In this chapter:
(1) “Action,” with respect to an act of a trustee, includes a failure to act.

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Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 564-B:1-103

  • 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
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • person: may extend and be applied to bodies corporate and politic as well as to individuals. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:9
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • state: when applied to different parts of the United States, may extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall include said district and territories. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:4
  • Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • United States: shall include said district and territories. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:4

(2) “Beneficiary” means a person that:
(A) has a present or future beneficial interest in a trust, vested or contingent; or
(B) in a capacity other than that of trustee, holds a power of appointment over trust property.
(3) “Charitable trust” means a trust, or portion of a trust, created for a charitable purpose described in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 564-B:4-405(a).
(4) “Conservator” means a person appointed by the court to administer the estate of an individual pursuant to N.H. Rev. Stat. § 464-A:13.
(5) “Environmental law” means a federal, state, or local law, rule, regulation, or ordinance relating to protection of the environment.
(6)(a) “Guardian of the estate” means a person appointed by a court to administer the estate of a minor, including a person described in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 463:19, or a person appointed by a court to serve as guardian of the estate of an incapacitated person, including a person described in described in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 464-A:26, I.
(b) “Guardian of the person” means a person appointed by a court to make decisions regarding the support, care and education of a minor, including as described in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 463:12, or a guardian of the person of an incapacitated individual appointed by a court, including a person appointed by the court to carry out the responsibilities described in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 464-A:25. The term does not include a guardian ad litem.
(7) “Interests of the beneficiaries” means the beneficial interests provided in the terms of the trust.
(8) “Jurisdiction,” with respect to a geographic area, includes a state or country.
(9) “Person” means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government (including a governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality), public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity.
(10) “Power of withdrawal” means a presently exercisable general power of appointment other than a power exercisable by a trustee which is limited by an ascertainable standard or which is exercisable by another person only upon consent of the trustee or a person holding an adverse interest.
(11) “Property” means anything that may be the subject of ownership, whether real or personal, legal or equitable, or any interest therein.
(12) “Qualified beneficiary” means a beneficiary who, on the date the beneficiary’s qualification is determined:
(A) is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal;
(B) would be a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal if the interests of the distributees described in subparagraph (A) terminated on that date but the termination of those interests would not cause the trust to terminate; or
(C) would be a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal if the trust terminated on that date.
(13) “Record” means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
(14) “Revocable” as applied to a trust, means revocable by the settlor without the consent of the trustee or a person holding an adverse interest.
(15) “Settlor” means a person, including a testator, who creates, or contributes property to, a trust. If more than one person creates or contributes property to a trust, each person is a settlor of the portion of the trust property attributable to that person’s contribution except to the extent another person has the power to revoke or withdraw that portion.
(16) “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record,
(i) to execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
(ii) to attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic sound, symbol, or process.
(17) “Spendthrift provision” means a term of a trust which restrains both voluntary and involuntary transfer of a beneficiary’s interest.
(18) “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. The term includes an Indian tribe or band recognized by federal law or formally acknowledged by a state.
(19) “Terms of a trust” means the manifestation of the settlor’s intent regarding a trust’s provisions as expressed in the trust instrument or as may be established by other evidence that would be admissible in a judicial proceeding. The terms of the trust may be interpreted, amended, modified, and reformed as provided in this chapter, including by means of a court order or a nonjudicial settlement agreement made in accordance with N.H. Rev. Stat. § 564-B:1-111.
(20) “Trust instrument” means an instrument executed by the settlor that contains terms of the trust, including any amendments thereto.
(21) “Trustee” includes an original, additional, and successor trustee, and a cotrustee.
(22) “Ascertainable standard” means a standard related to an individual’s health, education, support, or maintenance within the meaning of section 2041(b)(1)(A) or 2514(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(23) “Directed trust” means a directed trust as defined in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 564-B:7-711(b).
(24) “Excluded fiduciary” means:
(A) A trustee who is an excluded fiduciary under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 564-B:7-711(c) or N.H. Rev. Stat. § 564-B:7-711(d); or
(B) A trust advisor or trust protector who is an excluded fiduciary under N.H. Rev. Stat. § 564-B:7-711(e) or N.H. Rev. Stat. § 564-B:7-711(f).
(25) “Include” and “including” means the same as “include, without limitation” and “including, without limitation” regardless of whether expressly specified. Accordingly, the word “include” and any variation of that word shall be construed as words of enlargement and not as words of limitation or restriction.
(26) “Investment company” means an investment company as defined under the federal Investment Company Act of 1940.
(27) “Trust advisor” means any person described in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 564-B:12-1201(a).
(28) “Trust protector” means any person described in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 564-B:12-1201(a).
(29) “Internal Revenue Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended and as in effect from time to time.
(30) “Good faith” means:
(A) with respect to a trustee, trust advisor, or trust protector, the observance of common standards of honesty, decency, fairness, and reasonableness in accordance with the terms of the trust, the trust’s purposes, and the interests of the beneficiaries as their interests are defined under the terms of the trust; or
(B) with respect to a person other than a trustee, trust advisor, trust protector, or beneficiary for purposes of N.H. Rev. Stat. § 564-B:10-1012 and N.H. Rev. Stat. § 564-B:10-1013, honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing.
(31) “Resident” means an individual who is domiciled in the state or jurisdiction in which he or she has his or her principal place of physical presence.
(32) “Agent” includes an agent appointed under a power of attorney.
(33) “Incapacity” means an individual’s inability to manage property or business affairs because the individual:
(A) Has an impairment in the ability to receive and evaluate information or make or communicate decisions even with the use of technological assistance; or
(B) Is:
(i) Missing;
(ii) Detained, including incarcerated in a penal system; or
(iii) Outside the United States and unable to return.