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

3. STATE STATUTES
a. Degree of Discretionary Authority Trustee Must Possess to Decant
With 15 states having decanting statutes, choosing the most appropriate jurisdiction
depends on the nature of the trustee’s discretion in the trust instrument. The degree of
discretionary authority that the trustee must possess in order to exercise the decanting
authority differs among the various states. Under all of the state’s decanting statutes, a
trustee with absolute discretion to distribute principal and income may decant. 128 The
states differ in permitting a trustee to decant under a more restrictive distribution
standard. For example:
Absolute discretion to invade principal only: Florida, 129 Illinois, 130 Indiana, 131
Ohio, 132 Rhode Island; 133
Any discretion to invade principal: Alaska, 134 Delaware, 135 New York
(unlimited discretion), 136 Tennessee; 137
Any discretion over principal or income: Arizona, 138 Kentucky, 139
Missouri, 140 Nevada, 141 North Carolina, 142 South Dakota. 143 Virginia, 144
Silent: New Hampshire 145
i. HEMS Standard?
Some state’s statutes expressly allow a trustee to decant whether or not it’s
limited by a standard, such as a HEMS standard: Alaska, 146 Arizona, 147
Kentucky, 148 Missouri, 149 North Carolina, 150 Ohio, 151 and South Dakota. 152
128 See supra note 125.
129 FLA. STAT. § 736.04117.
130 760 ILL. COMP. STAT. ANN. 5/16.4.
131 IND. CODE ANN. § 30-4-3-36.
132 OHIO REV. CODE ANN. § 5808.18.
133 R.I. GEN. LAWS § 18-4-31.
134 ALASKA STAT. § 13.36.157.
135 DEL. CODE ANN. tit. 12, § 3528.
136 N.Y. EST. POWERS & TRUSTS LAW § 10.6.6(b).
137 TENN. CODE ANN. § 35-15-816(b)(27).
138 ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 14-10819.
139 KY. REV. STAT. ANN. § 386.175.
140 MO. REV. STAT. § 456.4-419.
141 NEV. REV. STAT. § 163.556.
142 N.C. GEN. STAT. § 36C-8-816.1.
143 S.D. CODIFIED LAWS § 55-2-15.
144 VA. CODE ANN. § 64.2-778.1.
145 N.H. REV. STAT. ANN. § 564-B:4-418.
146 ALASKA STAT. § 13.36.157
147 ARIZ. REV. STAT. § 14-10819
148 KY. REV. STAT. ANN. § 386.175.
149 MO. REV. STAT. § 456.4-419.
150 N.C. GEN. STAT. § 36C-8-816.1.
151 OHIO REV. CODE ANN. § 5808.18(A)(2)(b) (“A power to make distributions of principal for purposes that
include best interests, welfare, comfort or happiness, or words of similar import, if not otherwise limited by
reasonably definite standards or ascertainable standards, constitutes an absolute power not limited by reasonably
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