Chapter 279 Oregon Laws 2003
AN ACT
HB 2063
Relating to Uniform Principal and Income Act; creating new provisions; amending ORS 97.830, 116.007 and 128.135; and repealing ORS 129.005, 129.015, 129.025, 129.035, 129.045, 129.055, 129.065, 129.075, 129.085, 129.090, 129.100, 129.105, 129.115 and 129.125.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of
Oregon:
DEFINITIONS AND FIDUCIARY DUTIES
SECTION 1. Short title. Sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act may be cited as the Uniform Principal and Income Act.
SECTION
2. Definitions. In
sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act:
(1)
“Accounting period” means a calendar year unless another 12-month period is
selected by a fiduciary. The term includes a portion of a calendar year or
other 12-month period that begins when an income interest begins or ends when
an income interest ends.
(2)
“Beneficiary” includes, in the case of a decedent’s estate, an heir and devisee
and, in the case of a trust, an income beneficiary and a remainder beneficiary.
(3)
“Fiduciary” means a personal representative or a trustee. The term includes an
executor, administrator, successor personal representative, special
administrator and a person performing substantially the same function.
(4)
“Income” means money or property that a fiduciary receives as current return
from a principal asset. The term includes a portion of receipts from a sale,
exchange or liquidation of a principal asset, to the extent provided in
sections 10 to 24 of this 2003 Act.
(5)
“Income beneficiary” means a person to whom net income of a trust is or may be
payable.
(6)
“Income interest” means the right of an income beneficiary to receive all or
part of net income, whether the terms of the trust require it to be distributed
or authorize it to be distributed in the trustee’s discretion.
(7)
“Mandatory income interest” means the right of an income beneficiary to receive
net income that the terms of the trust require the fiduciary to distribute.
(8)
“Net income” means the total receipts allocated to income during an accounting
period minus the disbursements made from income during the period, plus or
minus transfers under sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act to or from income
during the period.
(9)
“Person” means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust,
partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government,
governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality, public corporation or any
other legal or commercial entity.
(10)
“Principal” means property held in trust for distribution to a remainder
beneficiary when the trust terminates.
(11)
“Remainder beneficiary” means a person entitled to receive principal when an
income interest ends.
(12)
“Terms of a trust” means the manifestation of the intent of a settlor or
decedent with respect to the trust, expressed in a manner that admits of its
proof in a judicial proceeding, whether by written or spoken words or by
conduct.
(13) “Trustee” includes an original, additional or successor trustee, whether or not appointed or confirmed by a court.
SECTION
3. Fiduciary duties; general
principles. (1) In allocating receipts and disbursements to or between
principal and income, and with respect to any matter within the scope of
sections 5 to 9 of this 2003 Act, a fiduciary:
(a)
Shall administer a trust or estate in accordance with the terms of the trust or
the will, even if there is a different provision in sections 1 to 31 of this
2003 Act;
(b)
May administer a trust or estate by the exercise of a discretionary power of
administration given to the fiduciary by the terms of the trust or the will,
even if the exercise of the power produces a result different from a result
required or permitted by sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act;
(c)
Shall administer a trust or estate in accordance with sections 1 to 31 of this
2003 Act if the terms of the trust or the will do not contain a different
provision or do not give the fiduciary a discretionary power of administration;
and
(d)
Shall add a receipt or charge a disbursement to principal to the extent that
the terms of the trust and sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act do not provide a
rule for allocating the receipt or disbursement to or between principal and
income.
(2) In exercising the power to adjust under section 4 (1) of this 2003 Act, or a discretionary power of administration regarding a matter within the scope of sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act, whether granted by the terms of a trust, a will or by sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act, a fiduciary shall administer a trust or estate impartially, based on what is fair and reasonable to all of the beneficiaries, except to the extent that the terms of the trust or the will clearly manifest an intention that the fiduciary shall or may favor one or more of the beneficiaries. A determination in accordance with sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act is presumed to be fair and reasonable to all of the beneficiaries.
SECTION
4. Trustee’s power to adjust.
(1) A trustee may adjust between principal and income to the extent the trustee
considers necessary if the trustee invests and manages trust assets as a
prudent investor, the terms of the trust describe the amount that may or must
be distributed to a beneficiary by referring to the trust’s income and the
trustee determines, after applying the rules in section 3 (1) of this 2003 Act,
that the trustee is unable to comply with section 3 (2) of this 2003 Act.
(2)
In deciding whether and to what extent to exercise the power conferred by
subsection (1) of this section, a trustee shall consider all factors relevant
to the trust and its beneficiaries, including the following factors to the
extent they are relevant:
(a)
The nature, purpose and expected duration of the trust;
(b)
The intent of the settlor;
(c)
The identity and circumstances of the beneficiaries;
(d)
The needs for liquidity, regularity of income and preservation and appreciation
of capital;
(e)
The assets held in the trust, the extent to which they consist of financial
assets, interests in closely held enterprises, tangible and intangible personal
property or real property, the extent to which an asset is used by a
beneficiary and whether an asset was purchased by the trustee or received from
the settlor;
(f)
The net amount allocated to income under the other sections of sections 1 to 31
of this 2003 Act and the increase or decrease in the value of the principal
assets, which the trustee may estimate as to assets for which market values are
not readily available;
(g)
Whether and to what extent the terms of the trust give the trustee the power to
invade principal or accumulate income or prohibit the trustee from invading
principal or accumulating income, and the extent to which the trustee has
exercised a power from time to time to invade principal or accumulate income;
(h)
The actual and anticipated effect of economic conditions on principal and
income and effects of inflation and deflation; and
(i)
The anticipated tax consequences of an adjustment.
(3)
A trustee may not make an adjustment:
(a)
That diminishes the income interest in a trust that requires all of the income
to be paid at least annually to a spouse and for which an estate tax or gift
tax marital deduction would be allowed, in whole or in part, if the trustee did
not have the power to make the adjustment;
(b)
That reduces the actuarial value of the income interest in a trust to which a
person transfers property with the intent to qualify for a gift tax exclusion;
(c)
That changes the amount payable to a beneficiary as a fixed annuity or a fixed
fraction of the value of the trust assets;
(d)
From any amount that is permanently set aside for charitable purposes under a
will or the terms of a trust unless both income and principal are so set aside;
(e)
If possessing or exercising the power to make an adjustment causes an
individual to be treated as the owner of all or part of the trust for income
tax purposes and the individual would not be treated as the owner if the
trustee did not possess the power to make an adjustment;
(f)
If possessing or exercising the power to make an adjustment causes all or part
of the trust assets to be included for estate tax purposes in the estate of an
individual who has the power to remove a trustee or appoint a trustee, or both,
and the assets would not be included in the estate of the individual if the
trustee did not possess the power to make an adjustment;
(g)
If the trustee is a beneficiary of the trust; or
(h)
If the power to make adjustments has been released upon conversion of the trust
to a unitrust under section 4b of this 2003 Act.
