SB-909 Uniform Trust Decanting Act
SB 909, Hertzberg. Uniform Trust Decanting Act.
Existing law regulates trust administration and generally requires a trustee to administer the trust according to the trust instrument. Under existing law, a trustee may exercise specified powers without court authorization, including the power to acquire or dispose of property. Existing law authorizes the beneficiaries of an irrevocable trust to compel modification of the trust upon petition to the court, if all beneficiaries of the trust consent.
This bill would enact the Uniform Trust Decanting Act, under which a fiduciary of an irrevocable trust may distribute the property of a first trust to one or more 2nd trusts or modify the terms of the first trust without the consent of the beneficiaries or approval of the court, subject to certain exceptions. The bill would require specified persons, including qualified beneficiaries and, if the trust contains a determinable charitable interest, the Attorney General, to be provided notice of the intended exercise of the decanting power, and would authorize the court, on application by specified persons, to, among other things, approve an exercise of the decanting power. Among other provisions, the bill would require a fiduciary exercising the decanting power to act in accordance with its fiduciary duties and in accordance with the purposes of the first trust. The bill would also specify that the decanting power does not apply to a trust held solely for charitable purposes.
