El Código Uniforme de Fideicomisos de Massachusetts, sección por sección

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.

Revisado contra los Estatutos de Massachusetts el 2026-10-24. Información general, no asesoría legal; el texto oficial prevalece.

Article 1: General Provisions and Definitions

G.L. c. 203E, § 101 ↗ Short title: Chapter 203E is known, and may be cited, as the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code.
G.L. c. 203E, § 102 ↗ Scope: The Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code applies to express trusts of a donative nature, charitable or non-charitable, and to trusts created pursuant to a judgment or decree that requires the trust to be administered in the manner of an express trust.
G.L. c. 203E, § 103 ↗ Definitions: Defines the terms of the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code, unless the context clearly requires otherwise — among them "action" (including a trustee's failure to act); "ascertainable standard" (a standard relating to an individual's health, education, support or maintenance); "beneficiary" (a person with a present or future beneficial interest in a trust, vested or contingent); "charitable trust" (a trust, or portion of one, created for a charitable purpose described in subsection (a) of section 405); "qualified beneficiary" (a beneficiary who, on the date of determination, is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal, or would be one if the trust terminated on that date); "revocable" (revocable by the settlor without the consent of the trustee or of a person holding an adverse interest); "settlor" (a person, including a testator, who creates or contributes property to a trust, several settlors each being a settlor of the portion attributable to that person's contribution except to the extent another person has the power to revoke or withdraw it); "spendthrift provision" (a term restraining transfer of a beneficiary's interest); "terms of a trust" (the manifestation of the settlor's intent as expressed in the trust instrument or established by other admissible evidence); "trust instrument" (an instrument containing terms of the trust, including amendments); and "trustee" (an original, additional or successor trustee or a co-trustee). It also defines "environmental law," "interests of the beneficiaries," "jurisdiction," "person," "property" and "state."
G.L. c. 203E, § 104 ↗ Knowledge: A person has knowledge of a fact if the person has actual knowledge of it, has received a notice or notification of it, or, from all the facts and circumstances then known, has reason to know it. An organization that conducts activities through employees has notice or knowledge of a fact involving a trust only from the time an employee having responsibility to act for the trust received the information, or would have received it had the organization exercised reasonable diligence — reasonable routines for communicating significant information to that employee, reasonably complied with — which does not require an employee to communicate information unless that is part of the individual's regular duties or the individual knows a matter involving the trust would be materially affected by it.
G.L. c. 203E, § 105 ↗ Default and mandatory rules: Except as the terms of the trust provide otherwise, the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code governs a trustee's duties and powers, relations among trustees and a beneficiary's rights and interests, and the terms prevail over the chapter except as to the requirements for creating a trust; the trustee's duty to act in good faith and in accordance with the terms and purposes of the trust and the interests of the beneficiaries; the requirement of a purpose that is lawful and not contrary to public policy; the court's power to modify or terminate a trust under sections 410 to 416, inclusive; the effect of a spendthrift provision and certain creditors' and assignees' rights under article 5; the court's power under section 702 over a bond and under subsection (b) of section 708 to adjust specified compensation that is unreasonably low or high; the effect of an exculpatory term under section 1008; the rights under sections 1010 to 1013, inclusive, of persons other than trustees and beneficiaries; and the court's power to act as the interests of justice require.
G.L. c. 203E, § 106 ↗ Common law of trusts; principles of equity: The common law of trusts and principles of equity supplement the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code, except to the extent the chapter or any other general or special law modifies them.
G.L. c. 203E, § 108 ↗ Principal place of administration: Without precluding other means of establishing a sufficient connection, terms designating a trust's principal place of administration are valid and controlling if a trustee's principal place of business is in, or a trustee resides in, the designated jurisdiction, or all or part of the administration occurs there. Without precluding a court's power to order, approve or disapprove a transfer, the trustee may, but has no affirmative duty to, transfer the principal place of administration to another state or outside the United States, after notifying the qualified beneficiaries not less than 60 days before initiating it — naming the new jurisdiction, the address and telephone number there, the reasons, the anticipated date and a date, not less than 60 days after the notice, by which to object. The trustee's authority to transfer ends if a qualified beneficiary objects on or before that date.
G.L. c. 203E, § 109 ↗ Methods and waiver of notice: Notice to a person, or the sending of a document to a person, under the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code is accomplished in a manner reasonably suitable under the circumstances and likely to result in receipt; permissible methods include first-class mail, personal delivery or delivery to the person's last known place of residence or place of business. A required notice or document need not be provided to a person whose identity or location is unknown to and not reasonably ascertainable by the trustee, and the person to be notified or sent the document may waive it. Notice of a judicial proceeding that the chapter authorizes to be brought by petition in the probate and family court department of the trial court is given as section 1-401 of chapter 190B provides; notice of any other judicial proceeding is given as the applicable procedural rules provide.
G.L. c. 203E, § 110 ↗ Others treated as qualified beneficiaries: Whenever the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code requires notice to qualified beneficiaries, the trustee also notifies any other beneficiary who has sent the trustee a request for notice. A charitable organization expressly designated to receive distributions under a charitable trust has a qualified beneficiary's rights if, on the date of determination, it is a distributee or permissible distributee of income or principal or would be one if the trust then terminated; so does a person appointed to enforce a trust for the care of an animal or another non-charitable purpose under sections 408 and 409.
G.L. c. 203E, § 111 ↗ Non-judicial settlement agreements: Interested persons — those whose consent would be required for a binding settlement were the court to approve it — may enter into a binding non-judicial settlement agreement on any matter involving a trust, valid only to the extent it does not violate a material purpose of the trust and includes terms the court could properly approve. Matters it may resolve include interpreting or construing the terms; approving a trustee's report or accounting; directing a trustee to refrain from an act or granting a necessary or desirable power; a trustee's resignation, appointment or compensation; transferring the principal place of administration; and a trustee's liability for an action relating to the trust. Any interested person may ask the court to approve the agreement and determine whether the representation under article 3 was adequate and whether the court could have approved its terms.
G.L. c. 203E, § 112 ↗ Rules of construction: The rules of construction that apply in the commonwealth to the interpretation of, and disposition of property by, a will also apply, as appropriate, to the interpretation of the terms of a revocable trust and the disposition of the trust property. For this section a "revocable trust" is a trust that is revocable by the settlor until the time of the settlor's death, was created or amended by the settlor after the effective date of the chapter, and was intended to dispose of the settlor's property at death, whether under will or otherwise and whether the trust was funded at the time of the settlor's death.

