Tennessee's Trust Code, Section by Section

Reviewed against the Tennessee Statutes on 2026-10-28. General information, not legal advice; the official text controls.

Part 1: General provisions and definitions

Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-101 ↗ Short title: Title 35, Chapter 15 of the Tennessee Code Annotated is known and may be cited as the Tennessee Uniform Trust Code.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-102 ↗ Scope: The Tennessee Uniform Trust Code applies to express trusts, charitable or noncharitable, and to trusts created under a statute, judgment or decree that requires the trust to be administered in the manner of an express trust.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-103 ↗ Chapter definitions: Defines the chapter's terms, among them: "action" (a trustee's act, including a failure to act); "ascertainable standard" (health, education, support or maintenance within the Internal Revenue Code's meaning); "beneficiary" (a person with a present or future beneficial interest, vested or contingent); "directed trust" (a trust in which the terms, a nonjudicial settlement agreement or a court order give one or more persons authority to direct or consent to a fiduciary's decision); "distribution interest" — classified as a mandatory interest (a distribution that must occur within one year, with no discretion as to whether or how much), a support interest (mandatory language coupled with a standard capable of judicial interpretation) or a discretionary interest (any interest in which the trustee has discretion to make or withhold a distribution), with example language for each and a rule that mandatory language later qualified by discretionary language makes a discretionary interest; "excluded fiduciary" (a trustee, trust advisor or trust protector excluded from a power or relieved of a duty that is granted to another); "fiduciary"; "power of appointment" and "power of withdrawal"; "qualified beneficiary" (a beneficiary who, on the date of determination, is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal, would be one if the current distributees' interests ended without ending the trust, or would be one if the trust ended that day — but never an ultimate beneficiary or potential ultimate beneficiary, a taker the settlor did not reasonably anticipate would take absent every other beneficiary's predecease); "reach"; "remainder interest"; "revocable"; "settlor" (a person, including a testator, who creates or contributes property to a trust, each as to the portion attributable to that person's contribution); "spendthrift provision" (a term that restrains both voluntary and involuntary transfer of a beneficiary's interest); "terms of a trust"; "trust advisor" and "trust protector" (a person described in § 35-15-1201(a)); "trust instrument"; and "trustee" (an original, additional or successor trustee, and a cotrustee). The section also provides that a spouse's distribution or remainder interest, and a spouse's services as a fiduciary, are not relevant to the equitable division of marital property or to the transmutation of separate property.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-104 ↗ Knowledge: A person has knowledge of a fact if the person has actual knowledge of it, has received a notice or notification of it, has reason to know it from all the facts and circumstances known at the time, or has reason to know it because the fact is accessible to the person through electronic means — where the person consented in a record to receive information electronically and has not revoked the consent, and the information was available electronically for at least 60 days with the means of access provided in the record or the access actually used. An organization that acts through employees has knowledge of a fact involving a trust only from the time the information reached an employee responsible to act for the trust, or would have under reasonable diligence.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-105 ↗ Default and mandatory rules: Except as the terms of the trust provide otherwise, the chapter governs the duties and powers of a trustee and the other fiduciaries, relations among them, and the rights and interests of a beneficiary; the terms may expand, restrict, eliminate or otherwise vary them, and courts give maximum effect to freedom of disposition and the enforceability of trust instruments. The terms prevail over the chapter except for twelve rules: the requirements for creating a trust; the trustee's duty to act in accordance with the terms and purposes of the trust and the interests of the beneficiaries; the requirement that the trust and its terms be for the beneficiaries' benefit as the terms define their interests, with a purpose that is lawful and possible; the power to modify or terminate a trust under §§ 35-15-410 to 35-15-416; the effect of a spendthrift provision and the rights of certain creditors under Part 5; the court's power over a bond; the court's power under § 35-15-708(b) to adjust compensation the terms specify that is unreasonably low or high; the effect of an exculpatory term; the rights of third persons under §§ 35-15-1010 to 35-15-1013; periods of limitation; the court's power to act in the interests of justice; and the court's subject matter jurisdiction and venue. A purpose the instrument states as a material purpose is treated as one for all purposes of the chapter.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-106 ↗ Law supplemental to chapter; Restatement of Trusts: The common law of trusts and principles of equity supplement the chapter except as the chapter or another Tennessee statute modifies them. No provision of a trust directing or authorizing the accumulation of income is invalid; the traditional common-law distinction between a discretionary trust and a support trust, and the dual standards of judicial review that go with it, are maintained; and, unless the chapter specifically provides otherwise, courts do not consult, rely on or give persuasive value to §§ 50, 56, 58, 59 or 60 of the Restatement (Third) of Trusts or their comments.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-107 ↗ Governing law: The validity and construction of a trust are determined by the law of the jurisdiction the trust instrument designates — a state jurisdiction provision. Where the provision designates Tennessee, Tennessee and its courts have jurisdiction over a trust created in a foreign jurisdiction and Tennessee law determines the trust's validity, construction and administration, including the settlor's capacity, the fiduciaries' powers, obligations and rights, their appointment and removal, and the existence and extent of every power conferred on a fiduciary or retained by the settlor; no foreign country's law makes the trust or a disposition void, voidable or defective, no foreign forced-heirship or similar right is recognized, and no foreign judgment concerning the trust or its property is recognized or enforced; a trustee or other fiduciary against whom a foreign judicial body declines to apply Tennessee law ceases at once to hold the office, and the vacancy is filled as a vacancy in trusteeship is. Where no state jurisdiction provision exists, the law of the jurisdiction where the trust was executed determines its validity and the laws of descent, and the law of the principal place of administration determines the administration.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-108 ↗ Place of administration; nexus for a state jurisdiction provision; transfer: A state jurisdiction provision designating a jurisdiction's trust-administration law is valid and controlling where a trustee's principal place of business or residence is in the designated jurisdiction, all or part of the administration occurs there (keeping some trust records there, or preparing or arranging the trust's income tax return there), or some of the trust assets are deposited there and the trust is administered by such a trustee. Except as a valid provision or a court order provides, Tennessee law governs the administration of a trust while it is administered in Tennessee. A trustee is under a continuing duty to administer the trust at a place appropriate to its purposes, its administration and the interests of the beneficiaries, and may transfer the principal place of administration to another state or country: the trustee notifies the qualified beneficiaries not less than 60 days before initiating the transfer, with the new jurisdiction, the address and telephone number at the new location, the reasons, the anticipated date and the date — not less than 60 days after the notice — by which a qualified beneficiary must object; an objection by a majority of the qualified beneficiaries ends the trustee's authority to transfer. In connection with a transfer the trustee may transfer trust property to a successor trustee.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-109 ↗ Methods and waiver of notice: Notice or the sending of a document under the chapter is accomplished in a manner reasonably suitable under the circumstances and likely to result in receipt. The permissible methods include first-class mail, personal delivery, delivery to the person's last known place of residence or business, a properly directed electronic message, and providing the notice or document through electronic means where the person consented in a record to receive information electronically and has not revoked the consent — deemed accessible where the means of access were provided in the record or the access was actually used. Notice need not be given to a person whose identity or location is unknown to and not reasonably ascertainable by the trustee; notice may be waived by the person to be notified; notice of a judicial proceeding follows the rules of civil procedure.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-110 ↗ Others treated as qualified beneficiaries: A charitable organization expressly designated to receive distributions under the terms of a trust has the rights of a qualified beneficiary if, on the date of determination, it would be one were it an individual beneficiary; such an organization may receive notice and information under §§ 35-15-705, 35-15-813 and 35-15-817 and participate in nonjudicial settlement agreements. The attorney general and reporter may exercise a qualified beneficiary's rights for a charitable trust with its principal place of administration in Tennessee where the aggregate charitable interests would make an individual a qualified beneficiary.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-111 ↗ Nonjudicial settlement agreements: The trustee and the qualified beneficiaries may enter into a binding nonjudicial settlement agreement with respect to any matter involving a trust, valid only to the extent it does not violate a material purpose of the trust and includes terms a court could properly approve. The matters it may resolve include the interpretation or construction of the terms; the approval of a trustee's report or accounting; direction to a trustee to refrain from an act or the grant of a necessary or desirable power; a trustee's resignation or appointment and compensation; the transfer of the principal place of administration; a trustee's liability; the extent or waiver of a bond; the governing law; the criteria for a discretionary distribution; the resignation, appointment, powers and duties of trust protectors and trust advisors; and the approval of an investment decision, delegation, policy, plan or program. A qualified beneficiary or trustee may ask the court to approve the agreement, to determine whether the representation was adequate and whether the terms could have been approved.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-112 ↗ Rules of construction: The rules of construction that apply in Tennessee to the interpretation of a will and the disposition of property by will also apply, as appropriate, to the interpretation of the terms of a trust and the disposition of the trust property.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-113 ↗ Registration of trust: The trustee of a trust whose principal place of administration is in Tennessee — one of the trustees has its principal place of business or residence here and the trust meets § 35-15-108(a)(2) or (3) — may register the trust with the secretary of state by filing a statement with the trustee's name, address and telephone number and acknowledgment of the trusteeship; the dates and places of any prior registration; the trust's name, the date of the instrument and each amendment; the testator and the probate, or each settlor and the original trustee; each current cotrustee, trust advisor and trust protector; the trustee's submission to the jurisdiction of Tennessee's courts while the trust remains registered; and a filing fee of $250. A registration elsewhere must be released, or an instrument of the trustee and all current beneficiaries filed, before a Tennessee registration takes effect. The registration is confidential and not open to public inspection; the settlor, a trustee, trust advisor or trust protector may obtain a certified copy on an attestation and a $100 fee; the registration may be cancelled by the trustee's signed request with evidence of a registration elsewhere or an acknowledged instrument of all current beneficiaries.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-114 ↗ Real property in trust: An estate in real property may be acquired in the name of the trust or in the name of the trustee on behalf of the named trust, and title to real property conveyed by the trust is conveyed by the trustee as trustee of the trust; the section applies to documents executed before, on and after July 1, 2021, and does not abrogate § 35-15-402(d).