(4)
If subsection (3)(e), (f), (g) or (h) of this section applies to a trustee and
there is more than one trustee, a cotrustee to whom the provision does not
apply may make the adjustment unless the exercise of the power by the remaining
trustee or trustees is not permitted by the terms of the trust.
(5)
A trustee may release the entire power conferred by subsection (1) of this
section or may release only the power to adjust from income to principal or the
power to adjust from principal to income if the trustee is uncertain about
whether possessing or exercising the power will cause a result described in
subsection (3)(a) to (f) of this section or subsection (3)(h) of this section,
or if the trustee determines that possessing or exercising the power will or
may deprive the trust of a tax benefit or impose a tax burden not described in
subsection (3) of this section. The release may be permanent or for a specified
period, including a period measured by the life of an individual.
(6) Terms of a trust that limit the power of a trustee to make an adjustment between principal and income do not affect the application of this section unless it is clear from the terms of the trust that the terms are intended to deny the trustee the power of adjustment conferred by subsection (1) of this section.
SECTION
4a. Judicial control of
discretionary power. (1) The court may not order a fiduciary to change a
decision to exercise or not to exercise a discretionary power conferred by
sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act unless it determines that the decision was an
abuse of the fiduciary’s discretion. A fiduciary’s decision is not an abuse of
discretion merely because the court would have exercised the power in a
different manner or would not have exercised the power.
(2)
The decisions to which subsection (1) of this section applies include:
(a)
A decision under section 4 (1) of this 2003 Act as to whether and to what
extent an amount should be transferred from principal to income or from income
to principal.
(b)
A decision regarding the factors that are relevant to the trust and its
beneficiaries, the extent to which the factors are relevant and the weight, if
any, to be given to those factors in deciding whether and to what extent to
exercise the discretionary power conferred by section 4 (1) of this 2003 Act.
(3)
If the court determines that a fiduciary has abused the fiduciary’s discretion,
the court may place the income and remainder beneficiaries in the positions
they would have occupied if the discretion had not been abused, according to
the following rules:
(a)
To the extent that the abuse of discretion has resulted in no distribution to a
beneficiary or in a distribution that is too small, the court shall order the
fiduciary to distribute from the trust to the beneficiary an amount that the court
determines will restore the beneficiary, in whole or in part, to the
beneficiary’s appropriate position.
(b)
To the extent that the abuse of discretion has resulted in a distribution to a
beneficiary that is too large, the court shall place the beneficiaries, the
trust, or both, in whole or in part, in their appropriate positions by ordering
the fiduciary to withhold an amount from one or more future distributions to
the beneficiary who received the distribution that was too large or ordering
that beneficiary to return some or all of the distribution to the trust.
(c)
To the extent that the court is unable, after applying paragraphs (a) and (b)
of this subsection, to place the beneficiaries, the trust, or both, in the
positions they would have occupied if the discretion had not been abused, the
court may order the fiduciary to pay an appropriate amount from its own funds
to one or more of the beneficiaries or the trust or both.
(4) Upon petition by the fiduciary for instructions under ORS 128.135 (2)(c), the court having jurisdiction over a trust or estate may instruct the fiduciary on whether a proposed exercise or nonexercise by the fiduciary of a discretionary power conferred by sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act will result in an abuse of the fiduciary’s discretion. If the petition describes the proposed exercise or nonexercise of the power and contains sufficient information to inform the beneficiaries of the reasons for the proposal, the facts upon which the fiduciary relies and an explanation of how the income and remainder beneficiaries will be affected by the proposed exercise or nonexercise of the power, a beneficiary who challenges the proposed exercise or nonexercise has the burden of establishing that it will result in an abuse of discretion.
SECTION
4b. Conversion to unitrust.
(1) As used in this section, “beneficiary” means a person who has an interest
in the trust to be converted and who has the legal capacity to take all actions
authorized under this section.
(2)(a)
Unless expressly prohibited by the terms of the trust, a trustee may release
the power to make adjustments under section 4 (1) of this 2003 Act and convert
a trust into a unitrust if the trustee determines that the conversion will
enable the trustee to carry out more accurately the intent of the settlor and
the purposes of the trust and that operation of the trust as a unitrust is
consistent with the duties of the trustee under section 3 (2) of this 2003 Act.
(b)
Not less than 60 days before making a conversion under this section, a trustee
must give written notice to all beneficiaries who either are eligible to
receive income from the trust at the time the notice is given, or who would
receive a distribution of principal if the trust were to terminate immediately
before the notice is given and no power of appointment was exercised. The
notice must indicate that the trustee intends to release the power to adjust
and to convert the trust into a unitrust, must describe how the unitrust will
operate and must include a description of the initial decisions the trustee
will make under this section.
(c)
A trustee may not convert a trust to a unitrust under this section if any
beneficiary objects to the conversion to a unitrust in a writing delivered to
the trustee within 60 days after notice is given under this subsection.
(3)
The trustee or any beneficiary may file a petition pursuant to ORS 128.135
(2)(e) to seek issuance of a court order directing conversion of a trust to a
unitrust. The court shall order the requested conversion if the court concludes
that the conversion will enable the trustee to carry out more accurately the
intent of the settlor and the purposes of the trust, and that operation of the
trust as a unitrust is consistent with the duties of the trustee under section
3 (2) of this 2003 Act.
(4)
After a trust is converted to a unitrust under this section, all of the
following apply:
(a)
The trustee must invest and manage trust assets as a prudent investor, and must
follow an investment policy seeking a total return for trust investments,
whether that return is derived from appreciation of principal or from earnings
and distributions from principal.
(b)
The trustee must make regular distributions in accordance with the terms of the
trust. All provisions of the trust relating to distribution of income shall be
construed to refer to an annual unitrust distribution equal to four percent of
the fair market value of trust assets, averaged over the lesser of the three
preceding calendar years or the period during which the trust has been in
existence.
(c)
In calculating the unitrust distribution, the trustee shall use the value of
trust assets on the first business day of each calendar year for purposes of
determining average value. The trustee may, in the trustee’s discretion,
determine the manner in which the unitrust distribution will be prorated for a
year in which a beneficiary’s right to payments begins or ends, the effect on
trust asset valuation of other payments from or contributions to the trust,
whether to estimate the value of nonliquid assets, whether to omit from the
calculations trust property occupied or possessed by a beneficiary and any
other matters necessary for the proper administration of the unitrust.
