In Hooten v. Collins, a dispute arose between the trustee of a Texas trust and a beneficiary who resided overseas regarding the distribution of trust assets, which primarily consisted of real estate in Texas. No....more
Some administered charitable gifts may qualify as “charitable trusts” under the Uniform Trust Code (UTC) and as “institutional funds” under the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA). An “institutional...more
Intro. The Uniform Trust Code (UTC) is a mere aggregation of tweaks to the corner of equity jurisprudence that long ago gave birth to and currently stewards the trust relationship, hereinafter “the background trust law.”...more
When hostilities break out between individual co-trustees, incumbent trust counsel faces a representation conundrum. In §8.8 of Loring and Rounds: A Trustee’s Handbook (2025), see appendix below, we grapple with the...more
While PC software programs are a practical improvement over the trustee’s hard-copy ledger book, when it comes to keeping track of trust income and principal these programs still require serious clerical monitoring on the...more
In an external contract-based or tort-based dispute between the trustee and a third party to the trust relationship, the beneficiaries are generally not necessary parties. But all beneficiaries (of an irrev. trust) whose...more
An incident of the trustee’s duty to be generally prudent, to account (or report) to beneficiaries, and to refrain from breaches of the duty of undivided loyalty, such as engaging in unauthorized self-dealing, is the...more
Many of my prior JDSUPRA postings caution that codification of the law of trusts, such as the Uniform Trust Code (UTC), are only partial codifications. See the catalogue of my prior postings below. There is much prevailing...more
Equity’s maxims have many jurisprudential functions, one critical function being to sinew the equitable principles that regulate the law of trusts. A court that is saddled with sorting out the rights, duties and obligations...more
Recently, Michigan added a new section to the trust code, making it possible for trust settlors to create “quiet” or “silent” trusts in Michigan. As the name implies, in a silent trust arrangement, a trustee is not required...more
The September 2024 Section 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs, QPRTs and GRATs is 4.8%, a decrease from the August 2024 rate of 5.2%. The September applicable federal rate (“AFR”) for use...more
Section 17.3, comment f, of the Restatement (Third) of Property (Wills and Other Donative Transfers) explains the difference between a collateral power of appointment and a power of appointment in gross: “In traditional...more
Consider the following situation. Settlor owns a thousand acres of land in a domestic-asset- protection haven (DAPT state). While he is alive, he transfers in trust the land to a corporate trustee that does business...more
In a Sept. 11, 2023 JDSUPRA posting I questioned the doctrinal and practical utility of partial legislative codifications of equity’s principles-based jurisprudence, such as the UTC, the very institution of the trust being a...more
A longstanding and critical incident of a trustee’s fiduciary duty of loyalty is the duty to vigorously defend the trust’s very existence, as well as all its material provisions (hereinafter “existence defense”), unless it...more
The Tennessee legislature continues to take action to maintain Tennessee's status as one of the foremost states in which to situs trusts. The legislature's most recent enhancements to Tennessee's Uniform Trust Code (TN UTC)...more
David F. Johnson presented to the Tarrant County Probate Bar Association on May 4, 2023, on the topic of “Trust Issues in Divorce Proceedings.” This program discussed some of the many trust issues that arise in divorce...more
The Uniform Trust Code and the Restatement (Third) of Trusts both follow the presumption that trust beneficiaries should be generally kept aware of the existence of the trust, their status as beneficiaries, and their right to...more
This isn’t really a trick question, though it can seem that way - how do you create a trust? In Massachusetts, you can create a trust by transferring your assets to someone else as trustee, by making a will with trust...more
Trust beneficiaries often request a corporate trustee to prepare a statutory accounting. The Texas Trust Code in Section 113.151 provides that a beneficiary may request a written statement of accounts....more
Now more than ever, the situs and principal place of administration of a trust has become a fluid concept. Trustees change, move, or open and close offices. As situs changes, the question often becomes “what law governs the...more
Professional trustees and financial institutions acting as trustees often include a “termination fee” as part of their published fee schedules. Contrary to the name’s suggestion, a trustee might charge the fee not only at...more
September 2019 Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split-Interest Charitable Trusts - The September Section 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as CRTs,...more
Supreme Court Ruling in North Carolina Department of Revenue v. Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust, 588 U.S. [TBD] and its Relevance to Income Taxation of Accumulated Income in California Trusts - The Supreme Court...more
As we have just passed the one-year anniversary of the CUTC being signed into law, now seems like an appropriate time to go over a few reminders with regards to its mandatory provisions – in particular the Notice provisions. ...more