Part 2: Judicial proceedings

Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-201 ↗ Role of court in administration of trust: The court may intervene in the administration of a trust to the extent an interested person invokes its jurisdiction or as provided by law; a trust is not subject to continuing judicial supervision unless the court orders it; a judicial proceeding may relate to any matter involving the trust's administration, including a request for instructions and an action to declare rights.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-202 ↗ Jurisdiction over trustee and beneficiary: By accepting the trusteeship of a trust with its principal place of administration in Tennessee, or by moving the principal place of administration here, the trustee submits personally to the jurisdiction of Tennessee's courts 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 remain.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-203 ↗ Subject matter jurisdiction: Chancery courts and other courts of record having probate jurisdiction have, to the exclusion of all other courts, concurrent jurisdiction over proceedings in Tennessee brought by a trustee or beneficiary concerning the administration of a trust, and concurrent jurisdiction with other courts of record over other proceedings involving a trust.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-204 ↗ Venue: Venue for a judicial proceeding involving a trust is in the county in which the trust's principal place of administration is or will be located and, for a trust created by will whose estate is not yet closed, in the county in which the estate is being administered. Where a trust has no trustee, venue for a proceeding to appoint one is in a county in which a beneficiary resides, a county in which any trust property is located, and, for a testamentary trust, the county of the estate.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-205 ↗ Petition for final accounting on resignation, removal or termination: When a trustee resigns or is removed, or on the full or partial termination of the trust, a qualified beneficiary or successor trustee may petition the court to require the departing trustee to appear for a final accounting — the successor having no obligation to petition — and the departing trustee may petition to approve a final accounting relieving the trustee from liability for the period of its administration, which begins from the later of the trustee's acceptance or the end of the last court-approved period. The petition states the serving trustee, trust advisor and trust protector, the qualified beneficiaries and the period, and is served on each of them or their representatives; the court may approve the accounting or grant relief, and may approve it without a hearing where no objection is filed or the parties consent; approval relieves the trustee from liability for the period. Costs, including the petitioner's reasonable attorney's fees, are taxed against the trust unless the court directs otherwise.

Part 3: Representation

Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-301 ↗ Representation: basic effect: Notice to a person who may represent and bind another under the chapter has the same effect as notice given directly to the other person, and the representative's consent binds the person represented unless that person objects before the consent would take effect. Except as §§ 35-15-411 and 35-15-602 provide, a person who may represent a settlor who lacks capacity may receive notice and give a binding consent for the settlor; a settlor may not represent and bind a beneficiary as to a termination or modification under § 35-15-411(a). Notice, information, accountings or reports given to a representative substitute for giving them directly to the person represented.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-302 ↗ Representation by holder of power of appointment: To the extent there is no material conflict of interest, the holder of a power of appointment may represent and bind the persons whose interests as permissible appointees, takers in default or otherwise are subject to the power; the holder of a general power of appointment — a power to appoint to the holder, the holder's creditors, estate or the estate's creditors — may do so regardless of a conflict, and so may the holder of a non-general power where a disinterested trustee serves. Where the holder may exercise the general power only with another person's consent, that person's written consent is required.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-303 ↗ Representation by fiduciaries and parents: To the extent there is no material conflict of interest, a conservator or guardian of the property may represent and bind the estate it controls; a conservator or guardian of the person may represent the ward where none of the estate has been appointed; an agent with authority on the question may represent the principal; a trustee may represent and bind the beneficiaries of the trust; a trust that is a beneficiary of another trust is represented by its trustee or, where it does not yet exist or the trustee cannot act, by its qualified beneficiaries; a personal representative may represent persons interested in the estate; a person may represent and bind the person's minor or unborn descendant where no guardian has been appointed, with the section's rules for a disagreement between two such persons; a person the settlor designates in the trust instrument, or in a writing delivered to the trustee, may represent and bind the beneficiaries; a person the beneficiaries designate may represent them; and, where a disinterested party serves as trustee, a parent, grandparent, sibling or spouse who has assumed responsibility for an incapacitated adult may represent that adult where no conservator or authorized agent exists.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-304 ↗ 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 person having a substantially identical interest with respect to the particular question or dispute, to the extent there is no material conflict of interest between them.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-305 ↗ Appointment of representative: Where the court determines that an interest is not represented under the chapter, or that the available representation might be inadequate, the court may appoint a representative to receive notice, give consent and otherwise act for a minor, incapacitated or unborn individual or a person whose identity or location is unknown — one representative may serve several persons or interests; the representative may act whether or not a judicial proceeding is pending and may consider the general benefit accruing to the living members of the individual's family.