Article 2: Judicial Proceedings

G.L. c. 203E, § 201 ↗ Role of court in administration of trust: The court may intervene in a trust's administration to the extent an interested person invokes its jurisdiction or the law provides; a trust is not under continuing judicial supervision unless the court orders it; and a proceeding may concern any matter of the administration, including a request for instructions and an action to declare rights. A proceeding in the probate and family court department of the trial court to appoint or remove a trustee, approve a resignation, review and settle a trustee's accounts or address any other matter of administration may be initiated by petition with notice to interested parties under section 109; a decree or judgment is valid only as to those given notice.
G.L. c. 203E, § 202 ↗ Jurisdiction over trustee and beneficiary: A trustee who accepts the trusteeship of a trust having its principal place of administration in the commonwealth, or moves the principal place of administration there, submits personally to the jurisdiction of the courts of the commonwealth regarding any matter involving the trust; the beneficiaries of such a trust are subject to that jurisdiction as to their interests, and a person who accepts a distribution from it submits personally to it. Other methods of obtaining jurisdiction over a trustee, a beneficiary or another recipient of trust property are not precluded.
G.L. c. 203E, § 203 ↗ Trust proceedings; dismissal of matters relating to foreign trusts: Over a party's objection, the court does not entertain a proceeding under section 201 involving a trust registered or having its principal place of administration in another state unless all appropriate parties could not be bound by litigation in that state's courts or the interests of justice would otherwise be seriously impaired; the court may condition a stay or dismissal on a party's consent to that state's jurisdiction, or may grant a continuance or enter any other appropriate order.
G.L. c. 203E, § 204 ↗ Venue: A trust is subject to the jurisdiction of the probate and family court department of the trial court in the county of its principal place of administration. A testamentary trust's principal place of administration is deemed the location of the court of the commonwealth in which the will was granted informal or formal probate; unless the instrument designates otherwise, an inter vivos trust's is the trustee's usual place of business where the trust records are kept, or the trustee's residence if the trustee has no such place of business; and for co-trustees, absent a designation, it is the usual place of business of the corporate trustee if there is but 1 corporate co-trustee, the usual place of business or residence of the individual professional fiduciary if there is but 1 such person and no corporate co-trustee, or the usual place of business or residence of any co-trustee as they agree.
G.L. c. 203E, § 205 ↗ Petition for transfers of trust property the disposition of which depends upon the death of an absentee: Where a trustee holds property whose disposition depends on the death of an absentee whose death has not been determined, the trustee or anyone who would be interested if the absentee were dead may, on or after the day 5 years after the disappearance, petition the court having jurisdiction of the trust for an order disposing of the property as if the absentee had died on that day. The court may direct a reasonably diligent search — a notice in a periodical of general circulation, notice to law enforcement officials, public welfare agencies and registers of deaths, or an investigator — paid from the trust property; after the search, notice of the hearing is given under section 1-401 of chapter 190B, and if the facts warrant a presumption of death the court orders the disposition of the property and any undistributed net income.

Article 3: Representation

G.L. c. 203E, § 301 ↗ Representation: basic effect: Notice to a person who may represent and bind another under article 3 has the same effect as notice given directly to the other, and the representative's consent binds the person represented unless that person objects before the consent becomes effective. Except as section 602 provides, a person who may represent a settlor lacking capacity may receive notice and give binding consent for the settlor, but a settlor may not represent and bind a beneficiary as to a termination or modification under subsection (a) of section 411.
G.L. c. 203E, § 302 ↗ Representation by holder of general testamentary power of appointment: To the extent there is no conflict of interest between the holder of a general testamentary power of appointment and the persons represented with respect to the particular question or dispute, the holder may represent and bind the persons whose interests — as permissible appointees, takers in default or otherwise — are subject to the power.
G.L. c. 203E, § 303 ↗ Representation by fiduciaries and parents: To the extent there is no conflict of interest between the representative and the person represented, or among those represented, on the particular question or dispute: a conservator may represent and bind the estate the conservator controls; a guardian, the ward or protected person if no conservator has been appointed; an agent with authority over the question, the principal; a trustee, the beneficiaries; a personal representative, the persons interested in the decedent's estate; and a parent, the parent's minor or unborn child if no conservator or guardian for the child has been appointed.
G.L. c. 203E, § 304 ↗ Representation by person having substantially identical interest: Unless otherwise represented, a minor, incapacitated or unborn individual, or a person whose identity or location is unknown and not reasonably ascertainable, may be represented and bound by another with a substantially identical interest on the particular question or dispute, but only to the extent there is no conflict of interest between them.
G.L. c. 203E, § 305 ↗ Appointment of guardian ad litem: If the court determines that an interest is not represented under article 3, or that the available representation might be inadequate, it may appoint a guardian ad litem — one may serve for several persons or interests — to receive notice, give consent and otherwise represent, bind and act for a minor, incapacitated or unborn individual or a person whose identity or location is unknown, on any matter arising under the chapter, whether or not a judicial proceeding concerning the trust is pending; in deciding, the guardian ad litem may consider the general benefit accruing to the living members of the individual's family.

