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 · 6 min de lectura
How discretion is judged
N.J.S.A. 3B:31-68 provides that, notwithstanding the breadth of discretion granted to a trustee in the terms of the trust — including the use of terms such as "absolute", "sole" or "uncontrolled" — the 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. A trustee who is also a beneficiary may exercise a discretionary power to make distributions to or for the trustee's own benefit only in accordance with an ascertainable standard relating to health, education, support or maintenance, and never to satisfy the trustee's own legal obligation of support; a co-trustee, or a trustee the court appoints, exercises what the prohibited trustee cannot (N.J.S.A. 3B:11-4.1). Whether or not a trust contains a spendthrift provision, a creditor may not compel a distribution that is subject to the trustee's discretion, even if the discretion is expressed as a standard or the trustee has abused it (N.J.S.A. 3B:31-38(a)).
Timing: the contest window, the creditors' nine months and the reserve
Upon the death of the settlor of a trust that was revocable at the death, N.J.S.A. 3B:31-45(b) provides that the trustee may proceed to distribute the trust property in accordance with its terms without liability unless the trustee knows of a pending proceeding contesting the trust's validity, or a potential contestant has notified the trustee of a possible contest and a proceeding is commenced within 90 days after the notification was sent. A contest is commenced within the earlier of three years after the death, or four months (a person residing in New Jersey) or six months (a person residing outside the State) after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and the notice the statute describes (N.J.S.A. 3B:31-45(a)); a beneficiary of a trust later determined invalid is liable to return any distribution received (N.J.S.A. 3B:31-45(c)).
Creditors of the deceased settlor present their claims to the personal representative within nine months from the date of death (N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4), and, subject to the settlor's right to direct the source of payment, the property of a trust that was revocable at the death is subject to the settlor's creditors, the costs of administration, the funeral expenses and the claims of a surviving spouse or civil-union partner and children to the extent the probate estate is inadequate (N.J.S.A. 3B:31-39(a)(3)). On an event terminating or partially terminating the trust, the trustee proceeds expeditiously to distribute, subject to the right to retain a reasonable reserve for debts, expenses and taxes (N.J.S.A. 3B:31-70(a)); where the trust property is worth less than $100,000, the trustee may terminate the trust after notice to the qualified beneficiaries on concluding that its value does not justify the cost of administration (N.J.S.A. 3B:31-30(a)). The transfer inheritance tax bears on the timing too: a trustee who delivers property subject to the tax on a future interest before the tax is paid is personally liable for it (N.J.S.A. 54:36-7).
What "per stirpes" and "by representation" mean in New Jersey
New Jersey's intestacy statute passes an estate to the decedent's descendants "by representation" (N.J.S.A. 3B:5-4(a)) and defines the method as per capita at each generation: equal shares at the nearest generation with a surviving heir — one for each survivor there and one for each deceased member who left surviving descendants — with the deceased members' shares combined and divided the same way among their surviving descendants (N.J.S.A. 3B:5-6(b)). Title 3B gives an instrument's words their own meanings: a gift "per stirpes" divides at the designated ancestor's children, each deceased child's share dividing the same way below; a gift "per capita" divides equally among the living descendants without representation; and "by representation" or "per capita at each generation" has the intestacy statute's meaning (N.J.S.A. 3B:1-2). Where a governing instrument provides for issue or descendants and expresses no contrary intention, they take by representation (N.J.S.A. 3B:3-41). The trust's own words decide which rule applies; the distribution calculator models the arithmetic.
Las leyes, textualmente
Limitation on action contesting validity of revocable trust; distribution of trust property
N.J.S.A. 3B:31-45 ↗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
N.J.S.A. 3B:31-68 ↗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 upon termination
N.J.S.A. 3B:31-70 ↗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.
Determining representation
N.J.S.A. 3B:5-6 ↗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 New Jersey trustee distribute right after the settlor's death?
Upon the death of the settlor of a trust revocable at the death, the trustee may distribute in accordance with the terms, without liability unless the trustee knows of a pending contest or a potential contestant's notification is followed by a proceeding within 90 days after it was sent (N.J.S.A. 3B:31-45(b)). Creditors present their claims to the personal representative within nine months from the death (N.J.S.A. 3B:22-4), and a revocable trust answers to the extent the probate estate is inadequate (N.J.S.A. 3B:31-39(a)(3)).
What does "per stirpes" mean in New Jersey?
In an instrument, a gift "per stirpes" is divided into as many equal shares as there are living children of the designated ancestor and deceased children who left descendants then living, each surviving child taking one share and a deceased child's share divided the same way among that child's descendants (N.J.S.A. 3B:1-2). New Jersey's intestacy statute uses a different division, by representation — per capita at each generation (N.J.S.A. 3B:5-6); how a particular trust's words read is a question for a licensed New Jersey attorney of your choosing.
May a New Jersey trustee keep a reserve before distributing?
Yes. On an event terminating or partially terminating the trust, the trustee proceeds expeditiously to distribute the trust property to the persons entitled to it, subject to the right to retain a reasonable reserve for the payment of debts, expenses and taxes (N.J.S.A. 3B:31-70(a)).
Lecturas relacionadas
El Centro de Aprendizaje es información general sobre la ley de Nueva Jersey — no es asesoría legal ni sustituye el consejo de un abogado de Nueva Jersey con licencia sobre sus hechos específicos. TrusteeClear es software, no un bufete.