Part 4: Creation, validity, modification and termination of a trust

Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-401 ↗ Methods of creating trust: A trust may be created by the transfer of property to another person as trustee during the settlor's lifetime, or by will or other disposition taking effect at the settlor's death; by the owner's declaration that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee; by the exercise of a power of appointment in favor of a trustee; or by a court under its statutory or equitable powers.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-402 ↗ 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, a trust for the care of an animal or a noncharitable purpose trust, 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, and a trustee's power to select a beneficiary from an indefinite class is valid but fails if not exercised within a reasonable time. A lifetime trust is valid as to the assets transferred to it: assets capable of registration — real estate, stocks, bonds, bank and brokerage accounts — are transferred by recording the deed or completing the registration in the name of the trust or trustee, never by a recital alone; assets not capable of registration by a recital of assignment describing them; and tangible personal property, other than money, evidences of indebtedness, documents of title, securities and business property, by a signed written instrument identifying the property in general terms and the trust specifically, during the grantor's life or after death, covering property later acquired, revocable or amendable by a written instrument delivered to the trustee — and where no revocation or amendment is delivered within six months of the transferor's death, the trustee may presume none exists. A passive trust is not terminable because it is passive.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-403 ↗ 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.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-404 ↗ Trust purposes: A trust may be created only to the extent its purposes are lawful and possible to achieve, and a trust and its terms must be for the benefit of its beneficiaries as the terms of the trust define their interests.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-405 ↗ 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 beneficial to the community; where the terms indicate no particular charitable purpose or beneficiary, the court may select one or more consistent with the settlor's intention; the settlor of a charitable trust, among others, may maintain a proceeding to enforce it.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-406 ↗ 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.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-407 ↗ Evidence of oral trust: Except as another statute requires, a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument, but the creation of an oral trust and its terms may be established only by clear and convincing evidence.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-408 ↗ Trust for care of animal: A trust may be created to provide for the care of an animal alive during the settlor's lifetime; it terminates on the death of the animal, or of the last surviving animal, and may not be enforced for more than 90 years. It may be enforced by a trustee, trust advisor, trust protector or other person appointed under the terms, or by a person the court appoints, and a person interested in the animal's welfare may ask the court to appoint or remove an enforcer. The trust property may be applied only to its intended use, except to the extent the court determines it exceeds the amount required; property not required passes to the settlor if living, otherwise to the settlor's successors in interest, unless the terms provide otherwise.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-409 ↗ Noncharitable trust without ascertainable beneficiary: A trust may be created for a noncharitable purpose without a definite or ascertainable beneficiary, or for a noncharitable but otherwise valid purpose the trustee selects, enforceable for no more than 360 years; it is enforced by a trustee, trust advisor, trust protector or other person appointed under the terms, or by a person the court appoints; the property may be applied only to its intended use except where the court finds an excess, and property not required passes to the settlor if living, otherwise to the settlor's successors in interest, unless the terms provide otherwise.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-410 ↗ Modification or termination of trust; proceedings for approval: In addition to the methods of §§ 35-15-411 to 35-15-414, a trust terminates to the extent it is revoked or expires under its terms, no purpose of the trust remains to be achieved, or its purposes have become unlawful or impossible to achieve. A trustee or beneficiary may commence a proceeding to approve or disapprove a proposed modification, termination, combination or division, and the settlor of a charitable trust a proceeding to modify it under § 35-15-413; nothing in the chapter creates a duty for a trustee to make or seek a modification, termination, combination or division. None may be made that results in the trust not qualifying for a federal or state marital or charitable deduction it would otherwise qualify for, makes the trust subject to the generation-skipping transfer tax, or increases federal or state estate, inheritance, gift or generation-skipping transfer taxes overall.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-411 ↗ Modification or termination of noncharitable irrevocable trust by consent: During the settlor's lifetime, a noncharitable irrevocable trust may be modified or terminated by the trustee with the consent of all qualified beneficiaries, even inconsistently with a material purpose, if the settlor does not object: the trustee notifies the settlor not less than 60 days before, with the reasons, the anticipated date and an objection date not less than 60 days after the notice. After the settlor's death, the trust may be terminated or modified by the unanimous agreement of the trustee and all qualified beneficiaries where that does not violate a material purpose, or on the qualified beneficiaries' consent where the court concludes continuance is not necessary to, or the change is not inconsistent with, a material purpose. A spendthrift clause or a bar on amendment does not prevent it; a represented beneficiary is bound; on termination the trustee distributes as the qualified beneficiaries agreed; where not all qualified beneficiaries consent, the court may approve the change if it could have been made with all consents and the dissenter's interests are adequately protected. A noncharitable irrevocable trust is one not revocable by the settlor for which no charitable deduction was allowed and charitable interests do not exceed five percent of its value; the trustee may always seek court approval.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-412 ↗ Modification or termination because of unanticipated circumstances: The court may modify the administrative or dispositive terms of a trust, or terminate it, if because of circumstances the settlor did not anticipate the change will further the purposes of the trust, as far as practicable in accordance with the settlor's probable intention; it may modify the administrative terms where continuing the trust on its existing terms would be impracticable or wasteful or impair the administration; on termination the trustee distributes the property consistently with the trust's purposes.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-413 ↗ Cy pres: Where a particular charitable purpose becomes unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve, obsolete or ineffective, the trust does not fail and the property does not revert to the settlor; the court may apply cy pres to modify or terminate the trust by directing the property to a use that fulfills the settlor's charitable intent as nearly as possible. A term directing distribution to a noncharitable beneficiary prevails over cy pres only where the property reverts to a living settlor or fewer than 21 years have elapsed since the trust's creation.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-414 ↗ 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 $250,000, or for which the trustee's annual fee under its published schedule is five percent or more of the principal's market value, may terminate the trust if the trustee concludes the value of the property is insufficient to justify the cost of administration; the court may modify or terminate a trust, or remove the trustee and appoint another, on the same ground. On termination the trustee distributes the property to or for the beneficiaries in the shares the trustee, or the court, determines to conform as nearly as possible to the settlor's intention, a marital-deduction trust going only to the settlor's spouse. The section does not reach a conservation or preservation easement and does not limit a trustee's right under the instrument to terminate alone.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-415 ↗ Reformation to correct mistakes: The court may reform the terms of a trust, even if unambiguous, to conform them to the settlor's intention where clear and convincing evidence proves that both the settlor's intent and the terms were affected by a mistake of fact or law, in expression or in inducement.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-416 ↗ Modification to achieve settlor's tax objectives: To achieve the settlor's tax objectives the court may modify the terms of a trust in a manner not contrary to the settlor's probable intention, and may give the modification retroactive effect.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-417 ↗ Combination and division of trusts: After notice to the qualified beneficiaries, a trustee may combine two or more trusts into one, or divide a trust into two or more, if the result does not impair any beneficiary's rights or adversely affect the achievement of the trust's purposes; trustees of different trusts may negotiate the terms of the combined or divided trusts, including which survives and who serves as its trustee.

