El texto completo de esta guía está en inglés; el resumen anterior está en su idioma. Los resúmenes de las leyes y el inglés siguen siendo la fuente de referencia.
Distributions · 7 min de lectura
Discretion, and its limits
Est. & Trusts § 14.5-203(a) provides that a discretionary power is subject to judicial control to prevent its misinterpretation or abuse — however broad the words that grant it. With two or more beneficiaries, the trustee acts impartially, giving due regard to their respective interests (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-803).
A trustee who is also a beneficiary may not exercise a power to make discretionary distributions to themself except as limited by an ascertainable standard of health, education, support or maintenance, nor use one to satisfy their own legal obligations; the rule does not apply while the trust is revocable, and the statute lists its other exceptions (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-814).
What usually comes before a distribution
Three statutes bear on timing. A contest of a trust that was revocable at the death must come within the earlier of one year after the death or six months after the trustee's notice under Est. & Trusts § 14.5-605. The settlor's creditors may reach the trust as Est. & Trusts § 14.5-508 provides. And the inheritance tax on property passing to a recipient outside the exempt family classes is paid, before it is distributed, by the person who distributes it — who is liable for it until it is paid (Tax-Gen. § 7-216(a)); Md. Rule 6-405 governs the application to fix the tax on property outside the probate estate.
The proposal for distribution
On termination or partial termination, Est. & Trusts § 14.5-817(a) allows the trustee to send the beneficiaries a proposal for distribution; a beneficiary's right to object ends if the beneficiary does not notify the trustee of an objection within 60 days after the proposal was sent — but only if the proposal informed the beneficiary of the right to object and the time allowed. The trustee then proceeds expeditiously to distribute, with a reasonable reserve for debts, expenses and taxes (§ 14.5-817(b)).
"By representation" in Maryland
Where Maryland's estates article provides for representation among a decedent's issue, Est. & Trusts § 1-210(b) divides the property into as many equal shares as there are surviving children and children who died leaving surviving issue, and repeats that pattern down each line — the per stirpes method. Among the issue of a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent, the division is at the nearest degree with a survivor (§ 1-210(c)). The trust's own words control how its gifts divide; what they mean is a question for a licensed Maryland attorney of your choosing.
Las leyes, textualmente
Representation (per stirpes) for issue
Est. & Trusts § 1-210 ↗Explicación clara y sencilla; el texto literal del estatuto aún no está atestiguado en nuestra biblioteca. Consulte el estatuto oficial en el enlace de arriba.
Discretionary powers
Est. & Trusts § 14.5-203 ↗Explicación clara y sencilla; el texto literal del estatuto aún no está atestiguado en nuestra biblioteca. Consulte el estatuto oficial en el enlace de arriba.
Distribution on termination
Est. & Trusts § 14.5-817 ↗Explicación clara y sencilla; el texto literal del estatuto aún no está atestiguado en nuestra biblioteca. Consulte el estatuto oficial en el enlace de arriba.
Who pays the inheritance tax
Tax-Gen. § 7-216 ↗Explicación clara y sencilla; el texto literal del estatuto aún no está atestiguado en nuestra biblioteca. Consulte el estatuto oficial en el enlace de arriba.
Preguntas frecuentes
Can a Maryland trustee refuse a beneficiary's request for a distribution?
A discretionary power is the trustee's to exercise under the terms, subject to judicial control to prevent its misinterpretation or abuse (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-203(a)). Whether a particular decision is within it is a question for a licensed Maryland attorney.
How long do Maryland beneficiaries have to object to a proposed distribution?
Sixty days after the proposal was sent, where the proposal informed them of the right to object and the time allowed (Est. & Trusts § 14.5-817(a)).
Does a Maryland trustee pay inheritance tax before distributing?
For property passing to a recipient outside the exempt classes, yes — the person who distributes pays the tax before distributing and is liable until it is paid (Tax-Gen. § 7-216(a)); the rate is 10 percent of the clear value (Tax-Gen. § 7-204).
Lecturas relacionadas
El Centro de Aprendizaje es información general sobre la ley de Maryland — no es asesoría legal ni sustituye el consejo de un abogado de Maryland con licencia sobre sus hechos específicos. TrusteeClear es software, no un bufete.