South Dakota Codified Laws 55-4-31. Trustee not liable if beneficiary consents to conduct or releases trustee fromliability or ratifies transaction
A trustee is not liable to a beneficiary, as defined under this title or Title 29A, for breach of trust from any or all of the duties, restrictions, and liabilities which would otherwise be imposed on the trustee, except as to the duties, restrictions, and liabilities imposed by §§ 55-4-10 to 55-4-12, inclusive, if the beneficiary consented to the conduct constituting the breach, released the trustee from liability for the breach, or ratified the transaction constituting the breach, unless:
(1) The consent, release, or ratifications of the beneficiary were induced by improper conduct of the trustee; or
Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 55-4-31
- 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
- Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
- Trustee: includes trustees, a corporate as well as a natural person and a successor or substitute trustee. See South Dakota Codified Laws 55-4-1
(2) At the time of the consent, release, or ratification, the beneficiary did not have knowledge of the beneficiary’s rights or of the material facts relating to the breach.
Any such beneficiary may release the trustee from liability to such beneficiary for past violations of any of the provisions of this chapter. No consideration is required for the consent, release, or ratification to be valid.
Source: SL 1943, ch 308, § 18; SDC Supp 1960, § 59.0518; SL 2000, ch 229, § 2; SL 2012, ch 233, § 14; SL 2014, ch 226, § 4.