Part 5: Creditor's claims; spendthrift and discretionary trusts

Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-501 ↗ Rights of beneficiary's creditor or assignee: Part 5 applies to a creditor's or assignee's claims and ability to reach mandatory, support and discretionary interests, whether or not subject to a spendthrift provision; to the extent the part does not otherwise prohibit it, the court may authorize a creditor or assignee of a beneficiary to reach the beneficiary's distribution interest by attachment of present or future distributions or other means, and may limit the award to the relief appropriate under the circumstances.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-502 ↗ Spendthrift provision: A spendthrift provision is valid only if it restrains both voluntary and involuntary transfer of a beneficiary's interest; a term providing that the interest is held subject to a "spendthrift trust", or words of similar import, suffices; the provision applies to all beneficial interests, distribution and remainder interests included. A beneficiary may not transfer an interest in violation of a valid spendthrift provision, and a creditor or assignee may not reach the interest or a present, future or prospective distribution at the trust level, nor force any distribution — whatever the beneficiary's own right to compel a distribution under § 35-15-814. Regardless of a beneficiary's creditors, a trustee or other fiduciary may directly pay any expense on the beneficiary's behalf and exhaust the trust for the beneficiary, without liability to any creditor, whatever the beneficiary's interest.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-503 ↗ Exceptions to spendthrift provision: A spendthrift provision is unenforceable against a claim of the State of Tennessee to the extent a Tennessee statute so provides.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-504 ↗ Discretionary interests; effect: A discretionary interest is neither a property interest nor an enforceable right; it is a mere expectancy. Whether or not the trust contains a spendthrift provision, no creditor or assignee may force or reach a distribution with regard to a discretionary interest or require the trustee or another fiduciary to exercise discretion to make one; regardless of a beneficiary's creditors, the trustee may directly pay any expense on the beneficiary's behalf and exhaust the trust for the beneficiary, without liability to any creditor. Those rules remain where the beneficiary is also a trustee or other fiduciary who has no discretion to make distributions to themself, whose discretion is limited by an ascertainable standard, or whose discretion is exercisable only with the consent of a cotrustee or a person holding an adverse interest; a creditor may reach a distribution only to the extent it could if the beneficiary were not a fiduciary.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-505 ↗ Creditor's claims against settlor: Whether or not the terms contain a spendthrift provision: during the settlor's lifetime the property of a revocable trust is subject to the settlor's creditors' claims; a creditor or assignee of the settlor of an irrevocable trust may reach the maximum amount that can be distributed to or for the settlor's benefit, each settlor's portion separately, with the exceptions for an investment services trust and an irrevocable special needs trust — whose settlor's creditors may not reach or compel distributions, and whose trustee, fiduciary and advisor face no claim; and after the settlor's death, subject to the settlor's right to direct the source of payment, the property of a trust that was revocable immediately before the death is subject to the claims of the settlor's creditors, the costs of administration of the estate and the expenses of the funeral and disposal of remains — a claim that would be barred against the estate is barred against the trust property, the trustee and the trust's creditors and beneficiaries, and the estate's order of priority under § 30-2-317(a) applies where the probate estate is inadequate and the claimant has perfected its right against the trust. A trustee's power to reimburse the settlor's income tax, and a settlor's interest following a spouse's qualified interest, are not amounts distributable to the settlor; a holder of a power of withdrawal, and a person who becomes a beneficiary by another's exercise of a power of appointment, are not settlors. No action may be brought with respect to a transfer to a spendthrift trust after the later of two years from the transfer or six months from its discovery for a present creditor, or two years for a later creditor, and only on clear and convincing proof that the transfer was made with intent to defraud that specific creditor; a public record of the transfer is discovery; a trustee, fiduciary or advisor of a spendthrift trust faces no claim based on a person's availing of the subsection. A beneficiary of property a spouse contributed is not the settlor as to it.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-506 ↗ Distributions relative to support, mandatory and certain remainder interests: Whether or not the trust contains a spendthrift provision: a support interest's enforceable rights do not make it a property interest; no creditor or assignee reaches a support interest until a distribution is actually made, and then only to the extent the distribution exceeds what is necessary for the beneficiary's health, education, maintenance and support; a support beneficiary's use of trust property cannot be transferred or reached; the trustee may directly pay the beneficiary's expenses and exhaust the trust without liability to any creditor. As to a mandatory interest, a court may order a past-due mandatory distribution paid to the beneficiary but never directly to a creditor or assignee, and the trustee may pay the beneficiary's expenses directly. A remainder interest not absolutely certain to be distributed within one year is not a property interest.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-507 ↗ Personal obligations of trustee: Trust property is not subject to the personal obligations of the trustee, even if the trustee becomes insolvent or bankrupt.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-508 ↗ Removal power and a beneficiary-fiduciary's interest not reachable by creditors: No creditor or assignee of a beneficiary may reach an interest of a beneficiary or other person who holds a removal or replacement power over a trustee or other fiduciary — the power is personal to the holder, not exercisable by the holder's creditors, and no court may direct its exercise. Subject to § 35-15-504(b)(3), no creditor or assignee may reach the interest of a beneficiary who is also a trustee, cotrustee or other fiduciary, or compel a distribution because the beneficiary serves as one, and no court may foreclose against such an interest.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-509 ↗ Judicial foreclosure of beneficial interests and powers prohibited: Whether or not the trust contains a spendthrift provision, no beneficial interest, power of appointment or reserved power in a trust is judicially foreclosed; no creditor or assignee reaches a power of appointment or a remainder interest at the trust level, but waits until funds are distributed; no creditor reaches property transferred under a decedent's power of appointment unless the power was exercised in favor of the decedent or the decedent's estate; and no power of appointment is a property interest.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-510 ↗ Immunity of entireties property conveyed to a trustee from separate creditors: Property a husband and wife held as tenants by the entirety and conveyed as such to the trustee of one or more trusts, and its proceeds, keep the same immunity from the claims of their separate creditors as if they had continued to hold it by the entirety — so long as they remain married, the property stays in trust, the trusts are revocable by either or both settlors while both live, both are permissible current beneficiaries, and the trust instrument or deed provides that the section applies. After the first death the property keeps its immunity from the decedent's separate creditors, but is subject to the survivor's separate creditors to the extent the survivor can vest title in themself. The immunity may be waived expressly or by both spouses' written consent, and is waived as to a person who receives a trustee's financial statement that fails to disclose the immune property unless the immunity is otherwise reasonably disclosed; the trustee bears the burden of proving immunity. An invalid transfer or a revoked trust restores the tenancy by the entirety; a divorce or annulment ends the immunity; the section applies to entireties property conveyed on or after July 1, 2014.

Part 6: Revocable trusts

Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-601 ↗ Capacity of settlor of revocable trust; execution for post-death disposition: The capacity required to create, amend, revoke or add property to a revocable trust, or to direct its trustee, is the capacity required to make a will. To be effective as a post-death disposition of property transferred during the transferor's life, or by the transferor's will, to a trust of which the transferor is the settlor, neither a revocable nor an irrevocable trust existing on or executed after July 1, 2004 has to be executed with the formalities of a will.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-602 ↗ Revocation or amendment of revocable trust: Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that it is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend it — a rule that does not apply to a trust created under an instrument executed before July 1, 2004. Where more than one settlor created or funded the trust, community property may be revoked by either spouse alone but amended only jointly, each settlor may revoke or amend as to the portion attributable to that settlor's contribution, and a surviving settlor may revoke as to the survivor's portion. The settlor revokes or amends by substantial compliance with a method the terms provide or, where none is provided or made exclusive, by a later will or codicil that expressly refers to the trust or specifically devises property that would otherwise pass under it, or by any other method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent. On revocation the trustee delivers the property as the settlor directs, community property half to each spouse unless the instrument says otherwise. An agent under a power of attorney may exercise the settlor's powers only as the terms of the trust or the power expressly authorize; a conservator or guardian only where the instrument specifically grants the power. A trustee who does not know of a revocation or amendment is not liable for acting on the assumption that none occurred.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-603 ↗ 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 settlor's control and the duties of the trustee are owed exclusively to the settlor; where a revocable trust has more than one settlor, the duties are owed to all settlors having capacity to revoke; during the period a power of withdrawal may be exercised, its holder has the rights of a settlor of a revocable trust to the extent of the property subject to the power.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-604 ↗ Limitation on action contesting validity of revocable trust; distribution: A person may commence a judicial proceeding to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable immediately before the settlor's death within the earlier of two years after the settlor's death, or 120 days after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice informing the person of the trust's existence, the trustee's name and address and the time allowed for commencing a proceeding. On the settlor's death the trustee may proceed to distribute the trust property in accordance with the terms, and — except as § 35-15-817 provides — is liable for the distribution only if the trustee had actual knowledge of a pending contest, or a potential contestant had notified the trustee in writing of a possible proceeding and the proceeding is commenced within 60 days after the trustee received the notification. Where a trust or provision is adjudged invalid, or a distribution made in error, by a final judgment, a beneficiary who received an improper distribution returns it to the court on receipt of the order, and is liable for the costs of recovering it otherwise.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-605 ↗ Written statement or list disposing of tangible personal property: A revocable trust that becomes irrevocable at the settlor's death may refer to a written statement or list disposing of items of tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of — other than money, evidences of indebtedness, documents of title, securities and business property. To be effective the writing is in the settlor's handwriting or signed by the settlor, dated, and describes the items and the beneficiaries with reasonable certainty; it may be prepared before or after the trust, altered by a signed and dated alteration, and have no significance apart from the trust; the most recent writing or alteration revokes inconsistent earlier ones. A trustee who distributes tangible property to the apparent beneficiary without actual knowledge of the writing is not liable and has no duty to recover it.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-606 ↗ Settlor's powers to remove and appoint trustees: The settlor of a revocable trust may remove a trustee and appoint a successor by written notice to the trustee being removed and to the successor being appointed; where the trust has two or more settlors, the removal and appointment are made by their unanimous decision.

