Title 4 — Title 4 — Trusts

Short title. This act may be cited as the Uniform Trust Code.

Scope. This act applies to charitable or noncharitable express trusts and trusts created pursuant to a statute, judgment or decree that requires the trust to be administered in the manner of an express trust.

(a) Definitions. As used in this act: (i) "Action," with respect to an act of a trustee, includes a failure to act; (ii) "Beneficiary" means a person that: (A) Has a present or future beneficial interest in a trust, vested or contingent; or (B) In a capacity other than that of tr…

Knowledge. (a) Subject to subsection (b) of this section, a person has knowledge of a fact if the person: (i) Has actual knowledge of it; (ii) Has received a notice or notification of it; or (iii) From all the facts and circumstances known to the person at the time in question, h…

Default and mandatory rules. (a) Except as otherwise provided in the terms of the trust, this act governs the duties and powers of a trustee, relations among trustees and the rights and interests of a beneficiary. (b) The terms of a trust shall prevail over any provision of this …

Common law of trusts; principles of equity. The common law of trusts and principles of equity supplement this act, except to the extent modified by this act or another statute of this state. When interpreting article 5 of this act, the court shall first use the law of this state,…

Governing law. (a) The meaning and effect of the terms of a trust are determined by: (i) The law of the jurisdiction designated in the terms of the trust; or (ii) In the absence of a controlling designation in the terms of the trust, the law of the jurisdiction having the most si…

Principal place of administration; governing law for administering trusts. (a) Without precluding other means for establishing a sufficient connection with the designated jurisdiction, terms of a trust designating the principal place of administration are valid and controlling if…

Methods and waiver of notice. (a) Notice to a person under this act or the sending of a document to a person under this act shall be accomplished in a manner reasonably suitable under the circumstances and that results in receipt of the notice or document. Permissible methods of …

Others treated as qualified beneficiaries. (a) Whenever notice to qualified beneficiaries of a trust is required under this act before the death of the settlor, the trustee may give notice to any beneficiary from whom the trustee has received a written request for notice if the t…

Nonjudicial settlement agreements. (a) For purposes of this section, "interested persons" means a qualified beneficiary, the settlor, if living, the trustee and trust protector, if any. (b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section, interested persons may ent…

Insurable interest of trustee. (a) A trustee of a trust has an insurable interest in the life of an individual insured under a life insurance policy that is owned by the trustee of the trust acting in a fiduciary capacity or that designates the trust itself as the owner if, on th…

Role of court in administration of trust. (a) The court may intervene in the administration of a trust to the extent its jurisdiction is invoked by an interested person or as provided by law. (b) A trust is not subject to continuing judicial supervision unless ordered by the cour…

Jurisdiction over fiduciary and beneficiary. (a) By becoming a fiduciary of a trust having its principal place of administration in this state or by moving the principal place of administration to this state, all trust fiduciaries submit personally to the jurisdiction of the cour…

Subject matter jurisdiction. (a) The district court and the chancery court, to the extent not inconsistent with W.S. 5-13-115, have exclusive jurisdiction of proceedings in this state brought by a trustee, trust protector, trust advisor or beneficiary concerning the administratio…

Venue. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, venue for a judicial proceeding involving a trust is in the county of this state in which the trust's principal place of administration is or will be located and, if the trust is created by will a…

Sealing and availability of documents. The privacy of those who have established a trust shall be protected in any judicial proceeding concerning the trust. Upon the filing of any petition, the trust instrument, inventory, statement filed by any fiduciary, annual verified report …

Representation; basic effect. (a) Notice to a person who may represent and bind another person under this article has the same effect as if notice were given directly to the other person. (b) The consent of a person who may represent and bind another person under this article is …

appointment. Representation by holder of a power of The holder of a power of appointment may represent and bind persons whose interests, as permissible appointees, takers in default, or otherwise, are subject to the power.

Representation by fiduciaries and parents. (a) To the extent there is no conflict of interest between the representative and the person represented or among those being represented with respect to a particular question or dispute: (i) A conservator may represent and bind the esta…

Representation by person having substantially identical interest. Unless otherwise represented, a minor, incapacitated or unborn individual, or a person whose identity or location is unknown and not reasonably ascertainable, may be represented by and bound by another having a sub…

Appointment of representative. (a) If the court determines that an interest is not represented under this article, or that the otherwise available representation might be inadequate, the court may appoint a representative to receive notice, give consent and otherwise represent, b…

(a) Methods of creating trust. A trust may be created by: (i) 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; (ii) Declaration by the owner of property that the owner holds ide…

