(a) A qualified disposition shall be avoided only to the extent necessary to satisfy the transferor’s debt to the creditor at whose instance the disposition had been avoided, together with any costs, including attorney’s fees, that the court may allow.

Need help with a review of a will?
Have it reviewed by a lawyer, get answers to your questions and move forward with confidence.
Connect with a lawyer now

Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 45a-487r

  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Beneficiary: means a person that (A) has a present or future beneficial interest in a trust, vested or contingent. See Connecticut General Statutes 45a-499c
  • Court: means a court of this state having jurisdiction over the matter pursuant to sections 45a-499o and 45a-499p or a court of another state having jurisdiction under the law of the other state. See Connecticut General Statutes 45a-499c
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Property: means anything that may be the subject of ownership, whether real or personal and whether legal or equitable, or any interest therein. See Connecticut General Statutes 45a-499c
  • State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and includes an Indian tribe or band recognized by federal law or formally acknowledged by a state. See Connecticut General Statutes 45a-499c
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Trustee: includes an original, additional and successor trustee and a cotrustee. See Connecticut General Statutes 45a-499c

(b) If any qualified disposition is avoided pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the following rules apply:

(1) If the court is satisfied that the trustee has not acted in bad faith in accepting or administering the property that is the subject of the qualified disposition:

(A) The trustee has a first and paramount lien against the property that is the subject of the qualified disposition in an amount equal to the entire cost, including attorney’s fees, properly incurred by the trustee in the defense of the action or proceedings to avoid the qualified disposition;

(B) The qualified disposition shall be avoided subject to the proper fees, costs, preexisting rights, claims and interest of the trustee and of any predecessor trustee that has not acted in bad faith; and

(C) For purposes of this subdivision, it shall be presumed that the trustee did not act in bad faith merely by accepting the property.

(2) If the court is satisfied that a beneficiary of a trust has not acted in bad faith, the avoidance of the qualified disposition shall be subject to the right of the beneficiary to retain any distribution made upon the exercise of a trust power or discretion vested in the trustee of the trust, which power or discretion was properly exercised prior to the creditor’s commencement of an action to avoid the qualified disposition. For purposes of this subdivision, it shall be presumed that the beneficiary, including a beneficiary who is also a transferor of the trust, did not act in bad faith merely by creating the trust or by accepting a distribution made in accordance with the terms of the trust.

(c) A creditor has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that a trustee or beneficiary acted in bad faith as set forth in subsection (b) of this section, except, in the case of a beneficiary who is also the transferor, the burden on the creditor is to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the transferor-beneficiary acted in bad faith. The provisions of this subsection shall be construed to provide substantive nonprocedural rights under state law.

(d) For purposes of sections 45a-487j to 45a-487r, inclusive, attachment, garnishment, sequestration or other legal or equitable processes shall be permitted only in circumstances permitted by the express terms of said sections.

(e) For purposes of this section, “court” means the Superior Court.