Part 7: Office of trustee; trust advisors and trust protectors

Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-701 ↗ Accepting or declining trusteeship: A person designated as trustee accepts the trusteeship by substantially complying with a method of acceptance the terms of the trust 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 designated trustee who has not yet accepted may reject the trusteeship, and one who does not accept within a reasonable time after knowing of the designation and the trust's assets is deemed to have rejected it. Without accepting, a designated trustee may act to preserve the trust property if, within a reasonable time after acting, the person sends a rejection to the settlor or, where the settlor is dead or lacks capacity, to a qualified beneficiary, and may inspect or investigate the property for environmental or other liability.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-702 ↗ Trustee's bond: A trustee gives bond to secure performance of the trustee's duties only if the court finds that a bond is needed to protect the beneficiaries' interests or the terms of the trust require it and the court has not dispensed with the requirement; the court may specify the amount, the liabilities and whether sureties are necessary, and may modify or terminate a bond at any time; a state or national bank, savings institution or trust company authorized to exercise fiduciary powers and regulated by the federal or state banking supervisors need not give bond, even if the terms require it.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-703 ↗ Cotrustees: Cotrustees who are unable to reach a unanimous decision may act by majority decision; where a vacancy occurs, the remaining cotrustees may act for the trust. A cotrustee participates in the performance of a trustee's function unless unavailable because of absence, illness, disqualification or other temporary incapacity, or the function was properly delegated to another trustee; where a cotrustee is unavailable and prompt action is necessary to achieve the trust's purposes or avoid injury to its property, the remaining cotrustee or a majority may act. A trustee may not delegate to a cotrustee a function the settlor reasonably expected the trustees to perform jointly, and may revoke a revocable delegation. A trustee who does not join in another trustee's action is not liable for it, but each trustee exercises reasonable care to prevent a cotrustee from committing a serious breach of trust and to compel a cotrustee to redress one; a dissenting trustee who joins an action at the majority's direction and notified a cotrustee of the dissent at or before the time of the action is not liable unless the action is a serious breach. A trustee keeps each cotrustee and other fiduciary reasonably informed about the administration to the extent they lack knowledge of the trustee's actions or other material information reasonably necessary to their duties.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-704 ↗ Vacancy in trusteeship; appointment of successor: A vacancy in a trusteeship occurs when a designated trustee rejects the office, cannot be identified or does not exist, resigns, is disqualified or removed, dies, or has a conservator appointed. Where a cotrustee remains, the vacancy need not be filled; where no trustee remains, it must be. A noncharitable trust's vacancy is filled, in order, by a person designated in the terms as successor, by a person appointed by unanimous agreement of the qualified beneficiaries, or by a person the court appoints; a charitable trust's by the designated successor, by a person the designated charitable organizations select if the attorney general does not object within 30 days of notice, or by the court. Whether or not a vacancy exists, the court may appoint an additional trustee or special fiduciary whenever it considers the appointment necessary for the administration.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-705 ↗ Resignation of trustee: A trustee may resign on at least 30 days' notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the settlor if living, and all cotrustees, or with the court's approval; in approving a resignation the court may issue orders and impose conditions reasonably necessary to protect the trust property; a resigning trustee's liability, and that of the sureties on the trustee's bond, for acts or omissions is not discharged or affected by the resignation.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-706 ↗ Removal of trustee: The settlor, a cotrustee or a qualified beneficiary may request the court to remove a trustee, and the court may remove one on its own initiative — where the trustee committed a serious breach of trust; lack of cooperation among cotrustees substantially impairs the administration; unfitness, unwillingness or persistent failure to administer effectively makes removal best serve the beneficiaries' interests; or there has been a substantial change of circumstances or all qualified beneficiaries request removal, the court finds it best serves all the beneficiaries and is not inconsistent with a material purpose, and a suitable cotrustee or successor is available. Pending a decision, or instead of or in addition to removal, the court may order relief under § 35-15-1001(b) to protect the trust property or the beneficiaries' interests.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-707 ↗ Delivery of property by former trustee; petition for release: Unless a cotrustee remains in office or the court orders otherwise, and until the trust property is delivered to a successor trustee or other person entitled to it, a trustee who has resigned or been removed has the duties of a trustee and the powers necessary to protect the trust property, and delivers the property within the trustee's possession to the cotrustee, successor or other person entitled within a reasonable time; before delivering it, the departing trustee may petition the court for approval of its accountings and a release and discharge from liability as § 35-15-205 allows.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-708 ↗ Compensation of trustees, trust advisors and trust protectors: If the terms of a trust do not specify a trustee's, trust advisor's or trust protector's compensation, and the settlor if living, or otherwise a majority of the qualified beneficiaries, have not agreed otherwise, the trustee, advisor or protector is entitled to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances. If the terms specify it, the trustee, advisor or protector is compensated as specified, but the court may allow more or less where the duties are substantially different from those contemplated when the trust was created or the specified compensation would be unreasonably low or high. The court's factors include the size of the trust, the nature and number of the assets, the income produced, the time and responsibility required, the expertise required, any management or sale of real property or closely held business interests, any litigation to protect the property, and other relevant factors. Subject to the court's authority, the fees in the published fee schedule of a trustee, advisor or protector regulated by the department of financial institutions, another state's equivalent, the office of the comptroller of the currency or the office of thrift supervision are presumed reasonable unless the terms provide otherwise.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-709 ↗ Reimbursement of expenses: A trustee, trust advisor or trust protector is reimbursed out of the trust property, with interest as appropriate, for expenses properly incurred in the administration and, to the extent necessary to prevent unjust enrichment of the trust, for expenses not properly incurred; an advance of money by the trustee, advisor, protector or a designee acting to preserve the property gives rise to a lien on the trust property for reimbursement with reasonable interest, and a failure to reimburse gives rise to a lien on all trust property for the sums due for services, expenses, advances and the costs of enforcement. A trustee may pay properly incurred expenses directly from the trust estate, including attorney's fees and expenses in defense of an action against the trustee, without limiting the court's power to prevent further disbursement, demand immediate reimbursement to the trust, or make an award under Part 10.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-710 ↗ Directed trusts: Where the terms of the trust, a nonjudicial settlement agreement, an exercise of the authority in § 35-15-716 or a court order requires a trustee, trust advisor or trust protector to follow the direction of a trust advisor, trust protector or trustee, and the directed person acts in accordance with the direction, the directed trustee, advisor or protector is treated as an excluded fiduciary.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-711 ↗ Directed trusts: accepting or declining a fiduciary appointment: A trust advisor, trust protector or other fiduciary other than a cotrustee accepts its appointment in the manner § 35-15-701(a) provides for a trustee, may reject it as § 35-15-701(b) provides, and may, without accepting, carry out the preserving and inspecting activities § 35-15-701(c) allows a designated trustee.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-712 ↗ Directed trusts: fiduciary's bond: The bond rules of § 35-15-702 apply to trust advisors, trust protectors and other fiduciaries other than cotrustees; in exercising its powers the court considers the powers, duties and liabilities of each such fiduciary and whether any is an excluded fiduciary.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-713 ↗ Vacancy in the office of trust advisor or trust protector: Except as the terms provide otherwise, on obtaining knowledge of a vacancy in the office of trust advisor or trust protector the trustee is vested with any fiduciary power or duty that would otherwise be the trustee's but was vested in the advisor or protector, until the vacancy is filled — in the manner a vacancy in trusteeship is filled under § 35-15-704(c) or (d), with the court's power under § 35-15-704(e); the trustee is not liable for failing to exercise or assume such a power or duty for the 60 days immediately after obtaining knowledge of the vacancy.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-714 ↗ Directed trusts: resignation of fiduciary: A trust advisor, trust protector or other fiduciary other than a cotrustee may resign in the manner § 35-15-705 provides for a trustee; the court considers the fiduciary's powers, duties and liabilities and whether it is an excluded fiduciary.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-715 ↗ Directed trusts: removal of fiduciary: A trust advisor, trust protector or other fiduciary other than a cotrustee may be removed in the manner § 35-15-706 provides for a trustee; the court considers the fiduciary's powers, duties and liabilities and whether it is an excluded fiduciary.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-716 ↗ Appointment of successor and additional fiduciaries; allocation of powers; excluded fiduciaries: The power to appoint a successor trustee under a trust instrument includes the power to appoint multiple successor trustees, trust protectors and trust advisors, and an exercisable power to remove and replace a trustee includes the power to appoint additional ones to serve with an existing trustee — with the power to allocate various powers, including the power to direct or prevent certain actions, exclusively to one or more of them. The instrument's provisions generally applicable to trustees — qualifications, resignation, removal, standard of care, indemnification, compensation, and the restrictions and immunities on their powers — apply to the trustees, protectors and advisors so appointed. Where an appointment confers a power on one fiduciary to the exclusion of another, the duties and liabilities of the excluded fiduciaries and of the holder are as §§ 35-15-1204 and 35-15-1205 state. An appointment that modifies an existing fiduciary's duties takes effect 30 days after the existing fiduciaries receive written notice detailing the changes, unless they waive the notice. The section is available to any trust administered in or governed by the law of Tennessee unless the instrument expressly provides otherwise.

