiary trustee—Limitations on power.
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Due to the inherent conflict of interest that exists between a trustee and a beneficiary of a trust, unless the terms of a trust refer specifically to RCW 11.98.200 through 11.98.240 and provide expressly to the contrary, the powers conferred upon a trustee who is a beneficiary o…
RCW 11.98.210 Beneficiary trustee—Disregard of provision conferring absolute or similar power—Power of removal.
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If a trustee is a beneficiary of the trust and the trust instrument confers the power to make distributions of principal or income for the trustee's health, education, support, or maintenance as described in section 2041 or 2514 of the Internal Revenue Code and the applicable reg…
RCW 11.98.220 Beneficiary trustee—Inferences of law—Judicial review.
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RCW 11.98.200 through 11.98.240 do not raise any inference that the law of this state prior to July 25, 1993, was different than under RCW 11.98.200 through 11.98.240. Further, RCW 11.98.200 through 11.98.240 do not raise an inference that prior to July 25, 1993, a trustee's exer…
RCW 11.98.230 Beneficiary trustee—Income under marital deduction—Spousal power of appointment.
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Notwithstanding any provision of RCW 11.98.200 through 11.98.240 seemingly to the contrary, RCW 11.98.200 through 11.98.240 do not limit or restrict the distribution of income of a trust that qualifies or that otherwise could have qualified for the marital deduction under section…
RCW 11.98.240 Beneficiary trustee—Applicability—Exceptions—Election of exception—Cause of action.
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(1)(a) RCW 11.98.200 and 11.98.210 respectively apply to:(i) A trust established under a will, codicil, trust agreement, declaration of trust, deed, or other instrument executed after July 25, 1993, unless the instrument's terms refer specifically to RCW 11.98.200 or 11.98.210 re…
RCW 11.98.900 Application of RCW 11.98.130 through 11.98.160—RCW 11.68.090 prevails.
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(1) The provisions of RCW 11.98.130 through 11.98.160 are applicable to any instrument purporting to create a trust regardless of the date such instrument bears, unless it has been previously adjudicated in the courts of this state.(2) To the extent that this chapter is in confli…
RCW 11.98.920 Short title.
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This act shall be known as the "Washington Trust Act."[ 1985 c 30 s 62. Prior: 1959 c 124 s 12. Formerly RCW 30.99.910.]Notes:Short title—Application—Purpose—Severability—1985 c 30: See RCW 11.02.900 through 11.02.903.
RCW 11.98.930 Construction—Chapter applicable to state registered domestic partnerships—2009 c 521.
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For the purposes of this chapter, the terms spouse, marriage, marital, husband, wife, widow, widower, next of kin, and family shall be interpreted as applying equally to state registered domestic partnerships or individuals in state registered domestic partnerships as well as to …