(a)  A trust which is otherwise valid and which has been created by a written instrument, including, but not limited to, a trust in which the principal is composed in whole or in part of real property, shall not be held invalid for any one or more of the following reasons:

(1)  Because the settlor, or another person, or both, possess the power to revoke, amend, alter, or modify the trust in whole or in part;

(2)  Because the settlor, or another person, or both, possess the power to appoint, by deed or will, the persons and organizations to whom the income shall be paid or the principal distributed;

(3)  Because the settlor, or another person, or both, possess the power to add to, or withdraw from, the trust all or any part of the principal or income at one or at different times;

(4)  Because the settlor, or another person, or both, possess the power to remove the trustee or trustees and appoint a successor trustee or trustees;

(5)  Because the settlor has retained the right to receive all or part of the income of the trust during his or her life or for any part of his or her life; or

(6)  Because the settlor is the sole trustee and the sole current beneficiary of the trust during his or her lifetime.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 18-4-27

  • 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
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Irrevocable trust: A trust arrangement that cannot be revoked, rescinded, or repealed by the grantor.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.

(b)  This section shall apply to all trusts created by written instrument, except where the validity of the trust is in issue in a case pending on August 11, 1995.

(c)  The doctrine of merger shall not apply to invalidate an otherwise valid revocable or irrevocable trust unless the legal title to the trust property and the entire beneficial interest, including future and contingent beneficial interests, become irrevocably united in one person who is not under an incapacity.

(d)  If the beneficiary of a spendthrift trust having the entire beneficial interest in the trust property becomes without his or her consent the sole trustee, the beneficiary may procure the appointment of a new trustee and have the trust reconstituted.

(e)  Nothing contained in this section shall affect the validity of those accounts, including, but not limited to, bank accounts, share accounts, deposits, certificates of deposit, savings certificates, and other similar arrangements, previously or subsequently established at any bank, savings and loan association, or credit union by one or more persons, in trust for one or more other persons.

History of Section.
P.L. 1995, ch. 389, § 1; P.L. 2000, ch. 109, § 29.