Part 8: Duties and powers of trustee

Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-801 ↗ Duty to administer trust: On acceptance of a trusteeship, the trustee administers the trust — until the trust terminates or a successor is appointed and all assets are delivered — in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries, and in accordance with the chapter.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-802 ↗ Duty of loyalty: A trustee administers the trust solely in the interests of the beneficiaries as the terms define their interests. A sale, encumbrance or other transaction involving the investment or management of trust property entered into by the trustee 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 § 35-15-1005 allows, the beneficiary consented, ratified or released under § 35-15-1009, or the transaction involves a contract or claim the trustee acquired before contemplating the trusteeship. A conflict is presumed for a transaction with the trustee's spouse, descendants, siblings, parents or their spouses, an agent or attorney of the trustee, or an enterprise in which the trustee or a significant owner of the trustee has an interest that might affect the trustee's judgment. A transaction between the trustee and a beneficiary not concerning trust property, from which the trustee obtains an advantage, is voidable unless the trustee proves it fair; a transaction concerning an opportunity properly belonging to the trust involves a conflict. A fiduciary may deal with an affiliate or an affiliated investment, delegate to an affiliate, and receive its compensation where fairly priced and disclosed as the section states, without a presumed conflict. In voting shares the trustee acts in the beneficiaries' best interests. The section does not preclude, if fair to the beneficiaries, an agreement with a beneficiary on the trustee's appointment or compensation, payment of reasonable compensation, a transaction with another trust or estate of which the trustee is a fiduciary, a deposit in a regulated institution the trustee operates, or an advance for the trust's protection; the court may appoint a special fiduciary to decide a proposed transaction.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-803 ↗ Impartiality: Where a trust has two or more beneficiaries, the trustee acts impartially in investing, managing and distributing the trust property, giving due regard to the beneficiaries' respective interests.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-804 ↗ Prudent administration: A trustee administers the trust as a prudent person would, by considering the purposes, terms, distributional requirements and other circumstances of the trust, exercising reasonable care, skill and caution.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-805 ↗ Costs of administration: In administering a trust, the trustee may incur only costs that are reasonable in relation to the trust property, the purposes of the trust and the skills of the trustee.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-806 ↗ Trustee's skills: A trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is named trustee in reliance on the trustee's representation of special skills or expertise, uses those skills or expertise.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-807 ↗ Delegation by trustee: A trustee may delegate duties and powers that a prudent trustee of comparable skills could properly delegate under the circumstances, exercising reasonable care, skill and caution in selecting the agent, establishing the scope and terms of the delegation consistent with the purposes and terms of the trust, and periodically reviewing the agent's actions to monitor performance and compliance. The agent owes the trust a duty to exercise reasonable care to comply with the terms of the delegation; a trustee who complies is not liable to the beneficiaries for an act performed or omitted under written directions, or to the trust for the agent's action; by accepting a delegation from a trustee subject to Tennessee law, the agent submits to the jurisdiction of Tennessee's courts.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-808 ↗ Powers to direct; transitional provisions: While a trust is revocable, the trustee may follow a direction of the settlor contrary to the terms of the trust or to the trustee's normal practice. Where the terms, a nonjudicial settlement agreement or a court order confer on a person other than the settlor of a revocable trust a power to direct certain actions of the trustee, the trustee acts in accordance with an exercise of the power; the terms may confer a power to direct the modification or termination of the trust. A nonbeneficiary who holds a power in reliance on the former §§ 35-3-122 and 35-3-123 is a fiduciary who acts in good faith and is liable for a breach, the trustee being protected as those sections provide. A person who holds a power to direct under Part 12 is a trust advisor, trust protector or both, subject to Part 12's duties and protections. Powers held under the former sections before July 1, 2013 remain subject to them; Part 12 is the exclusive method to create a directed trust for instruments entered into, made irrevocable or amended as to such a power on or after July 1, 2013.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-809 ↗ Control and protection of trust property: A trustee takes reasonable steps to take control of and protect the trust property.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-810 ↗ Recordkeeping and identification of trust property: A trustee keeps adequate records of the administration of the trust; keeps trust property separate from the trustee's own property; and causes the trust property to be designated so that the trust's interest, to the extent feasible, appears in records maintained by a party other than a trustee or beneficiary — except that a trustee who keeps records clearly indicating the respective interests may invest as a whole the property of two or more separate trusts. A trust apportioned into separate shares for a beneficiary or a related group is treated as separate trusts for all purposes of the chapter, even though the shares may be commingled for investment and tax reporting.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-811 ↗ Enforcement and defense of claims: A trustee takes reasonable steps to enforce claims of the trust and to defend claims against the trust, and may abandon, or assign to the beneficiaries holding it, a claim the trustee believes unreasonable to enforce.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-812 ↗ 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; a successor trustee appointed after the examination of a trustee's accounts, or the beneficiaries' waiver of the examination, is not responsible for the prior trustee's acts and omissions.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-813 ↗ Duty to inform and report: A trustee keeps the beneficiaries who are current mandatory or permissible distributees of trust income or principal reasonably informed about the administration of the trust and of the material facts necessary for them to protect their interests — a separate share's trustee informing that share's beneficiaries — and, unless unreasonable under the circumstances, responds in a reasonable amount of time to a qualified beneficiary's request for information related to the administration, the qualified beneficiary reimbursing the reasonable expenses of responding; the same duties run to a nonfiduciary holder of a power of appointment. The trustee of an irrevocable or nongrantor trust, within 60 days after the acceptance and the funding of the trust — nominal funding for the trust to have corpus and the depositing of insurance policies on the life of a living person excluded — notifies each current income beneficiary, each vested ultimate beneficiary of a remainder interest and each nonfiduciary holder of a power of appointment that the trust has been established, by first-class mail or personal delivery, with either a complete copy of the document establishing the trust together with the trustee's name, address and telephone number or an abstract of the trust, in the trustee's absolute discretion; the abstract contains each trustee's name, address and telephone number and, for a current income beneficiary, the number of other current income beneficiaries, whether income distributions are required or discretionary, whether principal may be distributed and for what purposes, an estimate of the trust's value from which distributions may be made and an estimate of the income distributable to the beneficiary; for a remainder beneficiary, the number of other remainder beneficiaries, an estimate of the trust's value and the conditions to distribution; and for a power holder, the information necessary or beneficial to deciding whether to exercise the power. On the termination of a current income interest, the takers receive the same notice. A beneficiary, or a nonfiduciary power holder, may waive the right to a report or other information and withdraw the waiver as to the future; a report to a beneficiary's representative under § 35-15-303 has the same effect as one to the beneficiary. The information and notice duties do not apply to the extent the terms of the trust provide otherwise, or the settlor, or a trust protector or trust advisor holding the power, directs otherwise in a writing delivered to the trustee — a settlor's direction revoked on the settlor's death or incapacity unless it says otherwise, an advisor's or protector's effective only while the author serves, the settlor's prevailing in a conflict; a settlor may designate a representative to receive the reports, and where a direction withholds reports from a beneficiary without naming a representative, the trustee sends the information to the settlor, advisor or protector. The duty to keep the distributees informed and the notice do not apply to a trust that became irrevocable before July 1, 2004. A trustee bound by written confidentiality restrictions on an asset may require a beneficiary to agree in writing to them before receiving information about it. A trust advisor, trust protector or other designated fiduciary keeps each excluded fiduciary reasonably informed about the administration of its duty or function and about any material information the excluded fiduciary would have to disclose to the beneficiaries, without affecting the excluded fiduciary's limitation of liability under Part 12.