(d)
Expenses that would be deducted from income under sections 1 to 31 of this 2003
Act if the trust was not a unitrust shall not be deducted from the unitrust
distribution.
(e)
Unless otherwise provided by the terms of the trust, the unitrust distribution
must be paid first from net income, as that amount would be determined if the
trust were not a unitrust. To the extent that net income is insufficient, the
unitrust distribution shall be paid first from net realized short-term capital
gains, then from net realized long-term capital gains and finally from trust
principal.
(f)
Conversion to a unitrust does not affect any provision in the terms of the
trust directing or authorizing a trustee to distribute trust principal or
authorizing a beneficiary to withdraw a portion or all of the principal.
(5)
The trustee or any beneficiary may file a petition pursuant to ORS 128.135
(2)(e) to seek issuance of a court order directing any of the following:
(a)
The distribution of net income, as that amount would be determined if the trust
were not a unitrust, in excess of the unitrust distribution, if the excess
distribution is necessary to preserve a tax benefit.
(b)
The selection of a period other than three years for purposes of calculating
average trust asset values.
(c)
Reconversion from a unitrust. If a reconversion is ordered, the power to make
adjustments under section 4 (1) of this 2003 Act is revived.
(6)
A trustee does not have and may not exercise any power under this section in
any of the following circumstances:
(a)
The unitrust distribution would be made from any amount that is permanently set
aside for charitable purposes under the terms of the trust and for which a
charitable deduction from federal gift, estate or income taxes has been taken.
(b)
The possession or exercise of the power would cause an individual to be treated
as the owner of all or part of the trust for federal income tax purposes and
the individual would not be treated as an owner if the trustee did not possess
or exercise the power.
(c)
The possession or exercise of the power would cause all or any part of the
trust assets to be subject to any federal gift or estate tax with respect to an
individual and the trust assets would not be subject to that taxation if the
trustee did not possess or exercise the power.
(d)
The possession or exercise of the power would result in the disallowance of a
marital deduction from federal estate or gift tax that would be allowed if the
trustee did not possess or exercise the power.
(e)
The trustee is a beneficiary of the trust.
(7) If subsection (6) of this section applies to a trustee and there is more than one trustee, a cotrustee to whom subsection (6) of this section does not apply may possess and exercise the powers under this section unless the possession or exercise of those powers is not permitted by the terms of the trust. If subsection (6) of this section restricts all trustees from possessing or exercising a power under this section, a trustee may file a petition pursuant to ORS 128.135 to order the requested action.
DECEDENT’S ESTATE OR
TERMINATING INCOME INTEREST
SECTION
5. Determination and
distribution of net income. After a decedent dies, in the case of an
estate, or after an income interest in a trust ends, the following rules apply:
(1)
A fiduciary of an estate or of a terminating income interest shall determine
the amount of net income and net principal receipts received from property
specifically given to a beneficiary under the rules in sections 7 to 30 of this
2003 Act that apply to trustees and the rules in subsection (5) of this
section. The fiduciary shall distribute the net income and net principal
receipts to the beneficiary who is to receive the specific property.
(2)
A fiduciary shall determine the remaining net income of a decedent’s estate or
a terminating income interest under the rules in sections 7 to 30 of this 2003
Act that apply to trustees and by:
(a)
Including in net income all income from property used to discharge liabilities;
(b)
Paying from income or principal, in the fiduciary’s discretion, fees of
attorneys, accountants and fiduciaries, court costs and other expenses of
administration and interest on death taxes, but the fiduciary may pay those
expenses from income of property passing to a trust for which the fiduciary
claims an estate tax marital or charitable deduction only to the extent that
the payment of those expenses from income will not cause the reduction or loss
of the deduction; and
(c)
Paying from principal all other disbursements made or incurred in connection
with the settlement of a decedent’s estate or the winding up of a terminating
income interest, including debts, funeral expenses, disposition of remains,
family allowances, and death taxes and related penalties that are apportioned
to the estate or terminating income interest by the will, the terms of the
trust or applicable law.
(3)
A fiduciary shall distribute to a beneficiary who receives a pecuniary amount
outright the interest or any other amount provided by the will, the terms of
the trust or applicable law from net income determined under subsection (2) of
this section or from principal to the extent that net income is insufficient.
If a beneficiary is to receive a pecuniary amount outright from a trust after
an income interest ends and no interest or other amount is provided for by the
terms of the trust or applicable law, the fiduciary shall distribute the
interest or other amount to which the beneficiary would be entitled under
applicable law if the pecuniary amount were required to be paid under a will.
(4)
A fiduciary shall distribute the net income remaining after distributions
required by subsection (3) of this section in the manner described in section 6
of this 2003 Act to all other beneficiaries, including a beneficiary who
receives a pecuniary amount in trust, even if the beneficiary holds an
unqualified power to withdraw assets from the trust or other presently
exercisable general power of appointment over the trust.
(5) A fiduciary may not reduce principal or income receipts from property described in subsection (1) of this section because of a payment described in section 25 or 26 of this 2003 Act to the extent that the will, the terms of the trust or applicable law requires the fiduciary to make the payment from assets other than the property or to the extent that the fiduciary recovers or expects to recover the payment from a third party. The net income and principal receipts from the property are determined by including all of the amounts the fiduciary receives or pays with respect to the property, whether those amounts accrued or became due before, on or after the date of a decedent’s death or an income interest’s terminating event, and by making a reasonable provision for amounts that the fiduciary believes the estate or terminating income interest may become obligated to pay after the property is distributed.
SECTION
6. Distribution to residuary
and remainder beneficiaries. (1) Each beneficiary described in section 5
(4) of this 2003 Act is entitled to receive a portion of the net income equal
to the beneficiary’s fractional interest in undistributed principal assets,
using values as of the distribution date. If a fiduciary makes more than one
distribution of assets to beneficiaries to whom this section applies, each
beneficiary, including one who does not receive part of the distribution, is
entitled, as of each distribution date, to the net income the fiduciary has
received after the date of death or terminating event or earlier distribution
date but has not distributed as of the current distribution date.
(2)
In determining a beneficiary’s share of net income, the following rules apply:
(a)
The beneficiary is entitled to receive a portion of the net income equal to the
beneficiary’s fractional interest in the undistributed principal assets
immediately before the distribution date, including assets that later may be
sold to meet principal obligations.
(b)
The beneficiary’s fractional interest in the undistributed principal assets
must be calculated without regard to property specifically given to a
beneficiary and property required to pay pecuniary amounts not in trust.