Article 4: Creation, Validity, Modification and Termination of Trust

G.L. c. 203E, § 401 ↗ Methods of creating trust: A trust may be created by transfer of property to another person as trustee during the settlor's lifetime or by will or other disposition taking effect upon the settlor's death; by declaration of the owner of property that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee; or by exercise of a power of appointment in favor of a trustee.
G.L. c. 203E, § 402 ↗ Requirements for creation: A trust is created only if the settlor has capacity and indicates an intention to create it, the trust has a definite beneficiary or is a charitable trust, an animal-care trust under section 408 or a non-charitable-purpose trust under section 409, the trustee has duties to perform, and the same person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary. A beneficiary is definite if ascertainable now or in the future, subject to any applicable rule against perpetuities; a trustee's power to select a beneficiary from an indefinite class is valid, and if not exercised within a reasonable time it fails and the property passes to those who would have taken had it not been conferred.
G.L. c. 203E, § 403 ↗ Trusts created in other jurisdictions: A trust not created by will is validly created if its creation complies with the law of the jurisdiction in which the trust instrument was executed, or the law of the jurisdiction in which, at the time of creation, the settlor was domiciled, had a place of abode or was a national, a trustee was domiciled or had a place of business, or any trust property was located.
G.L. c. 203E, § 404 ↗ Trust purposes: A trust may be created only to the extent its purposes are lawful and not contrary to public policy.
G.L. c. 203E, § 405 ↗ Charitable purposes; enforcement: A charitable trust may be created for the relief of poverty, the advancement of education or religion, the promotion of health, governmental or municipal purposes, or other purposes which are beneficial to the community. Where the terms of a charitable trust indicate no particular charitable purpose or beneficiary and provide no method to select one, the court may select 1 or more charitable purposes or beneficiaries, consistent with the settlor's intention to the extent it can be ascertained. The settlor of a charitable trust may maintain a proceeding to enforce the trust.
G.L. c. 203E, § 406 ↗ Creation of trust induced by fraud, duress or undue influence: A trust is void to the extent its creation was induced by fraud, duress or undue influence.
G.L. c. 203E, § 407 ↗ Evidence of oral trust: Except as required by statute, a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument, but the creation of an oral trust and its terms are established by clear and convincing evidence.
G.L. c. 203E, § 408 ↗ Trust for care of an animal: A trust for the care of animals alive during the settlor's lifetime is valid and, unless the instrument provides for an earlier termination, ends on the death of the animal or the last surviving animal. Except as the instrument expressly provides, the property may be used only for the covered animals, apart from reasonable trustee fees and administration expenses, and the court may reduce property that substantially exceeds the intended use where there will be no substantial adverse impact on the covered animal's care, maintenance, health or appearance. Unexpended property on reduction or termination passes as the instrument directs; otherwise to the settlor, if living; otherwise, for a trust created in a nonresiduary clause of the transferor's will or codicil, under its residuary clause; and otherwise to the settlor's heirs under chapter 190B. The court names a trustee where none is designated or willing or able to serve and may order a transfer or other relief to carry out the settlor's intent; the intended use may be enforced by an individual the instrument designates, the animal's custodian, a remainder beneficiary or an individual the court appoints; and the settlor or another custodian may transfer custody to the trustee. The trust is subject to sections 2-901 to 2-906, inclusive, of chapter 190B and the common law rule against perpetuities, measured by the lives of the beneficiary animals alive at the settlor's death or when the trust becomes irrevocable, not human lives.
G.L. c. 203E, § 409 ↗ Non-charitable trust without ascertainable beneficiary: Except as section 408 or another general or special law provides, a trust may be created for a non-charitable purpose without a definite or definitely ascertainable beneficiary, or for a non-charitable but otherwise valid purpose the trustee selects; it may be enforced by a person its terms appoint or, failing that, one the court appoints; and its property may be applied only to its intended use, except to the extent the court finds its value exceeds that use — property not required passing to the settlor if then living, otherwise to the settlor's successors in interest, unless the terms provide otherwise.
G.L. c. 203E, § 410 ↗ Modification or termination of trust; proceedings for approval or disapproval: In addition to the methods of termination prescribed by sections 411 to 414, inclusive, a trust terminates if it is revoked or expires under its terms, no purpose of the trust remains to be achieved, or its purposes have become unlawful, contrary to public policy or impossible to achieve. A trustee or beneficiary may commence a proceeding to approve or disapprove a proposed modification or termination under sections 411 to 416, inclusive, or a trust combination or division under section 417, and the settlor may commence a proceeding to approve or disapprove a proposed modification or termination under section 411.
G.L. c. 203E, § 411 ↗ Modification or termination of non-charitable irrevocable trust by consent: If, upon petition, the court finds that the settlor and all beneficiaries consent to the modification or termination of a non-charitable irrevocable trust, the court may approve it even if it is inconsistent with a material purpose of the trust. Upon the consent of all of the beneficiaries, a non-charitable irrevocable trust may be terminated if the court concludes that its continuance is not necessary to achieve any material purpose of the trust, and may be modified if the court concludes that the modification is not inconsistent with a material purpose. Where not all of the beneficiaries consent to a proposed modification or termination under either rule, the court may approve it if satisfied that the trust could have been modified or terminated under the section had all of the beneficiaries consented, and that the interests of a beneficiary who does not consent will be adequately protected.
G.L. c. 203E, § 412 ↗ Modification or termination because of unanticipated circumstances or inability to administer trust effectively: The court may modify the administrative or dispositive terms of a trust, or terminate the trust, if because of circumstances not anticipated by the settlor the modification or termination will further the purposes of the trust, a modification being made, to the extent practicable, in accordance with the settlor's probable intent. The court may modify the administrative terms of a trust if continuation of the trust on its existing terms would be impracticable or wasteful or impair the trust's administration.
G.L. c. 203E, § 414 ↗ Modification or termination of uneconomic trust: After notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the trustee of a trust whose property has a total value of less than $200,000 may terminate it on concluding that the value is insufficient to justify the cost of administration, and on such a determination the court may modify or terminate a trust or remove the trustee and appoint another; on termination the trustee distributes the property in a manner consistent with the trust's purposes. The section does not apply to an easement for conservation or preservation and applies regardless of any spendthrift or similar protective provision.
G.L. c. 203E, § 415 ↗ Reformation to correct mistakes: The court may reform the terms of a trust, even if unambiguous, to conform the terms to the settlor's intention if it is proved by clear and convincing evidence that the settlor's intent or the terms of the trust were affected by a mistake of fact or law, whether in expression or inducement.
G.L. c. 203E, § 417 ↗ Combination and division of trusts: After notice to the qualified beneficiaries, a trustee may combine 2 or more trusts into a single trust or divide a trust into 2 or more separate trusts, if the result does not impair the rights of any beneficiary or adversely affect achievement of the purposes of the trusts.

