Connecticut General Statutes 45a-233 – Construction of statutes in this part
(a) Definitions. As used in sections 45a-233 to 45a-236, inclusive, (1) the term “fiduciary” means the one or more executors or administrators c.t.a. or administrators c.t.a., d.b.n. of the estate of a decedent, or the one or more trustees of a testamentary or inter vivos trust estate, or any successor or successors to the original fiduciary, or any substitute, or any ancillary fiduciary, whether corporate or individual and whether or not specifically named in the will or trust instrument, and includes the terms “cofiduciary”, “coexecutor” and “cotrustee”. (2) The term “settlor” means the creator of an inter vivos trust, whether called “settlor”, “grantor”, “donor”, or “trustor” in the instrument. (3) The terms “will” and “trust instrument” include, respectively, codicils to a will and amendments to a trust as the context may require. (4) “QTIP” means qualified terminable interest property as defined under Section 2056(b)(7)(B) of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 45a-233
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- another: may extend and be applied to communities, companies, corporations, public or private, limited liability companies, societies and associations. See Connecticut General Statutes 1-1
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- 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
- Codicil: An addition, change, or supplement to a will executed with the same formalities required for the will itself.
- Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- 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
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Inter vivos: Transfer of property from one living person to another living person.
- Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
(b) Use of terminology. In all cases, the singular includes the plural of said terms and vice versa. Reference to any person by use of the neuter term “it” includes masculine and feminine and vice versa.
(c) Incorporation of certain powers by reference in will or trust instrument. By an expressed intention of the testator or settlor so to do contained in a will or in an instrument in writing whereby a trust estate is created inter vivos, any one or more or all of the powers or any portion thereof enumerated in § 45a-234, as they exist at the time of the signing of a will by the testator or at the time of the signing by the first settlor who signs a trust instrument, may be, by appropriate reference made thereto, incorporated in such will or other instrument, with the same effect as though such language were set forth verbatim in such will or other instrument. If a codicil or amendment to a trust instrument has been executed, the incorporated powers contained in such will or other instrument shall remain unchanged unless modified or otherwise altered by such codicil or amendment. Incorporation of one or more or all of the powers contained in said section by reference to said section shall be in addition to and not in limitation of other powers in the will or other instrument and of the common law powers or other statutory powers of the fiduciary. Any one or more or all of the additional powers or any portions thereof enumerated in § 45a-235 also may be incorporated by reference as therein provided but only to the extent they are individually referred to in such will or other instrument. In the event of a conflict between one or more of the powers contained in sections 45a-234 and 45a-235 and the express terms of the will or other instrument, the terms of such will or other instrument shall govern. In the event of a conflict between one or more of the powers contained in sections 45a-234 and 45a-235, and any other provision of the general statutes, the power or powers contained in sections 45a-234 and 45a-235 shall govern.
(d) Limitation of power. No discretionary power or authority conferred upon a fiduciary as provided in sections 45a-233 to 45a-236, inclusive, may be exercised by such fiduciary in such a manner as, in the aggregate, to deprive the trust or the estate involved of an otherwise available tax exemption, deduction or credit, expressly including the marital and orphans deductions and the deduction for transfers for public, charitable and religious uses, except as otherwise prescribed by the testator or settlor, or operate to attract or impose a tax upon a settlor or estate of a testator or upon any other person as owner of any portion of the trust or estate involved. Notwithstanding any provisions contained in or incorporated by reference into a will or trust instrument, no person shall have a power to make any equitable adjustments affecting any qualified terminable interest property or a QTIP trust. For the purposes of this subsection, “equitable adjustments” means adjustments to trust corpus or income or both which involve a reallocation of assets from the account of one beneficiary to that of another to compensate for disproportionate sharing of a tax burden resulting from a tax election. The exercise of a power in violation of the restriction contained in this subsection shall render the action by the fiduciary or any other person with regard to that violation void. “Tax” means a federal, state, whether that of Connecticut, another state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, local, municipal or foreign, whether national, provincial, state, local or municipal, income, gift, estate, generation-skipping, inheritance, succession, accessions or other death tax, duty or excise imposed on the transfer of property at death or by gift. “Marital deduction” and “deduction for transfers for public, charitable and religious uses” have the same meanings and applications as exist under the federal Internal Revenue Code in effect at the death of the testator or at the time a trust becomes irrevocable, as the case may be. The definition of tax in this subsection shall be deemed to be the definition as it existed in this subsection on and after January 1, 1970, and in subsection (b) of § 45-100a insofar as said § 45-100a applies to any instrument in which it was incorporated from January 1, 1967, to December 31, 1969, inclusive.
(e) Construction of other types of instruments. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the incorporation of the powers enumerated in § 45a-234 or 45a-235 in any other kind of instrument or agreement.