(c)
The beneficiary’s fractional interest in the undistributed principal assets
must be calculated on the basis of the aggregate value of those assets as of
the distribution date without reducing the value by any unpaid principal
obligation.
(d)
The distribution date for purposes of this section may be the date as of which
the fiduciary calculates the value of the assets if that date is reasonably
near the date on which assets are actually distributed.
(3)
If a fiduciary does not distribute all of the collected but undistributed net
income to each person as of a distribution date, the fiduciary shall maintain
appropriate records showing the interest of each beneficiary in that net
income.
(4) A fiduciary may apply the rules in this section, to the extent that the fiduciary considers it appropriate, to net gain or loss realized after the date of death or terminating event or earlier distribution date from the disposition of a principal asset if this section applies to the income from the asset.
APPORTIONMENT AT BEGINNING
AND END OF INCOME INTEREST
SECTION
7. When right to income
begins and ends. (1) An income beneficiary is entitled to net income from
the date on which the income interest begins. An income interest begins on the
date specified in the terms of the trust or, if no date is specified, on the
date an asset becomes subject to a trust or successive income interest.
(2)
An asset becomes subject to a trust:
(a)
On the date it is transferred to the trust in the case of an asset that is
transferred to a trust during the transferor’s life;
(b)
On the date of a testator’s death in the case of an asset that becomes subject
to a trust by reason of a will, even if there is an intervening period of
administration of the testator’s estate; or
(c)
On the date of an individual’s death in the case of an asset that is
transferred to a fiduciary by a third party because of the individual’s death.
(3)
An asset becomes subject to a successive income interest on the day after the
preceding income interest ends, as determined under subsection (4) of this
section, even if there is an intervening period of administration to wind up
the preceding income interest.
(4) An income interest ends on the day before an income beneficiary dies or another terminating event occurs or on the last day of a period during which there is no beneficiary to whom a trustee may distribute income.
SECTION
8. Apportionment of receipts
and disbursements when decedent dies or income interest begins. (1) A
trustee shall allocate an income receipt or disbursement other than one to
which section 5 (1) of this 2003 Act applies to principal if its due date
occurs before a decedent dies in the case of an estate or before an income
interest begins in the case of a trust or successive income interest.
(2)
A trustee shall allocate an income receipt or disbursement to income if its due
date occurs on or after the date on which a decedent dies or an income interest
begins and it is a periodic due date. An income receipt or disbursement must be
treated as accruing from day to day if its due date is not periodic or it has
no due date. The portion of the receipt or disbursement accruing before the
date on which a decedent dies or an income interest begins must be allocated to
principal and the balance must be allocated to income.
(3) An item of income or an obligation is due on the date the payer is required to make a payment. If a payment date is not stated, there is no due date for the purposes of sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act. Distributions to shareholders or other owners from an entity to which section 10 of this 2003 Act applies are deemed to be due on the date fixed by the entity for determining who is entitled to receive the distribution or, if no date is fixed, on the declaration date for the distribution. A due date is periodic for receipts or disbursements that must be paid at regular intervals under a lease or an obligation to pay interest or if an entity customarily makes distributions at regular intervals.
SECTION
9. Apportionment when income
interest ends. (1) In this section, “undistributed income” means net income
received before the date on which an income interest ends. The term does not
include an item of income or expense that is due or accrued or net income that
has been added or is required to be added to principal under the terms of the
trust.
(2)
When a mandatory income interest ends, the trustee shall pay to a mandatory
income beneficiary who survives that date, or the estate of a deceased
mandatory income beneficiary whose death causes the interest to end, the
beneficiary’s share of the undistributed income that is not disposed of under
the terms of the trust unless the beneficiary has an unqualified power to
revoke more than five percent of the trust immediately before the income
interest ends. In the latter case, the undistributed income from the portion of
the trust that may be revoked must be added to principal.
(3) When a trustee’s obligation to pay a fixed annuity or a fixed fraction of the value of the trust’s assets ends, the trustee shall prorate the final payment if and to the extent required by applicable law to accomplish a purpose of the trust or its settlor relating to income, gift, estate or other tax requirements.
ALLOCATION OF RECEIPTS DURING
ADMINISTRATION OF TRUST
(Receipts From Entities)
SECTION
10. Character of receipts.
(1) In this section, “entity” means a corporation, partnership, limited
liability company, regulated investment company, real estate investment trust,
common trust fund or any other organization in which a trustee has an interest
other than a trust or estate to which section 11 of this 2003 Act applies, a
business or activity to which section 12 of this 2003 Act applies or an asset-backed
security to which section 24 of this 2003 Act applies.
(2)
Except as otherwise provided in this section, a trustee shall allocate to
income money received from an entity.
(3)
A trustee shall allocate the following receipts from an entity to principal:
(a)
Property other than money;
(b)
Money received in one distribution or a series of related distributions in
exchange for part or all of a trust’s interest in the entity;
(c)
Money received in total or partial liquidation of the entity; and
(d)
Money received from an entity that is a regulated investment company or a real
estate investment trust if the money distributed is a capital gain dividend for
federal income tax purposes.
(4)
Money is received in partial liquidation:
(a)
To the extent that the entity, at or near the time of a distribution, indicates
that it is a distribution in partial liquidation; or
(b)
If the total amount of money and property received in a distribution or series
of related distributions is greater than 20 percent of the entity’s gross
assets, as shown by the entity’s year-end financial statements immediately
preceding the initial receipt.
(5)
Money is not received in partial liquidation, nor may it be taken into account
under subsection (4)(b) of this section, to the extent that it does not exceed
the amount of income tax that a trustee or beneficiary must pay on taxable
income of the entity that distributes the money.
(6) A trustee may rely upon a statement made by an entity about the source or character of a distribution if the statement is made at or near the time of distribution by the entity’s board of directors or other person or group of persons authorized to exercise powers to pay money or transfer property comparable to those of a corporation’s board of directors.
SECTION 11. Distribution from trust or estate. A trustee shall allocate to income an amount received as a distribution of income from a trust or an estate in which the trust has an interest other than a purchased interest, and shall allocate to principal an amount received as a distribution of principal from such a trust or estate. If a trustee purchases an interest in a trust that is an investment entity, or a decedent or donor transfers an interest in such a trust to a trustee, section 10 or 24 of this 2003 Act applies to a receipt from the trust.
SECTION
12. Business and other
activities conducted by trustee. (1) If a trustee who conducts a business
or other activity determines that it is in the best interest of all the
beneficiaries to account separately for the business or activity instead of
accounting for it as part of the trust’s general accounting records, the
trustee may maintain separate accounting records for its transactions, whether
or not its assets are segregated from other trust assets.