(a) Title of trust property. Property transferred to a trust shall be titled: (i) 34-2-122; and (ii) If it is real property, in accordance with W.S. If it is personal property, in: (A) The name of the current trustee as the trustee of such trust; such trust; (B) The name of "the …

(a) trust; Requirements for creation. A trust is created only if: (i) The settlor has capacity to create a trust; (ii) The settlor indicates an intention to create the (iii) The trust has a definite beneficiary or is: (A) A charitable trust; (B) A trust for the care of an animal,…

Trusts created in other jurisdictions. (a) 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: (i) The settlor was do…

A trustee was domiciled or had a place of Any trust property was located. Trust purposes. A trust may be created only to the extent its purposes are lawful, not contrary to public policy, and possible to achieve. A trust and its terms shall be for the benefit of its beneficiaries…

Charitable purposes; enforcement. (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)…

Creation of trust induced by fraud, duress or undue influence. Subject to the rights of persons dealing with a fiduciary as provided in W.S. 4-10-1013, a trust is void to the extent its creation was induced by fraud, duress or undue influence.

Evidence of oral trust. Except as required by a statute other than this act, 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.

Trust for care of animal. (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 settl…

beneficiary. Noncharitable trust without ascertainable (a) Except as otherwise provided in W.S. 4-10-409 or by another statute, the following rules apply: (i) A trust may be created for a noncharitable purpose without a definite or definitely ascertainable beneficiary or for a no…

Modification or termination of trust; proceedings for approval or disapproval. (a) In addition to the methods of termination prescribed by W.S. 4-10-412 through 4-10-415, a trust terminates to the extent the trust is revoked or expires pursuant to its terms, no material purpose o…

Modification or termination of noncharitable irrevocable trust by consent. (a) If upon petition the court finds that the settlor and all qualified beneficiaries consent to the modification or termination of a noncharitable irrevocable trust, the court may enter an order approving…

Modification or termination because of unanticipated circumstances or inability to administer trust effectively. (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, modific…

Cy pres. (a) Except as otherwise provided in the terms of the trust, if a particular charitable purpose becomes unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve or wasteful: (i) The trust does not fail, in whole or in part; (ii) The trust property does not revert to the settlor or …

Modification or termination of uneconomic trust. (a) If the fair market value of a trust is less than one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000.00), the trustee may terminate the trust by the following procedure: (i) The trustee shall determine a plan of distribution that agre…

Reformation to correct mistakes. 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 o…

objectives. Modification to achieve settlor's tax 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 as proved by a preponderance of the evidence. The court may provide that the m…

Combination and division of trusts. 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 the rights of any beneficiary or adversely affec…

Rights of beneficiary's creditor or assignee. To the extent a beneficiary's interest in trust income or principal, or both, is not subject to a spendthrift provision or the exercise of the trustee's discretion, the court may authorize an assignee or a judgment creditor of the ben…

(a) Spendthrift provision. Repealed By Laws 2007, Ch. 155, § 5. (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 restrain both voluntary and involuntary transfers of the benef…

Exceptions to spendthrift provision. (a) As used in this section, "child" includes any person for whom an order or judgment for child support has been entered in this or another state. (b) Even if a trust contains a spendthrift provision, a person who has a judgment or court orde…

(b) If the trust includes a spendthrift provision, a creditor or assignee of a beneficiary may not compel a mandatory distribution or attach a mandatory distribution until it is received by the beneficiary. (c) If a trust providing for a mandatory distribution does not include a …

Standards of distribution. (a) Regardless of whether a beneficiary's interest in trust income or principal or both is subject to a spendthrift provision, if the terms of the trust direct the trustee to make distributions of trust income or principal or both according to a standar…

Power of appointment or withdrawal; claims of power holder's creditors. (a) Property of a trust that the holder of a power of appointment is authorized to appoint may not be reached or attached by creditors or assignees of the power holder except to the extent that the power hold…

Creditor's claim against settlor. (a) Whether or not the terms of a trust contain a spendthrift provision, the following rules apply: (i) During the lifetime of the settlor, the property of a revocable trust contributed by the settlor, and all income and appreciation thereon and …

Limitation on action by creditors. (a) Subject to the rights of persons dealing with a fiduciary as provided in W.S. 4-10-1013, a creditor may file a claim against the assets of the trust or commence a judicial proceeding to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable at t…

for compliance. Enforcement of foreign judgments; liability (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no judgment, decree or order of a court of the United States, a court of another state or any other court other than a Wyoming court shall be enforced against the property …

Overdue mandatory distribution. (a) In this section, "mandatory distribution" means a distribution of income or principal which the trustee is required to make to a beneficiary under the terms of the trust, including a distribution on termination of the trust. The term does not i…