Article 5: Creditor's Claims; Spendthrift and Discretionary Trusts

G.L. c. 203E, § 501 ↗ Rights of beneficiary's creditor or assignee: To the extent a beneficiary's interest is not subject to a spendthrift provision, the court may authorize a creditor or assignee of the beneficiary to reach the beneficiary's interest by attachment of present or future distributions to or for the benefit of the beneficiary, or by other means, and may limit the award to such relief as is appropriate under the circumstances.
G.L. c. 203E, § 502 ↗ Spendthrift provision: A spendthrift provision is valid only if it restrains both voluntary and involuntary transfer of a beneficiary's interest; a term of a trust providing that the interest of a beneficiary is held subject to a "spendthrift trust," or words of similar import, is sufficient to restrain both. A beneficiary may not transfer an interest in a trust in violation of a valid spendthrift provision, and, except as article 5 otherwise provides, a creditor or assignee of the beneficiary may not reach the interest or a distribution by the trustee before its receipt by the beneficiary.
G.L. c. 203E, § 505 ↗ Creditor's claim against settlor: Whether or not a trust has a spendthrift provision: during the settlor's lifetime the property of a revocable trust is subject to the claims of the settlor's creditors; a creditor or assignee of the settlor of an irrevocable trust may reach the maximum amount distributable to or for the settlor's benefit, limited, where there are several settlors, to the settlor's interest in the portion attributable to that settlor's contribution — a trustee's discretion to reimburse the settlor for tax on trust income or capital gain payable by the settlor making no property distributable or reachable on that basis; and after the settlor's death, subject to the settlor's right to direct the source of payment, the property of a trust revocable at death is subject to the settlor's creditors' claims, funeral and disposal expenses and statutory allowances to a surviving spouse and children, to the extent the probate estate is inadequate.
G.L. c. 203E, § 506 ↗ Overdue distribution: A "mandatory distribution" is a distribution of income or principal, including one on termination, that the trustee is required to make under the terms of the trust — not one subject to the trustee's discretion, even if the discretion is expressed as a standard of distribution or coupled with language of direction. Whether or not the trust contains a spendthrift provision, a creditor or assignee of a beneficiary may reach a mandatory distribution, including one on termination, that the trustee has not made within a reasonable time after the designated distribution date.
G.L. c. 203E, § 507 ↗ Personal obligations of trustee: Trust property is not subject to the personal obligations of the trustee, even if the trustee becomes insolvent or bankrupt.

Article 6: Revocable Trusts

G.L. c. 203E, § 602 ↗ Revocation or amendment of revocable trust: Unless the terms expressly make a trust irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend it. Where more than 1 settlor created or funded a revocable trust, either spouse alone may revoke the community-property portion, which only both together may amend, and each settlor may revoke or amend the portion attributable to that settlor's contribution, the trustee promptly notifying the other settlors of a revocation or amendment by fewer than all. The settlor revokes or amends by a method the terms provide or, absent one, by any method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of intent; on revocation the trustee delivers the property as the settlor directs. An agent under a power of attorney may exercise the settlor's powers of revocation, amendment or distribution only as the terms and the power expressly authorize. A trustee who does not know of a revocation or amendment is not liable to the settlor or the settlor's successors in interest for distributions and other actions taken on the assumption that none occurred.
G.L. c. 203E, § 603 ↗ Settlor's powers; powers of withdrawal: While a trust is revocable and the settlor has capacity to revoke it, the rights of the beneficiaries are subject to the control of the settlor and the duties of the trustee are owed exclusively to the settlor. During the period the power may be exercised, the holder of a non-lapsing power of withdrawal is treated for this purpose as the settlor of a revocable trust to the extent of the property subject to the power.
G.L. c. 203E, § 604 ↗ Limitation on action contesting validity of revocable trust; distribution of trust property: A proceeding to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death may be commenced within the earlier of 1 year after the death or 60 days after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice of the trust's existence, the trustee's name and address and the time allowed. After the settlor's death the trustee may distribute under the terms without liability unless the trustee knows of a pending contest, or a potential contestant notified the trustee of a possible contest and a proceeding is commenced within 60 days after the notification was sent; a beneficiary of a trust determined invalid is liable to return any distribution received.

