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Foreword: Twenty Years Of The Uniform Trust Code, Jeffrey A. Cooper

ACTEC Law Journal

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the codification of the Uniform Trust Code (the "UTC"), it has been enacted in 35 jurisdictions and remains under consideration elsewhere. It has proven to be both popular and influential, generating spirited debates about issues ranging from ministerial to transformative. It has impacted numerous aspects of trust and estate practice, including estate planning, trust administration, and fiduciary litigation.

This is the foreword to a special issue of the ACTEC Law Journal to be produced to mark the occasion of the UTC’s 20th anniversary. In this very brief work, I provide a quick overview …

Utc's Duty To Inform And Report At 20 - How Mandatory Is Transparency, Anne-Marie E. Rhodes, Mel M. Justak

Faculty Publications & Other Works

In trust administration, there is often a tugging contest between a settlor's or trustee's desire to limit certain information being released to beneficiaries and beneficiaries' desire for total transparency. While the reasons for limiting information are varied, a common one is autonomy, sometimes emanating from the settlor's or trustee's concern that such information may be harmful to the beneficiary or the family dynamic. Nowhere is this tension more apparent than the interplay between Uniform Trust Code (UTC) Sections 105 (Default and Mandatory Rules) and 813 (Duty to Inform and Report).

Utc's Duty To Inform And Report At 20 - How Mandatory Is Transparency, Anne-Marie E. Rhodes, Mel M. Justak

Faculty Publications & Other Works

No abstract provided.

Arkansas’S Trust Code And Trust Planning: A Ten-Year Perspective, Lynn Foster

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

In 2001, the Uniform Law Commission adopted the Uniform Trust Code, which regulates certain aspects of trusts. One impetus for the trust code was the ever-increasing popularity of revocable trusts as part of standard estate planning packages. Another was the fact that few states—including Arkansas—had well-developed common law trust rules, let alone any statutory trust codes. In 2005, the Arkansas legislature enacted a slightly modified version of the Uniform Trust Code (UTC), titled the Arkansas Trust Code (ATC). At that time, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review published my article summarizing the most important features of the …

A Trustee’S Fiduciary Duties At The Start And End Of Administration, Robert Whitman

Catholic University Law Review

Prior to the creation of a trust and at its termination, a trustee’s fiduciary duties are often ambiguous. It is argued that, where fiduciary duties do not exist, contract law may be found to govern the rights of the settlor, the trustee, and the beneficiaries. This article refutes this argument because under the principles of modern contract law, certain conduct may be permitted that would not be acceptable if fiduciary duties existed more clearly. The most common problems arise in three areas: (1) the seeking of a receipt and release by a corporate fiduciary upon an informal termination of a …

Agents In Secrecy: The Use Of Information Surrogates In Trust Administration, Lauren Z. Curry

Vanderbilt Law Review

Trusting another to look after one's best interest when money is at stake is difficult in many different situations. This is true in the area of trust administration as well. As with most areas of law and regulation, trust law addresses this concern primarily through the requirement of information disclosure. Information disclosure to trust beneficiaries has become a heated issue among trust scholars and practitioners. Interestingly, as fundamental as disclosure may be in trust administration, the duty to disclose is not precisely defined at common law and is far from uniform. This creates a profusion of problems for trustees who …

The Role Of Trust Protectors In American Trust Law, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

“A trust is an arrangement whereby one person (the trustor) transfers property to another person or entity (the trustee) and directs the trustee to hold the property for the benefit of another person (the beneficiary).” These days, trustees often have significant discretionary and administrative powers. The increased use of institutional trustees, as well as the growing sophistication and complexity of modern trust asset management, have induced many settlors to give their trustees greater power and discretion. In addition, many states have enacted statutes, such as the Uniform Trustees’ Powers Act or the Uniform Trust Code (UTC), that confer broad powers …

Wills, Trusts, And Estates, J. Rodney Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Wills, Trusts, And Estates, J. Rodney Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

The General Assembly enacted legislation dealing with wills, trusts, and estates that added or amended a number of sections of the Virginia Code in its 2005 Session. In addition, there were two opinions from the Supreme Court of Virginia that presented issues of interest to the general practitioner as well as to the specialist in wills, trusts, and estates during the period covered by this review. This article reports on all of these legislative and judicial developments.

The Virginia Uniform Trust Code, John E. Donaldson, Robert T. Danforth

University of Richmond Law Review

In its 2005 Session, the Virginia General Assembly enacted Senate Bill 891,1 thus adopting the Uniform Trust Code ("UTC"), with modifications considered appropriate to this state's institutions, traditions, and jurisprudence. The Virginia Uniform Trust Code ("Virginia UTC"), set forth in new Chapter 31 of Title 55 of the Virginia Code, has an effective date of July 1, 2006, but, once in effect, it will be applicable (with some exceptions) to trusts created before, on, or after that date. The new Virginia UTC, which encompasses the great bulk of the principles and rules that comprise the law of trusts in Virginia, …

The New Mexico Uniform Trust Code, David M. English

Faculty Publications

This article provides an overview of the New Mexico UTC, focusing on how its enactment either changes or clarifies existing New Mexico law.

The Kansas Uniform Trust Code, David M. English

Faculty Publications

Senate Bill 297, which was enacted by the Kansas legislature in 2002 and which became effective on January 1, 2003, is a substantial adoption of the Uniform Trust Code (2000) (“UTC”). The Kansas UTC is codified in a new chapter, Kansas Statutes Annotated chapter 58a. The UTC is the Uniform Law Commissioners' first effort to provide the states with a comprehensive model for codifying their law on trusts.

Analyzing The Trust Code, David M. English

Faculty Publications

Uniform Acts have played a significant role in the development of the law on trusts and estates. While the Uniform Probate Code is perhaps the best known of such Acts, there are many others. The Uniform Trust Code (2000) ( “UTC”) continues in this tradition. Like the Uniform Probate Code, it provides the states with a comprehensive model for codifying their laws. It provides the states with an opportunity to update, fill out, and systematize their law on trusts.

The Uniform Trust Code (2000): Significant Provisions And Policy Issues, David M. English

Faculty Publications

This Article provides an overview of the UTC, describes how it responds to recent developments in American trust practice, and describes how its enactment would change the trust law prevailing in most American states.

The Uniform Trust Code (2000) And Its Application To Ohio, David M. English

Faculty Publications

This article provides an overview of the U.T.C., focusing on how its enactment would change existing Ohio law. The drafting of the U.T.C. was prompted by the much greater use of trusts in recent years. This greater use of the trust and consequent rise in the number of day-to-day questions involving trusts led to a recognition by the Commissioners that the trust law in most states is thin, leaving many gaps between the often few statutes and reported cases