New Jersey Statutes 3B:3-45. Exercise of power of appointment
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 3B:3-45
- 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.
- Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
- Governing instrument: means a deed, will, trust, insurance or annuity policy, account with the designation "pay on death" (POD) or "transfer on death" (TOD), security registered in beneficiary form with the designation "pay on death" (POD) or "transfer on death" (TOD), pension, profit-sharing, retirement or similar benefit plan, instrument creating or exercising a power of appointment or a power of attorney, or a dispositive, appointive, or nominative instrument of any similar type. See New Jersey Statutes 3B:1-1
- person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
- Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
a. Unless the terms of a will, trust, or other governing instrument expressly provide otherwise, whenever such will , trust, or other governing instrument grants a power of appointment to another person, who as the power holder is authorized to further dispose of the property amongst appointees selected by the power holder, that power holder, other than a power holder acting in the capacity of a trustee or other fiduciary, shall be deemed authorized to exercise the power of appointment to create less than absolute interests for the benefit of one or more permissible appointees of the power, including interests in trust and the creation of new powers of appointment, whether general or limited, exercisable by the one or more appointees. A direction in the will, trust, or governing instrument that property subject to a power of appointment be distributed “to” an appointee, or to an appointee “outright,” “in fee simple,” “absolutely,” “forever,” or any other term, phrase, or statement of similar import, shall not be deemed to evidence the intent of the testator, settlor, or creator of the governing instrument to prohibit the exercise of a power of appointment to create less than absolute interests, including interests in trust.
b. A general residuary clause in a will, or a will making general disposition of all of the testator’s property, does not exercise a power of appointment held by the testator unless specific reference is made to the power or there is some other indication of intention to include the property subject to the power.
amended 2017, c.316.