Article 7: Office of Trustee

G.L. c. 203E, § 701 ↗ Accepting or declining trusteeship: A person designated as trustee accepts by substantially complying with a method of acceptance the terms provide or, where the terms provide none or the method is not expressly exclusive, by accepting delivery of the trust property, exercising powers or performing duties as trustee, or otherwise indicating acceptance. A designee who has not accepted may reject the trusteeship and is deemed to reject it by not accepting within a reasonable time after knowing of the designation. Without accepting, a designee may act to preserve the trust property if, within a reasonable time after acting, the designee sends a rejection to the settlor or, if the settlor is dead or lacks capacity, to a qualified beneficiary, and may inspect or investigate trust property to determine potential liability under environmental or other law or for any other purpose.
G.L. c. 203E, § 702 ↗ Duty to provide bond: A testamentary trustee furnishes a bond for the performance of the trustee's fiduciary duties, and a surety is required, unless waived by the terms or found by the probate and family court department of the trial court not necessary to protect the beneficiaries. On petition of the trustee or another interested person, the court may excuse or reduce the bond, release the surety or permit a substitute bond, and, where the instrument exempts or limits the bond or the bond is insufficient, may require a bond, or a larger one, it concludes is necessary; the bond's terms are those of section 3-606 of chapter 190B.
G.L. c. 203E, § 703 ↗ Co-trustees: Co-trustees who are unable to reach a unanimous decision may act by majority decision, and if a vacancy occurs in a co-trusteeship the remaining co-trustees may act for the trust. A co-trustee participates in the performance of a trustee's function unless the co-trustee is unavailable to perform it because of absence, illness, disqualification under other laws or other temporary incapacity, or has properly delegated its performance to another trustee; where a co-trustee is so unavailable and prompt action is necessary to achieve the purposes of the trust or to avoid injury to the trust property, the remaining co-trustee or a majority of the remaining co-trustees may act for the trust. A trustee who does not join in an action of another trustee is not liable for it, except that each trustee exercises reasonable care to prevent a co-trustee from committing a breach of trust and to compel a co-trustee to redress a breach of trust.
G.L. c. 203E, § 704 ↗ Vacancy in trusteeship; appointment of successor: A vacancy in a trusteeship occurs if a person designated as trustee rejects the trusteeship, cannot be identified or does not exist; if a trustee resigns, is disqualified or removed, or dies; or if a guardian or conservator is appointed for an individual serving as trustee. A vacancy need not be filled while 1 or more co-trustees remain in office, and is filled if the trust has no remaining trustees — in order of priority, by a person the terms of the trust designate to act as successor trustee, by a person appointed by unanimous agreement of the qualified beneficiaries, or by a person the court appoints. Whether or not a vacancy exists or is required to be filled, the court may appoint an additional trustee or special fiduciary whenever it considers the appointment necessary for the administration of the trust.
G.L. c. 203E, § 705 ↗ Resignation of trustee: A trustee may resign upon at least 30 days' notice — to the settlor and all co-trustees, in the case of a revocable trust, and to the qualified beneficiaries and all co-trustees, in the case of any other trust — or with the approval of the court, which in approving a resignation may issue orders and impose conditions reasonably necessary for the protection of the trust property. A resignation does not discharge or affect any liability of the resigning trustee, or of any sureties on the trustee's bond, for the trustee's acts or omissions.
G.L. c. 203E, § 706 ↗ Removal of trustee: The settlor, a co-trustee or a beneficiary may ask the court to remove a trustee, or the court may act on its own initiative, for a serious breach of trust; for a lack of cooperation among co-trustees that substantially impairs the administration; because the trustee's unfitness, unwillingness or persistent failure to administer effectively makes removal best serve the beneficiaries' interests; or where there has been a substantial change of circumstances or all the qualified beneficiaries request removal, the court finds removal best serves the interests of all the beneficiaries and is not inconsistent with a material purpose, and a suitable co-trustee or successor is available. Pending a decision, or in lieu of or in addition to removal, the court may order relief under subsection (b) of section 1001 necessary to protect the trust property or the beneficiaries' interests.
G.L. c. 203E, § 707 ↗ Delivery of property by former trustee: A trustee who has resigned or been removed proceeds expeditiously to deliver the trust property within the trustee's possession to the co-trustee, the successor trustee or another person entitled to it.
G.L. c. 203E, § 708 ↗ Compensation of trustee: Where the terms of a trust do not specify the trustee's compensation, the trustee is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances; where they do, the trustee is entitled to be compensated as specified, but the court may allow more or less compensation if the duties of the trustee are substantially different from those contemplated when the trust was created or the compensation the terms specify would be unreasonably low or high.
G.L. c. 203E, § 709 ↗ Reimbursement of expenses: A trustee is entitled to be reimbursed out of the trust property, with interest as appropriate, for expenses properly incurred in the administration of the trust and, to the extent necessary to prevent unjust enrichment of the trust, for expenses not properly incurred; an advance of money by the trustee for the protection of the trust gives rise to a lien against trust property to secure reimbursement with reasonable interest.