(2)
A trustee who accounts separately for a business or other activity may
determine the extent to which its net cash receipts must be retained for
working capital, the acquisition or replacement of fixed assets, and other
reasonably foreseeable needs of the business or activity, and the extent to
which the remaining net cash receipts are accounted for as principal or income
in the trust’s general accounting records. If a trustee sells assets of the
business or other activity, other than in the ordinary course of the business
or activity, the trustee shall account for the net amount received as principal
in the trust’s general accounting records to the extent the trustee determines
that the amount received is no longer required in the conduct of the business.
(3)
Activities for which a trustee may maintain separate accounting records
include:
(a)
Retail, manufacturing, service and other traditional business activities;
(b)
Farming;
(c)
Raising and selling livestock and other animals;
(d)
Management of rental properties;
(e)
Extraction of minerals and other natural resources;
(f)
Timber operations; and
(g) Activities to which section 23 of this 2003 Act applies.
(Receipts Not Normally Apportioned)
SECTION
13. Principal receipts. A
trustee shall allocate to principal:
(1)
To the extent not allocated to income under sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act,
assets received from a transferor during the transferor’s lifetime, a
decedent’s estate, a trust with a terminating income interest or a payer under
a contract naming the trust or its trustee as beneficiary;
(2)
Money or other property received from the sale, exchange, liquidation or change
in form of a principal asset, including realized profit, subject to sections 10
to 24 of this 2003 Act;
(3)
Amounts recovered from third parties to reimburse the trust because of
disbursements described in section 26 (1)(g) of this 2003 Act or for other
reasons to the extent not based on the loss of income;
(4)
Proceeds of property taken by eminent domain, but a separate award made for the
loss of income with respect to an accounting period during which a current
income beneficiary had a mandatory income interest is income;
(5)
Net income received in an accounting period during which there is no
beneficiary to whom a trustee may or must distribute income; and
(6) Other receipts as provided in sections 17 to 24 of this 2003 Act.
SECTION 14. Rental property. To the extent that a trustee accounts for receipts from rental property pursuant to this section, the trustee shall allocate to income an amount received as rent of real or personal property, including an amount received for cancellation or renewal of a lease. An amount received as a refundable deposit, including a security deposit or a deposit that is to be applied as rent for future periods, must be added to principal and held subject to the terms of the lease and is not available for distribution to a beneficiary until the trustee’s contractual obligations have been satisfied with respect to that amount.
SECTION
15. Obligation to pay money.
(1) An amount received as interest, whether determined at a fixed, variable or
floating rate, on an obligation to pay money to the trustee, including an
amount received as consideration for prepaying principal, must be allocated to
income without any provision for amortization of premium.
(2)
A trustee shall allocate to principal an amount received from the sale,
redemption or other disposition of an obligation to pay money to the trustee
more than one year after it is purchased or acquired by the trustee, including
an obligation whose purchase price or value when it is acquired is less than
its value at maturity. If the obligation matures within one year after it is
purchased or acquired by the trustee, an amount received in excess of its
purchase price or its value when acquired by the trust must be allocated to
income.
(3) This section does not apply to an obligation to which section 18, 19, 20, 21, 23 or 24 of this 2003 Act applies.
SECTION
16. Insurance policies and
similar contracts. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of
this section, a trustee shall allocate to principal the proceeds of a life
insurance policy or other contract in which the trust or its trustee is named
as beneficiary, including a contract that insures the trust or its trustee
against loss for damage to, destruction of or loss of title to a trust asset.
The trustee shall allocate dividends on an insurance policy to income if the
premiums on the policy are paid from income and to principal if the premiums
are paid from principal.
(2)
A trustee shall allocate to income proceeds of a contract that insures the
trustee against loss of occupancy or other use by an income beneficiary, loss
of income or, subject to section 12 of this 2003 Act, loss of profits from a
business.
(3) This section does not apply to a contract to which section 18 of this 2003 Act applies.
(Receipts Normally Apportioned)
SECTION
17. Insubstantial allocations
not required. If a trustee determines that an allocation between principal
and income required by section 18, 19, 20, 21 or 24 of this 2003 Act is
insubstantial, the trustee may allocate the entire amount to principal unless
one of the circumstances described in section 4 (3) of this 2003 Act applies to
the allocation. This power may be exercised by a cotrustee in the circumstances
described in section 4 (4) of this 2003 Act and may be released for the reasons
and in the manner described in section 4 (5) of this 2003 Act. An allocation is
presumed to be insubstantial if:
(1)
The amount of the allocation would increase or decrease net income in an
accounting period, as determined before the allocation, by less than 10
percent; or
(2) The value of the asset producing the receipt for which the allocation would be made is less than 10 percent of the total value of the trust’s assets at the beginning of the accounting period.
SECTION
18. Deferred compensation,
annuities and similar payments. (1) In this section, “payment” means a
payment that a trustee may receive over a fixed number of years or during the
life of one or more individuals because of services rendered or property
transferred to the payer in exchange for future payments. The term includes a
payment made in money or property from the payer’s general assets or from a
separate fund created by the payer, including a private or commercial annuity,
an individual retirement account and a pension, profit-sharing, stock-bonus or
stock-ownership plan.
(2)
Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, to the extent that a
payment is characterized as interest or a dividend or a payment made in lieu of
interest or a dividend, a trustee shall allocate it to income. The trustee
shall allocate to principal the balance of the payment and any other payment
received in the same accounting period that is not characterized as interest, a
dividend or an equivalent payment.
(3)
Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, if no part of a payment
is characterized as interest, a dividend or an equivalent payment, and all or
part of the payment is required to be made, a trustee shall allocate to income
10 percent of the part that is required to be made during the accounting period
and the balance to principal. If no part of a payment is required to be made or
the payment received is the entire amount to which the trustee is entitled, the
trustee shall allocate the entire payment to principal. For purposes of this
subsection, a payment is not “required to be made” to the extent that it is
made because the trustee exercises a right of withdrawal.
(4)
If, to obtain an estate tax marital deduction for a trust, a trustee must
allocate more of a payment to income than provided for by this section, the
trustee shall allocate to income the additional amount necessary to obtain the
marital deduction.
(5)(a)
An increase in value of the following obligations over the value of the
obligations at the time of acquisition by the trust is distributable as income:
(A)
A zero coupon security.
(B)
A deferred annuity contract surrendered wholly or partially before
annuitization.
(C)
A life insurance contract surrendered wholly or partially before the death of
the insured.
