Colorado Enacts Uniform Trust Code Provisions
Colorado has added new provisions to its Uniform Trust Code. These provisions are effective as of January 1, 2019.
Application
The new provision, cited in the Bill as the “Code,” applies to charitable and non-charitable express trusts and trusts created pursuant to a statute, judgment, or decree that requires the trust to be administered as if it were an express trust.
Definitions
A definitions section is included in the Code, defining such terms as “alternative dispute resolution,” “ascertainable standard,” and “power of withdrawal.”
Purpose
The purpose of the Code is to govern the duties, rights, and powers of trustees; the rights, powers, and interests of beneficiaries; the relationship between trustees and beneficiaries; and the purpose of the trust. The terms of a trust prevail over any provisions in the Uniform Trust Code. However, a number of exceptions are outlined in the Code and include the following: 1) the minimum requirements for creating a trust, 2) the duty of a trustee to act in good faith, and 3) the power of the court to modify or terminate a trust.
Areas Covered
The Code is expansive and covers in depth many issues relating to trusts. These areas are divided into parts throughout the Code as follows: 2) judicial proceedings; 3) representation; 4) creation, validity, modification, and termination of a trust; 6) revocable trusts; 7) office of trustee; 8) duties and powers of trustee; 10) liability of trustees and rights of persons dealing with trustees; 13) life insurance policy owned by a trustee; and 14) miscellaneous provisions. Sections 5, 9, 11, and 12 are currently reserved.
For the full text of Senate Bill 180, please refer to https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018A/bills/2018a_180_signed.pdf.
Elizabeth Dailey, JD, is a Regulatory Compliance Director with CLA. She is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and earned her juris doctor at New England Law. She is admitted to the Massachusetts Bar.
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