Probate & Trust Law Section Conference Manual ... - Minnesota CLE

B. Notice Required. Other states require notice to certain parties a certain number
of days prior to decanting.
1. Current Beneficiaries. Ohio requires notice to current beneficiaries.
2. Settlor and Current Beneficiaries. Michigan § 700.7820a requires
notice to the settlor and current beneficiaries.
3. Oldest Generation of Remainder Beneficiaries and Current
Beneficiaries. Kentucky requires notice to the current beneficiaries and
the oldest generation of remainder beneficiaries.
4. Qualified Beneficiaries. Uniform Trust Code states generally require
notice to the qualified beneficiaries. See, e.g., Florida, Indiana, North
Carolina, Rhode Island and Virginia.
5. Adult, Competent Beneficiaries. Illinois requires notice to the adult
competent current beneficiaries and the adult competent presumptive
remainder beneficiaries. If there is not at least one adult competent
current beneficiary and at least one adult competent presumptive
remainder beneficiary, the trustee cannot decant without court approval.
6. Removers. New York provides for notice to trustee removers, in addition
to the settlor and persons interested in the trust.
7. Notice to Beneficiaries of New Trust. The state statutes containing
notice provisions generally require notice to certain beneficiaries of the
old trust. Missouri, however, requires notice to the beneficiaries of the
new trust (not the old trust).
8. Charities. Where an unidentifiable charity is a beneficiary (for example,
the trustee under some circumstances is to select the charities), the state’s
Attorney General may be authorized to receive notice on behalf of such
charity. Even where a charitable beneficiary is identifiable, a statute may
require notice to the Attorney General and the charity. See the Illinois
statute.
C. Waiver of Notice. Some statutes specifically provide that the beneficiaries who
receive notice can waive the notice period to permit the trustee to immediately
decant. See, e.g., Michigan § 700.7820a, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota and
Virginia.
D. Effect of Objection.
1. No Effect. In most states an objection by a beneficiary does not prevent
the trustee from decanting. The New York statute explicitly states this.
Other statutes merely fail to give any effect to a beneficiary objection.
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