Virginia Code 64.2-779.5: Notice; exercise of decanting power
A. In this section, a notice period begins on the day notice is given under subsection C and ends 59 days after the day notice is given.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 64.2-779.5
- Authorized fiduciary: means (i) a trustee or other fiduciary, other than a settlor, that has discretion to distribute or direct a trustee to distribute part or all of the income or principal of the first trust to one or more current beneficiaries and that is not (a) a current beneficiary of the first trust or a beneficiary to which the net income or principal of the first trust would be distributed if the first trust were terminated, (b) a trustee of the first trust that may be removed and replaced by a current beneficiary who has the power to remove the existing trustee of the first trust and designate as successor trustee a person that may be a related or subordinate party, as defined in 26 U. See Virginia Code 64.2-701
- Court: means the court of the Commonwealth having jurisdiction in matters related to trusts. See Virginia Code 64.2-701
- Decanting power: means the power of an authorized fiduciary under the Uniform Trust Decanting Act (§ 64. See Virginia Code 64.2-701
- Fiduciary: includes a guardian, committee, trustee, executor, conservator, or personal representative. See Virginia Code 64.2-100
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- First trust: means a trust over which an authorized fiduciary may exercise the decanting power. See Virginia Code 64.2-701
- First-trust instrument: means the trust instrument for a first trust. See Virginia Code 64.2-701
- Person: means an individual; estate; business or nonprofit entity; government; governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; public corporation; or other legal entity. See Virginia Code 64.2-701
- Presently exercisable power of appointment: includes a power of appointment exercisable only after the occurrence of a specified event, the satisfaction of an ascertainable standard, or the passage of a specified time, only after (i) the occurrence of the specified event, (ii) the satisfaction of the ascertainable standard, or (iii) the passage of the specified time. See Virginia Code 64.2-701
- 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. See Virginia Code 64.2-701
- Second trust: means (i) a first trust after modification, including a restatement of the first trust, under the Uniform Trust Decanting Act (§ 64. See Virginia Code 64.2-701
- Settlor: except as otherwise provided in § 64. See Virginia Code 64.2-701
B. Except as otherwise provided in this article, an authorized fiduciary may exercise the decanting power without the consent of any person and without court approval.
C. Except as otherwise provided in subsection F, an authorized fiduciary shall give notice in a record of the intended exercise of the decanting power not later than 60 days before the exercise to (i) each settlor of the first trust, if living or then in existence; (ii) each qualified beneficiary of the first trust; (iii) each holder of a presently exercisable power of appointment over any part or all of the first trust; (iv) each person that currently has the right to remove or replace the authorized fiduciary; (v) each other fiduciary of the first trust; (vi) each fiduciary of the second trust; (vii) each person acting as an advisor or protector of the first trust; (viii) each person holding an adverse interest who has the power to consent to the revocation of the first trust; and (ix) the Attorney General, if subsection B of § 64.2-779.11 applies.
D. An authorized fiduciary is not required to give notice under subsection C to a person that is not known to the fiduciary or is known to the fiduciary but cannot be located by the fiduciary after reasonable diligence.
E. A notice under subsection C shall (i) specify the manner in which the authorized fiduciary intends to exercise the decanting power, (ii) specify the proposed effective date for exercise of the power, (iii) include a copy of the first-trust instrument, and (iv) include a copy of all second-trust instruments.
F. The decanting power may be exercised before expiration of the notice period under subsection A if all persons entitled to receive notice waive the period in a signed record.
G. The receipt of notice, waiver of the notice period, or expiration of the notice period does not affect the right of a person to file an application under § 64.2-779.6 asserting that (i) an attempted exercise of the decanting power is ineffective because it did not comply with this article or was an abuse of discretion or breach of fiduciary duty or (ii) § 64.2-779.19 applies to the exercise of the decanting power.
H. An exercise of the decanting power is not ineffective because of the failure to give notice to one or more persons under subsection C if the authorized fiduciary acted with reasonable care to comply with subsection C.
I. The decanting power under this article may be exercised by a majority of the authorized fiduciaries. If no trustee is an authorized fiduciary or upon request of any of the trustees, the court may appoint a special fiduciary pursuant to § 64.2-779.6 with authority to exercise the decanting power under this article.