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-814 ↗ Exercise of powers over discretionary and other interests; tax savings: "Improper motive" means action such as a trustee-beneficiary refusing or limiting distributions to other beneficiaries out of self-interest, or a trustee restricted by an ascertainable standard distributing beyond it to themself. Unless the trust provides otherwise, where the settlor's living spouse is a beneficiary of a support trust the trustee considers the spouse's resources, including the settlor's obligation of support, before distributing; in all other cases the trustee need not consider a beneficiary's resources. A discretionary interest is neither a property interest nor an enforceable right but a mere expectancy; a court may review the trustee's distribution discretion only where the trustee acts dishonestly, acts with an improper motive, or fails to act when under a duty to act; no reasonableness standard applies, and apart from those three circumstances and the limits of subsection (d) a court has no jurisdiction to review the discretion or force a distribution; where the language permits unequal distributions or exclusion, the trustee may distribute all accumulated income and principal to one beneficiary. A beneficiary of a mandatory or support interest has an enforceable right to a distribution on a court's review, and the trustee's decision may be reviewed for unreasonableness, dishonesty, improper motivation or failure to act, a support interest never becoming a property interest. Unless the terms expressly say otherwise, a beneficiary-trustee other than the settlor may exercise a discretionary power for the trustee's own benefit only in accordance with an ascertainable standard, and no trustee may exercise a discretionary power to satisfy a personal legal obligation of support — a limited power being exercisable by a majority of the remaining trustees or a special fiduciary; the limits do not apply to a settlor's spouse trustee of a marital-deduction trust, a trust while revocable, or a trust qualifying for the § 2503(c) annual exclusion.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-815 ↗ General powers of trustee: A trustee, without authorization by the court, may exercise the powers conferred by the terms of the trust and, except as the terms limit them, all powers over the trust property that 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 of Part 8.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-816 ↗ Specific powers of trustee: A will's or trust's reference incorporating the powers of § 35-50-110 incorporates the powers of this section. Unless the instrument expressly provides otherwise, and without limiting § 35-15-815, a trustee may: collect trust property and accept or reject additions; acquire or sell property for cash or on credit; exchange, partition or change the character of property; deposit trust money in a regulated financial-service institution; borrow money and mortgage or pledge trust property; continue a business and act as its owners may, including merging or dissolving it; exercise an absolute owner's rights over securities, including voting, holding in a nominee's name and depositing them; construct, repair, improve, subdivide or develop real property and grant easements; lease as lessor or lessee, natural-resource leases included; grant and acquire options; insure the property and the trustee, agents and beneficiaries against liability; abandon property of insufficient value; inspect, remedy, decline, compromise and pay for environmental matters; pay or contest claims and settle or release them; pay taxes, assessments, the compensation of the trustee, employees and agents, and the expenses of administration; make tax elections; select a mode of payment under benefit plans, annuities and life insurance; make loans, including to a beneficiary, with a lien on future distributions; pledge trust property to guarantee a beneficiary's loan; appoint an ancillary trustee in another jurisdiction; pay an amount distributable to a beneficiary under a disability directly, to a conservator, guardian or custodian, to a relative or custodian, or as a separate fund; distribute in divided or undivided interests and allocate assets in shares, adjusting for valuation and basis; resolve a dispute by mediation, arbitration or another alternative procedure; prosecute or defend actions to protect the property and the trustee; sign contracts and instruments; and, on termination, wind up the administration and distribute the property.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-817 ↗ Distribution on termination, removal or resignation; discharge notice: On an event terminating or partially terminating a trust, or on the trustee's removal or resignation, the trustee proceeds to distribute the trust property to the persons entitled to it within a reasonable time, subject to the right to retain a reasonable reserve for the payment of debts, expenses, attorney fees and taxes. A trustee may send a notice seeking to be relieved from liability: it includes a statement of the fair market value of the trust's assets and its known liabilities as of a date not more than 30 days before the notice; a statement of the trust's receipts with their sources and amounts, each disbursement with its recipient — distributions, fees, expenses and taxes — and a reasonable estimate of the remaining fees and costs, for a period beginning at the latest of the trustee's acceptance, the end of the last court-approved accounting period or the end of a prior unobjected notice's period, ending not more than 30 days before the notice and covering at most three years; the period's dates; a proposal for distribution; notice of the termination, resignation or removal; notice that claims under §§ 35-15-604 and 35-15-1005 are barred if no objection specifically referencing the notice is received in writing within 45 days after receipt; and the contact details of the trustee or a corporate trustee's representative. The notice goes to the living grantor, each qualified beneficiary or conflict-free representative, and all other then-serving trustees, trust advisors and trust protectors, and may go to any other person the trustee reasonably believes has an interest. A recipient's right to object ends if the recipient does not notify the trustee in writing within 45 days after receipt, with reasonable specificity — a general objection is disregarded. Where no timely objection is made, the trustee distributes as the proposal provides within a reasonable time and is relieved from liability for its most recent continuous period of service, and the recipients are barred from contesting the validity of the trust (except as § 35-15-604 provides), from a breach-of-trust claim against the trustee with the preclusive effect of a court-approved account under § 35-15-205, and from a claim against a cotrustee, advisor or protector for failing to object. A written statement of no objection may be relied on at once; a timely objection may be resolved by nonjudicial settlement agreement or by judicial relief under § 35-15-205, and may be withdrawn in writing. Where confirmation of receipt is unavailable, the notice is presumed received five business days after mailing. The section does not preclude a court review under § 35-15-205, and a vacancy in the office of a successor or other trustee entitled to the property does not change the notice and time periods.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-818 ↗ Trustee's power to appoint in trust (decanting): Unless the instrument expressly provides otherwise, a trustee with authority under a testamentary instrument or an irrevocable inter vivos trust to invade principal for one or more proper objects may instead appoint all or part of the principal in favor of the trustee of a second trust, where the exercise does not reduce an income interest in a marital-deduction, charitable remainder or grantor retained annuity or unitrust trust and is in favor of the proper objects; the second trust may have only beneficiaries of the first, may not accelerate a future beneficiary's interest during the settlor's life but may after the death; a trustee-beneficiary may not exercise the power where the original trust gives the trustee no discretion to distribute to itself, limits it by an ascertainable standard the second trust lacks, requires a consent the second trust does not, or limits distributions discharging the trustee's support obligations; the exercise is by a signed written instrument filed with the trust's records, may not extend the rule against perpetuities' period, is an exercise of a power of appointment other than to the trustee or the trustee's creditors or estate, may confer a power of appointment on a beneficiary with appointees outside the trusts, may not reduce an annual exclusion, marital, charitable, direct-skip or other tax benefit the original contribution claimed, and may not move S-corporation stock to a trust that is not a permitted shareholder; the section applies to any trust administered in Tennessee; and the trustee may exercise the power by modifying or restating the trust instrument, without retitling property or changing a beneficiary designation.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-819 ↗ Trustee discretion for settlor tax reimbursement: Unless the instrument expressly provides that the settlor is not to be reimbursed, where the settlor is treated under the federal grantor-trust rules as the owner of all or part of the trust, a disinterested trustee in its sole discretion — or another trustee at the direction of a trust advisor or trust protector who would be treated as a disinterested trustee and holds the power to direct discretionary distributions — may reimburse the settlor for the settlor's income tax liability attributable to the inclusion of the trust's income, gains, deductions and credits in the settlor's taxable income, paying the settlor directly or the taxing authority on the settlor's behalf; no settlor or other person may compel the exercise or agree about it; no life policy on the settlor, its cash value or a loan on it may be used; and neither the power nor its exercise makes the settlor a beneficiary. The section does not apply where it would disqualify or reduce a marital, charitable or other tax benefit; the power is exercisable on and after December 31, 2025 for trusts existing before, on and after that date; the holder may renounce it in writing, permanently; and no one is liable for exercising or not exercising the power or the renunciation.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-820 ↗ Closely held business interest; managerial limited liability: When acting in a managerial capacity for a closely held business — as a director, officer, manager, general partner or other controlling person — a trustee, trust advisor or trust protector is not liable for a resulting loss or failure to maximize returns where the fiduciary is an excluded fiduciary acting on a valid direction, or acts in good faith, with the care a person in a like business position would reasonably believe appropriate, reasonably believing the action is in the best interest of the trust and its beneficiaries, and without an improper motive as § 35-15-814(a)(1)(A) defines it; a court does not find the standard unmet merely because it would have exercised the discretion differently. The section applies whether or not the fiduciary receives compensation from the trust or the business, provided the compensation is reasonable, disclosed and not prohibited by the terms; it does not limit the court's authority under Part 10 for an unprotected breach, and does not alter the investment duties the Tennessee Uniform Prudent Investor Act imposes, the duty to diversify included.