Article 8: Duties and Powers of Trustee

G.L. c. 203E, § 801 ↗ Duty to administer trust: Upon acceptance of a trusteeship, the trustee administers the trust in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries, and in accordance with the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code.
G.L. c. 203E, § 802 ↗ Duty of loyalty: A trustee administers the trust solely in the interests of the beneficiaries. Subject to section 1012, a sale, encumbrance or other transaction involving the investment or management of trust property entered into for the trustee's own account, or otherwise affected by a conflict between the trustee's fiduciary and personal interests, is voidable by an affected beneficiary unless the terms authorized it, the court approved it, the beneficiary did not sue within the time of section 1005, the beneficiary consented, ratified or released under section 1009, or it involves a contract or claim predating the trusteeship; a transaction with the trustee's spouse, descendants, siblings, parents or their spouses, the trustee's agent or attorney, or an enterprise in which the trustee or a significant owner of the trustee has an interest that might affect the trustee's best judgment is presumed conflicted, and an individual transaction concerning an opportunity properly belonging to the trust is a conflict. An investment in an investment company or investment trust the trustee or an affiliate serves in another capacity is not presumed conflicted if it otherwise complies with the prudent investor rule of chapter 203C; the trustee may be paid for those services from fees charged to the trust and notifies the persons entitled to the annual report under section 813, at least annually, of the rate and method of any investment advisory or management compensation. The trustee votes shares and controls enterprises in the beneficiaries' best interests. Not precluded, if fair to the beneficiaries: an agreement with a beneficiary on the trustee's appointment or compensation, reasonable compensation, a transaction with another trust, estate or conservatorship the trustee serves or a beneficiary is interested in, a deposit in a regulated financial service institution the trustee operates, and an advance or loan to the trust for a proper trust purpose.
G.L. c. 203E, § 803 ↗ Impartiality: If a trust has 2 or more beneficiaries, the trustee acts impartially in investing, managing and distributing the trust property, giving due regard to the beneficiaries' respective interests.
G.L. c. 203E, § 804 ↗ Prudent administration: A trustee administers the trust as a prudent person would, considering the purposes, terms and other circumstances of the trust, and in satisfying that standard exercises reasonable care, skill and caution.
G.L. c. 203E, § 805 ↗ Costs of administration: In administering a trust, the trustee may incur only costs that are appropriate and reasonable in relation to the trust property, the purposes of the trust and the skills of the trustee.
G.L. c. 203E, § 806 ↗ Trustee's skills: A trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is named trustee in reliance upon the trustee's representation of having such special skills or expertise, has a duty to use them.
G.L. c. 203E, § 807 ↗ Delegation by trustee: A trustee may delegate duties and powers if prudent, using reasonable care, skill and caution in selecting the agent, setting the delegation's scope and terms consistent with the trust's purposes and terms, and periodically reviewing the agent's performance and compliance. The agent owes the trust a duty of reasonable care to comply with the delegation's terms; a complying trustee is not liable to the beneficiaries or the trust for the agent's action; and an agent who accepts a delegation from the trustee of a trust subject to the laws of the commonwealth submits to the jurisdiction of its courts.
G.L. c. 203E, § 808 ↗ Powers to direct: While a trust is revocable, the trustee may follow a direction of the settlor contrary to its terms. Where the terms give another person a power to direct certain actions of the trustee, the trustee acts in accordance with its exercise unless the attempted exercise is manifestly contrary to the terms or the trustee knows it would be a serious breach of a fiduciary duty the holder owes the beneficiaries. A holder of a power to direct is presumptively a fiduciary required to act in good faith toward the trust's purposes and the beneficiaries' interests, and is liable for a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty.
G.L. c. 203E, § 809 ↗ Control and protection of trust property: A trustee takes reasonable steps to take control of and protect the trust property.
G.L. c. 203E, § 810 ↗ Recordkeeping and identification of trust property: A trustee keeps adequate records of the administration of the trust and keeps trust property separate from the trustee's own property; a trustee may invest the property of 2 or more separate trusts as a whole if the trustee maintains records clearly indicating the respective interests.
G.L. c. 203E, § 811 ↗ Enforcement and defense of claims: A trustee takes reasonable steps to enforce claims of the trust and to defend claims against the trust.
G.L. c. 203E, § 812 ↗ Collecting trust property: A trustee takes reasonable steps to compel a former trustee or other person to deliver trust property to the trustee, and to redress a breach of trust known to the trustee to have been committed by a former trustee.
G.L. c. 203E, § 813 ↗ Duty to inform and report: A trustee keeps the qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed about the administration of the trust and, unless unreasonable under the circumstances, promptly responds to a qualified beneficiary's request for information about it. Within 30 days after accepting the trust or after it becomes irrevocable, whichever is later, the trustee informs the qualified beneficiaries in writing, delivered or sent by ordinary first class mail, of the trustee's name and address. At least annually and at termination, the trustee sends an account — formal or informal, covering the trust property, liabilities, receipts and disbursements, the amount of the trustee's compensation, a listing of the assets and, if feasible, their market values — to the distributees and permissible distributees of income or principal and to other qualified beneficiaries who request it. A beneficiary may waive accounts or information and withdraw the waiver as to the future, but a waiver does not relieve the trustee of accountability or potential liability for what they would have disclosed.
G.L. c. 203E, § 814 ↗ Discretionary powers; tax savings: Despite broad discretion in the terms, even in words such as "absolute," "sole" or "uncontrolled," a trustee exercises a discretionary power in good faith and in accordance with the terms and purposes of the trust and the interests of the beneficiaries. Unless the terms expressly exclude the rule, a beneficiary-trustee other than a settlor may exercise a power to make discretionary distributions for the trustee's personal benefit only under an ascertainable standard, and no trustee may exercise such a power to satisfy a support obligation the trustee personally owes; a majority of the trustees not so limited may exercise the power, or, if all are limited, the court may appoint a special fiduciary. Those limits do not apply to a power of the settlor's spouse as trustee of a trust for which a marital deduction was previously allowed, or to a trust while its settlor may revoke or amend it.
G.L. c. 203E, § 815 ↗ General powers of trustee: Without authorization by the court, a trustee may exercise the powers conferred by the terms of the trust or, except as the terms limit them, all powers over the trust property which an unmarried competent owner has over individually owned property, any other powers appropriate to achieve the proper investment, management and distribution of the trust property, and any other powers the chapter confers; the exercise of a power is subject to the fiduciary duties article 8 prescribes.
G.L. c. 203E, § 816 ↗ Specific powers of trustee: Lists the trustee's specific powers, without limiting section 815: to collect trust property and accept or reject additions; acquire or sell property, for cash or on credit, at public or private sale; exchange, partition or change the character of property; deposit money in a regulated financial service institution; borrow and mortgage or pledge, within or beyond the trust's duration; continue a business and act as its owners may; exercise an absolute owner's rights over securities, including voting, nominee holding and deposit with a depositary; build, repair, improve, demolish, subdivide, dedicate and plat real property and grant easements; lease, including for natural resources, within or beyond the trust's duration; grant, acquire and exercise options; insure the property and the trustee, agents and beneficiaries; abandon property of no or insufficient value; inspect, remedy, decline, disclaim, compromise and pay as to environmental liability; pay, contest, settle or release claims; pay taxes, assessments, compensation and expenses; make tax elections; select payment modes and exercise rights under benefit plans, annuities and insurance payable to the trustee; make loans, including to a beneficiary on terms the trustee considers fair and reasonable, with a lien on future distributions; pledge property to guarantee loans others make to the beneficiary; appoint a trustee for property in another jurisdiction; pay a beneficiary under a legal disability or reasonably believed incapacitated directly or for the beneficiary's benefit, to a conservator or else a guardian, to a custodian under chapter 201A or a custodial trustee under part 5 of Article VII of chapter 190B, where the trustee knows of none of those to an adult relative or other person having care or custody, or as a separate fund the beneficiary may withdraw; distribute in divided or undivided interests and allocate and value assets; resolve disputes by mediation, arbitration or other alternative dispute resolution; prosecute or defend actions; sign and deliver instruments; establish or continue title-holding entities, including so-called "nominee trusts," without making the trust's terms public; and wind up and distribute on termination.
G.L. c. 203E, § 817 ↗ Distribution upon termination: On a termination or partial termination, the trustee may send the beneficiaries a proposal for distribution, and a beneficiary's right to object ends unless the beneficiary notifies the trustee within 30 days after it was sent — but only if the proposal stated the right to object and the time allowed and gave the beneficiary sufficient material facts to evaluate it. On the terminating event, the trustee proceeds expeditiously to distribute the trust property to the persons entitled to it, subject to retaining a reasonable reserve for debts, expenses and taxes.