(D)
Any other obligation for the payment of money that is payable at a future time
in accordance with a fixed, variable or discretionary schedule of appreciation
in excess of the price at which it was issued.
(b)
For purposes of this subsection, the increase in value of an obligation is
available for distribution only when the trustee receives cash on account of
the obligation. If the obligation is surrendered or partially liquidated, the
cash available must be attributed first to the increase. The increase is
distributable to the income beneficiary who is the beneficiary at the time the
cash is received.
(6) This section does not apply to payments to which section 19 of this 2003 Act applies.
SECTION
19. Liquidating asset.
(1) In this section, “liquidating asset” means an asset whose value will
diminish or terminate because the asset is expected to produce receipts for a
period of limited duration. The term includes a leasehold, patent, copyright,
royalty right and right to receive payments during a period of more than one
year under an arrangement that does not provide for the payment of interest on
the unpaid balance. The term does not include a payment subject to section 18
of this 2003 Act, resources subject to section 20 of this 2003 Act, timber
subject to section 21 of this 2003 Act, an activity subject to section 23 of
this 2003 Act, an asset subject to section 24 of this 2003 Act or any asset for
which the trustee establishes a reserve for depreciation under section 27 of
this 2003 Act.
(2) A trustee shall allocate to income 10 percent of the receipts from a liquidating asset and the balance to principal.
SECTION
20. Minerals, water and other
natural resources. (1) To the extent that a trustee accounts for receipts
from an interest in minerals or other natural resources pursuant to this
section, the trustee shall allocate them as follows:
(a)
If received as nominal delay rental or nominal annual rent on a lease, a
receipt must be allocated to income.
(b)
If received from a production payment, a receipt must be allocated to income if
and to the extent that the agreement creating the production payment provides a
factor for interest or its equivalent. The balance must be allocated to
principal.
(c)
If an amount received as a royalty, shut-in-well payment, take-or-pay payment,
bonus or delay rental is more than nominal, 90 percent must be allocated to
principal and the balance to income.
(d)
If an amount is received from a working interest or any other interest not
provided for in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this subsection, 90 percent of the
net amount received must be allocated to principal and the balance to income.
(2)
An amount received on account of an interest in water that is renewable must be
allocated to income. If the water is not renewable, 90 percent of the amount
must be allocated to principal and the balance to income.
(3)
Sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act apply whether or not a decedent or donor was
extracting minerals, water or other natural resources before the interest
became subject to the trust.
(4) If a trust owns an interest in minerals, water or other natural resources on the effective date of sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act, the trustee may allocate receipts from the interest as provided in sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act or in the manner used by the trustee before the effective date of sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act. If the trust acquires an interest in minerals, water or other natural resources after the effective date of sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act, the trustee shall allocate receipts from the interest as provided in sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act.
SECTION
21. Timber. (1) To the
extent that a trustee accounts for receipts from the sale of timber and related
products pursuant to this section, the trustee shall allocate the net receipts:
(a)
To income to the extent that the amount of timber removed from the land does
not exceed the rate of growth of the timber during the accounting periods in
which a beneficiary has a mandatory income interest;
(b)
To principal to the extent that the amount of timber removed from the land
exceeds the rate of growth of the timber or the net receipts are from the sale
of standing timber;
(c)
To or between income and principal if the net receipts are from the lease of
timberland or from a contract to cut timber from land owned by a trust, by
determining the amount of timber removed from the land under the lease or
contract and applying the rules in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection;
or
(d)
To principal to the extent that advance payments, bonuses and other payments
are not allocated pursuant to paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this subsection.
(2)
In determining net receipts to be allocated pursuant to subsection (1) of this
section, a trustee shall deduct and transfer to principal a reasonable amount
for depletion.
(3)
Sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act apply whether or not a decedent or transferor
was harvesting timber from the property before it became subject to the trust.
(4) If a trust owns an interest in timberland on the effective date of sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act, the trustee may allocate net receipts from the sale of timber and related products as provided in sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act or in the manner used by the trustee before the effective date of sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act. If the trust acquires an interest in timberland after the effective date of sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act, the trustee shall allocate net receipts from the sale of timber and related products as provided in sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act.
SECTION
22. Property not productive
of income. (1) If a marital deduction is allowed for all or part of a trust
whose assets consist substantially of property that does not provide the spouse
with sufficient income from or use of the trust assets, and if the amounts that
the trustee transfers from principal to income under section 4 of this 2003 Act
and distributes to the spouse from principal pursuant to the terms of the trust
are insufficient to provide the spouse with the beneficial enjoyment required
to obtain the marital deduction, the spouse may require the trustee to make property
productive of income, convert property within a reasonable time or exercise the
power conferred by section 4 (1) of this 2003 Act. The trustee may decide which
action or combination of actions to take.
(2) In cases not governed by subsection (1) of this section, proceeds from the sale or other disposition of an asset are principal without regard to the amount of income the asset produces during any accounting period.
SECTION
23. Derivatives and options.
(1) In this section, “derivative” means a contract or financial instrument or a
combination of contracts and financial instruments which gives a trust the
right or obligation to participate in some or all changes in the price of a
tangible or intangible asset or group of assets, or changes in a rate, an index
of prices or rates, or other market indicator for an asset or a group of
assets.
(2)
To the extent that a trustee does not account under section 12 of this 2003 Act
for transactions in derivatives, the trustee shall allocate to principal
receipts from and disbursements made in connection with those transactions.
(3) If a trustee grants an option to buy property from the trust, whether or not the trust owns the property when the option is granted, grants an option that permits another person to sell property to the trust or acquires an option to buy property for the trust or an option to sell an asset owned by the trust, and the trustee or other owner of the asset is required to deliver the asset if the option is exercised, an amount received for granting the option must be allocated to principal. An amount paid to acquire the option must be paid from principal. A gain or loss realized upon the exercise of an option, including an option granted to a settlor of the trust for services rendered, must be allocated to principal.
SECTION
24. Asset-backed securities.
(1) In this section, “asset-backed security” means an asset whose value is
based upon the right it gives the owner to receive distributions from the
proceeds of financial assets that provide collateral for the security. The term
includes an asset that gives the owner the right to receive from the collateral
financial assets only the interest or other current return or only the proceeds
other than interest or current return. The term does not include an asset to
which section 10 or 18 of this 2003 Act applies.
(2)
If a trust receives a payment from interest or other current return and from
other proceeds of the collateral financial assets, the trustee shall allocate
to income the portion of the payment which the payer identifies as being from
interest or other current return and shall allocate the balance of the payment
to principal.
