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Prudent administration and investing under Michigan law

Michigan states the standard for managing trust property in its prudent investor rule and in the trust code's duties of prudence, impartiality and loyalty. This guide sets out what those sections provide.

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.

Core duties · 6 min de lectura

The Michigan prudent investor rule

MCL 700.1502 provides that a fiduciary invests and manages assets as a prudent investor would, considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements and other circumstances, exercising reasonable care, skill and caution. The rule is a default that the governing instrument may expand, restrict, eliminate or otherwise alter. MCL 700.7803 has a trustee act as a prudent person would in dealing with the property of another, under that rule, and use any special skills the trustee has or was named for.

Impartiality and loyalty

A fiduciary owes each beneficiary undivided loyalty and impartiality (MCL 700.1212). MCL 700.7802(1) provides that a trustee administers the trust solely in the interests of the trust beneficiaries. A transaction for the trustee's own account, or one affected by a substantial conflict between the trustee's fiduciary and personal interests, is voidable by an affected beneficiary unless an exception applies — for example, the terms authorized it, the court approved it after notice, or the beneficiary consented (MCL 700.7802(2)).

A transaction with the trustee's spouse, descendant, sibling or parent (or their spouses), the trustee's agent or attorney, or an enterprise in which the trustee has an interest that might affect its judgment is presumed to be affected by a conflict (MCL 700.7802(3)).

Discretion and its limits

However broad the discretion a trust grants, MCL 700.7815(1) provides that a trustee abuses it by acting dishonestly, with an improper motive, or without exercising judgment in accordance with the trust's terms and purposes. Unless the terms expressly say otherwise, a beneficiary-trustee other than a settlor exercises a discretionary power to distribute to itself only under an ascertainable standard (MCL 700.7815(3)).

Factors a trustee weighs

The statutes frame questions, not answers: the trust's purposes and distribution needs, the beneficiaries' differing interests, diversification, costs, and whether a decision benefits anyone other than the beneficiaries. A licensed Michigan attorney of your choosing can advise on a specific investment or a transaction with someone close to you.

Las leyes, textualmente

  • Prudent investor rule

    MCL 700.1502 ↗

    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.

  • Duty of loyalty

    MCL 700.7802 ↗

    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.

  • Impartiality; use of standards of Michigan prudent investor rule

    MCL 700.7803 ↗

    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; abuse; liability to beneficiary; rules; effect of limited or prohibited powers; exceptions

    MCL 700.7815 ↗

    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

What is Michigan's prudent investor rule?

A fiduciary invests and manages assets as a prudent investor would, considering the purposes, terms and distribution requirements of the governing instrument, with reasonable care, skill and caution (MCL 700.1502); a trustee follows it under MCL 700.7803.

Can a Michigan trustee buy property from the trust?

A transaction for the trustee's own account is voidable by an affected beneficiary unless an exception in MCL 700.7802(2) applies — among them, authorization in the terms, court approval after notice, or the beneficiary's consent.

Does "sole discretion" mean a Michigan trustee cannot be questioned?

No. However broadly discretion is granted, a trustee abuses it by acting dishonestly, with an improper motive, or without exercising judgment by the trust's terms and purposes (MCL 700.7815(1)).

El Centro de Aprendizaje es información general sobre la ley de Míchigan — no es asesoría legal ni sustituye el consejo de un abogado de Míchigan con licencia sobre sus hechos específicos. TrusteeClear es software, no un bufete.