Article 10: Liability of Trustees and Rights of Persons Dealing with Trustee

G.L. c. 203E, § 1001 ↗ Remedies for breach of trust: A trustee's violation of a duty owed to a beneficiary is a breach of trust. To remedy a breach that has occurred or may occur, the court may compel performance, enjoin the breach, compel redress by paying money, restoring property or other means, order an account, appoint a special fiduciary to take possession and administer, suspend or remove the trustee, reduce or deny compensation, subject to section 1012 void an act, impose a lien or constructive trust or trace and recover wrongfully disposed property or its proceeds, or order any other appropriate relief.
G.L. c. 203E, § 1005 ↗ Limitation of action against trustee: Unless previously barred by adjudication, consent or limitation, a beneficiary's claim against a trustee for breach of trust is barred unless a proceeding is commenced within 6 months after the beneficiary receives a final account or other statement fully disclosing the matter and showing the termination of the trust relationship, and is barred in any event, despite incomplete disclosure, after 3 years where the trustee issued a final account or statement the beneficiary received and informed the beneficiary where the records may be examined — receipt being personal for an adult and by the representative described in article 3 for a minor or disabled person. A claim not so barred may not be brought more than 3 years after the beneficiary or a representative knew or reasonably should have known of the potential claim; otherwise a proceeding is commenced within 5 years after the first of the trustee's removal, resignation or death, the termination of the beneficiary's interest, or the termination of the trust.
G.L. c. 203E, § 1006 ↗ Reliance on trust instrument: A trustee who acts in reasonable reliance on the terms of the trust as expressed in the trust instrument is not liable to a beneficiary for a breach of trust to the extent the breach resulted from the reliance.
G.L. c. 203E, § 1007 ↗ Event affecting administration or distribution: Where an event or change of status — including, but not limited to, birth, adoption, marriage, divorce, performance of educational requirements or death — affects the administration or distribution of a trust, a trustee who exercised reasonable care to ascertain it is not liable for a loss resulting from the trustee's lack of knowledge.
G.L. c. 203E, § 1008 ↗ Exculpation of trustee: A term of a trust relieving a trustee of liability for breach of trust is unenforceable to the extent that it relieves the trustee of liability for a breach committed in bad faith or with reckless indifference to the purposes of the trust or the interests of the beneficiaries, or was inserted as the result of an abuse by the trustee of a fiduciary or confidential relationship to the settlor. An exculpatory term drafted or caused to be drafted by the trustee may be invalid as such an abuse unless the trustee proves that its existence and contents were adequately communicated to the settlor.
G.L. c. 203E, § 1009 ↗ Beneficiary's consent, release or ratification: A trustee is not liable to a beneficiary for a breach of trust if the beneficiary, while having capacity, in writing, consented to the conduct constituting the breach, released the trustee from liability for the breach or ratified the transaction constituting the breach — unless the consent, release or ratification was induced by improper conduct of the trustee, or at the time of it the beneficiary did not know of the material facts relating to the breach.
G.L. c. 203E, § 1010 ↗ Limitation on personal liability of trustee: Except as the contract provides, a trustee is not personally liable on a contract properly entered into in the trustee's fiduciary capacity in the course of administration if the contract disclosed that capacity, and is personally liable for torts committed in the course of administration, or for obligations arising from ownership or control of trust property, including environmental liability, only if personally at fault. A claim on such a contract, obligation or tort may be asserted against the trustee in the fiduciary capacity whether or not the trustee is personally liable.
G.L. c. 203E, § 1011 ↗ Interest as general partner: Unless the contract imposes personal liability, a trustee holding an interest as a general partner in a general or limited partnership is not personally liable on partnership contracts entered into after the trust acquired the interest if the fiduciary capacity was disclosed in the contract or in a statement previously filed under chapter 108A or chapter 109, nor for the partnership's torts or obligations arising from ownership or control of the interest unless personally at fault. The immunity does not apply to an interest held by the trustee in another capacity, or by the trustee's spouse or 1 or more of the trustee's descendants, siblings or parents or the spouse of any of them; the settlor of a revocable trust whose trustee holds a general partnership interest is personally liable for the partnership's obligations as if a general partner.
G.L. c. 203E, § 1012 ↗ Protection of person dealing with trustee: A person other than a beneficiary who in good faith assists a trustee, or in good faith and for value deals with a trustee, without knowledge that the trustee is exceeding or improperly exercising the trustee's powers is protected from liability as if the power were properly exercised, need not inquire into the extent of the powers or the propriety of their exercise, and is protected in the same way in dealing with a former trustee without knowledge that the trusteeship has terminated; a person who in good faith delivers assets to a trustee need not ensure their proper application. Comparable protective provisions of other laws relating to commercial transactions or transfer of securities by fiduciaries prevail over the section.
G.L. c. 203E, § 1013 ↗ Certification of trust: Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish a certification of trust stating that the trust exists and the date the instrument was executed, the settlor's identity, the identity and address of the currently acting trustee, the trustee's powers, the trust's revocability and the identity of anyone holding a power to revoke, the co-trustees' signing authority and whether all or fewer than all are required to exercise the trustee's powers, the trust's taxpayer identification number and the manner of taking title to trust property. Any trustee may sign or authenticate it; it states that the trust has not been revoked, modified or amended so as to make its representations incorrect; it need not contain the dispositive terms; and the recipient may require excerpts of the instrument and amendments designating the trustee and conferring the power to act in the pending transaction. A person relying on it without knowledge that its representations are incorrect is not liable and may assume the facts it states — knowledge of the terms is not inferred solely from holding a copy of the instrument — and a person who in good faith transacts in reliance on it may enforce the transaction against the trust property as if its representations were correct. A person demanding the trust instrument in addition to a certification or excerpts is liable for damages if the court determines the demand was not in good faith, and the section does not limit obtaining the instrument in a judicial proceeding.

