Nevada Revised Statutes 163.120 – Claims based on certain contracts or obligations: Assertion against trust; entry of judgment; notice; intervention; personal liability of trustee; significance of use of certain terms
1. A claim based on a contract entered into by a trustee in the capacity of representative, or on an obligation arising from ownership or control of trust property, may be asserted against the trust by proceeding against the trustee in the capacity of representative, whether or not the trustee is personally liable on the claim.
Terms Used In Nevada Revised Statutes 163.120
- 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
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- 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.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
2. A judgment may not be entered in favor of the plaintiff in the action unless the plaintiff proves that within 30 days after filing the action, or within 30 days after the filing of a report of an early case conference if one is required, whichever is longer, or within such other time as the court may fix, and more than 30 days before obtaining the judgment, the plaintiff notified each of the beneficiaries known to the trustee who then had a present interest, or in the case of a charitable trust, the Attorney General and any corporation which is a beneficiary or agency in the performance of the charitable trust, of the existence and nature of the action. The notice must be given by mailing copies to the beneficiaries at their last known addresses. The trustee shall furnish the plaintiff a list of the beneficiaries to be notified, and their addresses, within 10 days after written demand therefor, and notification of the persons on the list constitutes compliance with the duty placed on the plaintiff by this section. Any beneficiary, or in the case of charitable trusts the Attorney General and any corporation which is a beneficiary or agency in the performance of the charitable trust, may intervene in the action and contest the right of the plaintiff to recover.
3. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or in the contract, a trustee is not personally liable on a contract properly entered into in the capacity of representative in the course of administration of the trust unless the trustee fails to reveal the representative capacity or identify the trust in the contract. The addition of the word ‘trustee’ or the words ‘as trustee’ after the signature of a trustee to a contract are prima facie evidence of an intent to exclude the trustee from personal liability.