(3) If a trust receives one or more payments in exchange for the trust’s entire interest in an asset-backed security in one accounting period, the trustee shall allocate the payments to principal. If a payment is one of a series of payments that will result in the liquidation of the trust’s interest in the security over more than one accounting period, the trustee shall allocate 10 percent of the payment to income and the balance to principal.
ALLOCATION OF DISBURSEMENTS DURING
ADMINISTRATION OF TRUST
SECTION
25. Disbursements from
income. A trustee shall make the following disbursements from income to the
extent that they are not disbursements to which section 5 (2)(b) or (c) of this
2003 Act applies:
(1)
One-half of the regular compensation of the trustee and of any person providing
investment advisory or custodial services to the trustee;
(2)
One-half of all expenses for accountings, judicial proceedings or other matters
that involve both the income and remainder interests;
(3)
All of the other ordinary expenses incurred in connection with the
administration, management or preservation of trust property and the
distribution of income, including interest, ordinary repairs, regularly
recurring taxes assessed against principal and expenses of a proceeding or
other matter that concerns primarily the income interest; and
(4) Recurring premiums on insurance covering the loss of a principal asset or the loss of income from or use of the asset.
SECTION
26. Disbursements from
principal. (1) A trustee shall make the following disbursements from
principal:
(a)
The remaining one-half of the disbursements described in section 25 (1) and (2)
of this 2003 Act;
(b)
All of the trustee’s compensation calculated on principal as a fee for
acceptance, distribution or termination and disbursements made to prepare
property for sale;
(c)
Payments on the principal of a trust debt;
(d)
Expenses of a proceeding that concerns primarily principal, including a
proceeding to construe the trust or to protect the trust or its property;
(e)
Premiums paid on a policy of insurance not described in section 25 (4) of this
2003 Act of which the trust is the owner and beneficiary;
(f)
Estate, inheritance and other transfer taxes, including penalties, apportioned
to the trust; and
(g)
Disbursements related to environmental matters, including reclamation,
assessing environmental conditions, remedying and removing environmental
contamination, monitoring remedial activities and the release of substances,
preventing future releases of substances, collecting amounts from persons
liable or potentially liable for the costs of those activities, penalties
imposed under environmental laws or regulations and other payments made to
comply with those laws or regulations, statutory or common law claims by third
parties and defending claims based on environmental matters.
(2) If a principal asset is encumbered with an obligation that requires income from that asset to be paid directly to the creditor, the trustee shall transfer from principal to income an amount equal to the income paid to the creditor in reduction of the principal balance of the obligation.
SECTION
27. Transfers from income to
principal for depreciation. (1) In this section, “depreciation” means a
reduction in value due to wear, tear, decay, corrosion or gradual obsolescence
of a fixed asset having a useful life of more than one year.
(2)
A trustee may transfer to principal a reasonable amount of the net cash
receipts from a principal asset that is subject to depreciation, but may not
transfer any amount for depreciation:
(a)
Of that portion of real property used or available for use by a beneficiary as
a residence or of tangible personal property held or made available for the
personal use or enjoyment of a beneficiary;
(b)
During the administration of a decedent’s estate; or
(c)
Under this section if the trustee is accounting under section 12 of this 2003
Act for the business or activity in which the asset is used.
(3) An amount transferred to principal need not be held as a separate fund.
SECTION
28. Transfers from income to
reimburse principal. (1) If a trustee makes or expects to make a principal
disbursement described in this section, the trustee may transfer an appropriate
amount from income to principal in one or more accounting periods to reimburse
principal or to provide a reserve for future principal disbursements.
(2)
Principal disbursements to which subsection (1) of this section applies include
the following, but only to the extent that the trustee has not been and does
not expect to be reimbursed by a third party:
(a)
An amount chargeable to income but paid from principal because it is unusually
large, including extraordinary repairs;
(b)
A capital improvement to a principal asset, whether in the form of changes to
an existing asset or the construction of a new asset, including special
assessments;
(c)
Disbursements made to prepare property for rental, including tenant allowances,
leasehold improvements and broker’s commissions;
(d)
Periodic payments on an obligation secured by a principal asset to the extent
that the amount transferred from income to principal for depreciation is less
than the periodic payments; and
(e)
Disbursements described in section 26 (1)(g) of this 2003 Act.
(3) If the asset whose ownership gives rise to the disbursements becomes subject to a successive income interest after an income interest ends, a trustee may continue to transfer amounts from income to principal as provided in subsection (1) of this section.
SECTION
29. Income taxes. (1) A
tax required to be paid by a trustee based on receipts allocated to income must
be paid from income.
(2)
A tax required to be paid by a trustee based on receipts allocated to principal
must be paid from principal, even if the tax is called an income tax by the
taxing authority.
(3)
A tax required to be paid by a trustee on the trust’s share of an entity’s taxable
income must be paid proportionately:
(a)
From income to the extent that receipts from the entity are allocated to
income; and
(b)
From principal to the extent that:
(A)
Receipts from the entity are allocated to principal; and
(B)
The trust’s share of the entity’s taxable income exceeds the total receipts
described in paragraph (a) of this subsection and subparagraph (A) of this
paragraph.
(4) For purposes of this section, receipts allocated to principal or income must be reduced by the amount distributed to a beneficiary from principal or income for which the trust receives a deduction in calculating the tax.
SECTION
30. Adjustments between
principal and income because of taxes. (1) A fiduciary may make adjustments
between principal and income to offset the shifting of economic interests or
tax benefits between income beneficiaries and remainder beneficiaries which
arise from:
(a)
Elections and decisions, other than those described in subsection (2) of this
section, that the fiduciary makes from time to time regarding tax matters;
(b)
An income tax or any other tax that is imposed upon the fiduciary or a
beneficiary as a result of a transaction involving or a distribution from the
estate or trust; or
(c)
The ownership by an estate or trust of an interest in an entity whose taxable
income, whether or not distributed, is includable in the taxable income of the
estate, trust or a beneficiary.
(2) If the amount of an estate tax marital deduction or charitable contribution deduction is reduced because a fiduciary deducts an amount paid from principal for income tax purposes instead of deducting it for estate tax purposes, and as a result estate taxes paid from principal are increased and income taxes paid by an estate, trust or beneficiary are decreased, each estate, trust or beneficiary that benefits from the decrease in income tax shall reimburse the principal from which the increase in estate tax is paid. The total reimbursement must equal the increase in the estate tax to the extent that the principal used to pay the increase would have qualified for a marital deduction or charitable contribution deduction but for the payment. The proportionate share of the reimbursement for each estate, trust or beneficiary whose income taxes are reduced must be the same as its proportionate share of the total decrease in income tax. An estate or trust shall reimburse principal from income.
UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION
SECTION 31. Uniformity of application and construction. In applying and construing sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
CONFORMING AMENDMENTS
SECTION 32. ORS 97.830 is amended to read:
97.830. (1) The principal of all funds for endowed care shall be invested, from time to time reinvested and kept invested. If a trust agreement imposes upon the trustee or custodian the duty to direct the investment or reinvestment of endowed care funds, the trustee or custodian shall perform this duty governed by the provisions of ORS 128.194 to 128.218. Otherwise, the cemetery authority, governed by the provisions of ORS 128.194 to 128.218, shall direct the investment and reinvestment of endowed care funds in the time or savings deposits of the custodian bank or savings association.
(2) The principal of invested endowed care funds shall never be voluntarily reduced, but shall be maintained separate and distinct by the trustee or custodian from all other funds except that it shall be proper to commingle endowment care funds with special care funds. The payment of charges chargeable against principal under [ORS 129.115 (3)] sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act or of other expenses necessarily incurred in the administration of the trust in accordance with subsection (1) of this section shall not constitute a voluntary reduction of principal. The net income earned shall be used solely for the general care and maintenance of the cemetery property entitled to endowment care, as stipulated in the resolution, bylaw and other action or instrument by which the fund was established, and in such manner as the cemetery authority may from time to time determine to be in the best interests of such endowed property. Such net income shall never be used for the improvement or embellishment of undeveloped property offered for sale.
SECTION 33. ORS 116.007 is amended to read:
116.007. (1) Unless the will otherwise provides and subject to subsection (2) of this section, all expenses incurred in connection with the settlement of a decedent’s estate, including debts, funeral expenses, estate taxes, interest and penalties concerning taxes, family allowances, fees of attorneys and personal representatives, and court costs shall be charged against the principal of the estate.
(2) Unless the will otherwise provides, income from the assets of a decedent’s estate after the death of the testator and before distribution, including income from property used to discharge liabilities, shall be determined in accordance with the rules applicable to a trustee under [ORS 129.005 to 129.125] sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act and this section and distributed as follows:
(a) To specific legatees and devisees, the income from the property bequeathed or devised to them respectively, less taxes, ordinary repairs, and other expenses of management and operation of the property, and an appropriate portion of interest accrued since the death of the testator and of taxes imposed on income, excluding taxes on capital gains, which accrue during the period of administration.
(b) To all other legatees and devisees, except legatees of pecuniary bequests that are not in trust and that do not qualify for the marital deduction provided for in section 2056 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 2056), the balance of the income, less the balance of taxes, ordinary repairs, and other expenses of management and operation of all property from which the estate is entitled to income, interest accrued since the death of the testator, and taxes imposed on income, excluding taxes on capital gains, which accrue during the period of administration, in proportion to their respective interests in the undistributed assets of the estate computed at times of distribution on the basis of inventory value.
(3) Income received by a trustee under subsection (2) of this section shall be treated as income of the trust.
SECTION 33a. ORS 128.135 is amended to read:
128.135. (1) As used in this section, ORS 128.145 and 128.155, “beneficiary” means any vested or contingent beneficiary of a trust, determined as of the date of the petition, or the guardian or conservator of such beneficiary or the personal representative of a deceased beneficiary.
(2) Any beneficiary of a trust or the trustee thereof may petition the circuit court in any county where trust assets are located or where the trustee resides for the purpose of any of the following:
(a) Requiring, reviewing or approving an accounting of a trustee of the trust.
(b) Accepting a resignation of the trustee or appointing a successor trustee or an additional trustee.
(c) Obtaining authority, approval or instructions on any matter concerning the interpretation of the trust or the administration, settlement or distribution of the trust estate, including approval of a proposed exercise or nonexercise of a discretionary power under sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act.
(d) Making any modification of the trust that the parties could make by agreement under the provisions of ORS 128.177.
(e) Converting a trust to a unitrust under section 4b of this 2003 Act.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the procedure, pleading and notice requirements for a proceeding under this section shall be the same as provided in ORS 111.205 to 111.235 for petition to a probate court by a party interested in the estate of a decedent, and the court shall have all of the powers of the probate court in such proceedings in the probate court.
(4) Upon the filing of a petition under subsection (2) of this section, the petitioner shall cause notice of the petition to be given, prior to the time for filing objections or court hearing specified in the notice, to all living beneficiaries and the currently acting trustee, other than the petitioner, in the manner and within the times provided in ORS 111.215. Any beneficiary whose name, identity or existence is unknown to the petitioner may be given notice as provided in ORS 111.215 (1)(c).
(5) When petitioned to review or approve an accounting of a trustee, the court shall determine the correctness of the account and the validity and propriety of all actions of the trustee set forth therein, including the purchase, retention or disposition of any property or funds of the trust.
(6) The court, by its order or judgment, may give directions, instructions, authority or approval, or make appointments, as appear to it to be most beneficial to all beneficiaries of the trust. The court may approve or disapprove an accounting or any part thereof and may surcharge the trustee for losses, if any, caused by negligent or willful breaches of trust. Any order or judgment entered in a proceeding under this section is final, conclusive and binding upon all beneficiaries notified of the proceeding, including all incompetent, unborn and unascertained beneficiaries of the trust, subject only to the right of appeal as provided in ORS 128.165.
(7) Every unborn or unascertainable beneficiary shall be bound by any action taken by the court for or against any living beneficiary of the same class or whose interests are similar to the interests of the unborn or unascertainable beneficiary.
(8) The court, by a provision in an order or judgment entered in a proceeding under this section, may retain jurisdiction over all the parties and over all the trust assets, and may from time to time, upon application under ORS 128.145, make such further orders or judgments regarding the purposes set forth in subsection (2) of this section as appear to be for the best interest of the beneficiaries.
MISCELLANEOUS
SECTION 34. Except as may be expressly provided in a will or in the terms of a trust or in sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act, sections 1 to 31 of this 2003 Act apply to the administration of all trusts and estates, whether coming into existence before, on or after the effective date of this 2003 Act.
CAPTIONS
SECTION 35. The unit and section captions used in this 2003 Act are provided only for the convenience of the reader and do not become part of the statutory law of this state or express any legislative intent in the enactment of this 2003 Act.
REPEALS
SECTION 36. ORS 129.005, 129.015, 129.025, 129.035, 129.045, 129.055, 129.065, 129.075, 129.085, 129.090, 129.100, 129.105, 129.115 and 129.125 are repealed.
Approved by the Governor June 10, 2003
Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 11, 2003
Effective date January 1, 2004
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