Chapter 203C: Massachusetts Prudent Investor Act

G.L. c. 203C, § 1 ↗ Citation: Chapter 203C is known as, and may be cited as, the Massachusetts Prudent Investor Act.
G.L. c. 203C, § 2 ↗ Trustees managing trust assets; duty to comply with prudent investor rule: Except as the provisions of a trust provide, a trustee who invests and manages trust assets owes the beneficiaries a duty to comply with the prudent investor rule; those provisions may expand, restrict, eliminate or otherwise alter the rule, and a trustee is not liable to a beneficiary to the extent the trustee acted in reasonable reliance on them.
G.L. c. 203C, § 3 ↗ Investment and management decisions: A trustee invests and manages trust assets as a prudent investor would, considering the purposes, terms and other circumstances of the trust, with reasonable care, skill and caution, judging individual decisions in the context of the whole portfolio and an overall strategy reasonably suited to the trust. Relevant circumstances include economic conditions, inflation or deflation, tax consequences, each investment's role in the portfolio, expected total return, the beneficiaries' other resources, needs for liquidity, regularity of income and preservation or appreciation of capital, and an asset's special relationship or value to the trust's purposes or a beneficiary. The trustee makes a reasonable effort to verify relevant facts, may invest in any kind of property or investment consistent with chapter 203C, and uses any special skills or expertise the trustee has or represented having.
G.L. c. 203C, § 4 ↗ Diversification: A trustee reasonably diversifies the investments of the trust unless, under the circumstances, it is prudent not to do so.
G.L. c. 203C, § 5 ↗ Review of assets: Within a reasonable time after accepting a trusteeship or receiving trust assets, a trustee reviews the trust assets and makes and implements decisions concerning the retention and disposition of assets, in order to bring the trust portfolio into compliance with the purposes, terms and other circumstances of the trust and with the requirements of chapter 203C.
G.L. c. 203C, § 6 ↗ Beneficiaries' interests: A trustee invests and manages the trust assets solely in the interest of the beneficiaries.
G.L. c. 203C, § 7 ↗ Two or more beneficiaries: If a trust has two or more beneficiaries, the trustee acts impartially in investing and managing the trust assets, taking into account any differing interests of the beneficiaries.
G.L. c. 203C, § 8 ↗ Costs incurred: In investing and managing trust assets, a trustee incurs only costs that are appropriate and reasonable in relation to the assets, the purpose of the trust and the skills of the trustee.
G.L. c. 203C, § 9 ↗ Determination of compliance with prudent investor rule: Compliance with the prudent investor rule is determined in light of the facts and circumstances existing at the time of a trustee's decision or action.
G.L. c. 203C, § 10 ↗ Delegation of investment and management functions: A trustee may delegate investment and management functions if prudent, using reasonable care, skill and caution in selecting the agent, setting the delegation's scope and terms consistent with the trust, and periodically reviewing the agent's performance and compliance. The agent owes the trust a duty of reasonable care to comply with the delegation; a complying trustee is not liable to the beneficiaries or the trust for the agent's decisions or actions; and an agent accepting a delegation from the trustee of a trust subject to the laws of the commonwealth submits to the jurisdiction of its courts.
G.L. c. 203C, § 11 ↗ Trust provisions; terms: Unless otherwise limited or modified, terms such as "investments permissible by law for investment of trust funds," "legal investments," "authorized investments," the formula of the judgment and care that persons of prudence, discretion and intelligence exercise in managing their own affairs, "prudent man rule," "prudent trustee rule," "prudent person rule" and "prudent investor rule," or comparable language, authorize any investment or strategy chapter 203C permits and do not restrict, eliminate or alter the prudent investor rule for purposes of subsection (b) of section 2.

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