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

6. The new code will eliminate the existing ongoing Wisconsin court supervision
of testamentary trusts. This change is consistent with the UTC and the law in
other states.
7. We expanded the concept of representation to allow the trustee to appoint a
representative if no other representation is available or is adequate.
8. We increased the threshold for termination of an uneconomic trust to
$100,000, indexed for inflation every five years.
9. We included a decanting provision. If a trustee has a discretionary
distribution power, a trustee may appoint assets to a new trust. Depending on
the distribution standard, the beneficiaries of the new trust may be some or all
of the beneficiaries of the original trust.
10. The provisions on creditor claims and spendthrift provisions track existing
Wisconsin law. Creditors can only make claims against a trust to pay a
beneficiary’s child support or repay public support.
11. The new law includes rules that clarify when a creditor can make a claim
against a trust that is subject to a general power of appointment.
12. The Wisconsin statute limiting claims of creditors to 4 months from the date
of a notice of the death of the settlor to creditors of the settlor will be retained.
13. The rules that apply to a trustee regarding acceptance of the position,
compensation and reimbursement of expenses will also apply to directing
parties and trust protectors.
14. We added a provision that clarifies that trust property should be titled in the
name of the trustee. If legal title is placed in the name of the trust, that has the
same legal effect as if title was placed in the name of the trustee of the trust.
15. We added a section on directed trusts.
a. A trustee who follows a direction of a directing party is not liable for
following the direction unless the trustee engaged in willful misconduct.
b. A trustee has no duty to monitor, advise, or provide information to a
directing party. A trustee has no duty to prevent a directing party from
acting, to cause a directing party to act, or to compel a directing party to
redress a breach of trust.
c. A directing party is a fiduciary with respect to its powers and has the same
duties a trustee would have with respect to the powers that are given to the
directing party.
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