Part 9: The Uniform Principal and Income Act and the Uniform Prudent Investor Act, incorporated

Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-901 ↗ Uniform Principal and Income Act and Uniform Prudent Investor Act incorporated: Title 35, Chapter 6 (the Uniform Principal and Income Act) and Chapter 14 (the Tennessee Uniform Prudent Investor Act of 2002) are incorporated in the Tennessee Uniform Trust Code by reference.

Part 10: Liability of trustees and rights of persons dealing with a trustee

Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1001 ↗ Remedies for breach of trust: A violation by a trustee of a duty the trustee owes to a beneficiary is a breach of trust. To remedy a breach that has occurred or may occur, the court may compel the trustee to perform the trustee's duties; enjoin a breach; compel the trustee to redress a breach by paying money, restoring property or other means; order an accounting; appoint a special fiduciary to take possession of the trust property and administer the trust; suspend the trustee; remove the trustee under § 35-15-706; reduce or deny compensation; subject to § 35-15-1012, void an act of the trustee, impose a lien or a constructive trust on trust property, or trace and recover property wrongfully disposed of; or order any other appropriate relief.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1002 ↗ Damages for breach of trust: Except as § 35-3-117(a)–(d) provides for the investment of trust funds or the chapter provides elsewhere, a trustee who commits a breach of trust is liable to the affected beneficiaries for the greater of the amount required to restore the value of the trust property and distributions to what they would have been had the breach not occurred, or the profit the trustee made by reason of the breach. A trustee liable with others is entitled to contribution, except a trustee substantially more at fault, one who acted in bad faith or with reckless indifference, or, to the extent of a benefit received, one who benefited from the breach.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1003 ↗ Damages in absence of breach: Absent a breach of trust, a trustee is not liable to a beneficiary for a loss or depreciation in the value of trust property or for not having made a profit.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1004 ↗ Attorney's fees and costs: In a judicial proceeding involving the administration of a trust, the court, as justice and equity may require, may award costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees, to any party, to be paid by another party or from the trust; in a nonjudicial proceeding the trustee may pay fees and reasonable costs from the trust assets where all parties agree in writing; in a mediation or arbitration the mediator or arbitrator may award fees and costs against the trust's assets.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1005 ↗ Limitation of action for breach of trust: A beneficiary, trustee, trust advisor or trust protector may not commence a proceeding against a trustee, former trustee, trust advisor or trust protector for breach of trust more than one year after the earlier of the date the person, or a representative, was sent information that adequately disclosed facts indicating the existence of a potential claim for breach of trust, or the date the person or representative possessed actual knowledge of such facts; facts indicate a potential claim where they give sufficient information to have actual knowledge of it, to be presumed to know of it, or to know that an additional inquiry is necessary. Where the one-year rule does not apply, a judicial proceeding is commenced within three years after the first of the removal, resignation or death of the trustee, advisor or protector, the termination of the beneficiary's interest, or the termination of the trust. No trustee, advisor or protector may sue where no beneficiary could; no proceeding lies for a matter covered by a final accounting the court approved under § 35-15-205 or by a notice under § 35-15-817 whose requirements were met and to which no timely objection was made. A person is deemed to have actual knowledge of information accessible through electronic means where the person consented in a record to receive information electronically and the means of access were provided in the record or the access was actually used.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1006 ↗ 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.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1007 ↗ Event affecting administration or distribution: Where the happening of an event — marriage, divorce, performance of educational requirements or death among them — affects the administration or distribution of a trust, a trustee who exercised reasonable care to ascertain the happening of the event is not liable for a loss resulting from the trustee's lack of knowledge.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1008 ↗ Exculpation of trustee: A trust provision relieving a trustee of liability for breach of trust is unenforceable to the extent 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 the trustee's abuse of a fiduciary or confidential relationship to the settlor; an exculpatory term the trustee drafted or caused to be drafted is invalid as such an abuse unless the trustee proves it fair under the circumstances and adequately communicated to the settlor.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1009 ↗ Beneficiary's consent, release or ratification: A trustee is not liable to a beneficiary for breach of trust where the beneficiary consented in writing to the conduct, released the trustee from liability for the breach, or ratified the transaction — unless the consent, release or ratification was induced by the trustee's improper conduct, or the beneficiary did not know of the beneficiary's rights or of the material facts relating to the breach.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1010 ↗ Limitation on personal liability of trustee: Except as the contract provides otherwise, a trustee is not personally liable on a contract properly entered into in the fiduciary capacity in the course of administering the trust if the trustee disclosed the fiduciary capacity in the contract; the debts, obligations and liabilities a trustee incurs by reason of the ownership, management or control of trust property are enforceable solely against the trust and its property; a trustee is personally liable for a tort committed in the course of administering the trust only where personally at fault on account of the trustee's own willful misconduct proven by clear and convincing evidence; and 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.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1011 ↗ Interest as general partner: A trustee who holds an interest as a general partner is not personally liable on a contract the partnership entered into after the trust acquired the interest where the fiduciary capacity was disclosed in the contract or a filed statement, nor for the partnership's torts or obligations of ownership unless personally at fault by willful misconduct proven by clear and convincing evidence; the immunity does not apply to an interest the trustee holds in another capacity, and the settlor of a revocable trust whose trustee holds a general partner's interest is personally liable as if a general partner.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1012 ↗ 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 trustee properly exercised the power; such a person is not required to inquire into the extent of the trustee's powers or the propriety of their exercise; a person who in good faith delivers assets to a trustee need not ensure their proper application; and a person who in good faith assists or deals with a former trustee without knowledge that the trusteeship has terminated is protected as if the former trustee were still a trustee. Comparable protections of the commercial-transaction and securities laws prevail over the section.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1013 ↗ Certification of trust: Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to evidence the trust's existence and validity, the trustee may furnish a certification of trust, signed by the trustee or trustees having signatory authority and attested by a notary public, containing an affirmation of the trust's existence and the date it came into existence; the identity of the settlors, the currently acting trustees and the named successor trustees, or a statement that no successor is named; the trustee's administrative or managerial powers; the trust's revocability or irrevocability and the identity of any person holding a power to revoke; where there are multiple trustees, the signature authority indicating whether all or fewer than all must sign to exercise various powers; where successors are designated, the conditions of their succession or a statement that a third party may rely on a successor's authority without proof of succession; the trust's identification number only if it is essential to the transaction for which the request was made; the manner in which trust assets should be titled; and a statement that, to the best of the trustee's knowledge, the trust has not been revoked, modified or amended in any manner that would make the representations incorrect. The certification need not contain the dispositive provisions; the trustee may provide copies of all or part of the instrument and amendments without any obligation to. A person who acts in reliance on a certification without actual knowledge that its representations are incorrect is not liable for so acting, may assume the facts it contains without inquiry, and is indemnified from the trust for the costs of an action over the transaction; actual knowledge is not inferred merely from holding a copy of the instrument. Failing to request a certification affects no protection and raises no inference of bad faith or negligence; a third party is not required to contract with a trustee on a certification and may demand additional information to clarify an ambiguity; the section does not limit a person's right to obtain the instrument in a judicial proceeding.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1014 ↗ Enforcement of no-contest, in terrorem or forfeiture provisions: A no-contest provision — one that would reduce or eliminate the interest of a beneficiary who contests the validity or terms of the trust, seeks to set aside or vary its terms, challenges the acts of the trustee or another fiduciary, or otherwise acts to frustrate the settlor's intent — is enforceable according to its express terms without regard to the beneficiary's good or bad faith, unless probable cause exists for the action on the grounds of fraud, duress, revocation, lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, mistake, forgery or irregularity in the execution of the instrument. The rule does not reach an action solely to challenge a fiduciary's actual breach of duty, an action by a trustee or other fiduciary who is not a beneficiary, a settlement agreement among the beneficiaries, an action to determine whether a proceeding is a contest, an action for construction or interpretation, or the attorney general's action for a charitable trust; courts enforce the settlor's intent as the provision reflects it to the greatest extent possible.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1015 ↗ Limitation on personal liability of beneficiaries: A beneficiary of a trust is not personally liable for the liabilities of third persons incurred in or arising from the administration of the trust, or otherwise imposed on the holder of title to the property, including liabilities from contracts the trustee made or torts the trustee committed in the course of the administration.

Part 11: Miscellaneous provisions

Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1101 ↗ No consideration given to the need to promote uniformity: The Uniform Principal and Income Act (Chapter 6), the Tennessee Uniform Prudent Investor Act of 2002 (Chapter 14) and the Tennessee Uniform Trust Code (Chapter 15) were each extensively and deliberately modified from the uniform acts the Uniform Law Commission drafted; in applying and construing Title 35, no consideration is given to the need to promote uniformity with other states, and, unless a chapter specifically provides otherwise, courts do not consult, rely on or give persuasive value to the uniform acts, other states' versions of them or their comments, none of which has any force or effect for trusts governed by Tennessee law.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1102 ↗ Electronic records and signatures: The chapter's provisions governing the legal effect, validity or enforceability of electronic records and signatures conform to § 102 of the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act and supersede, modify and limit its requirements; the execution of an inter vivos trust instrument, a document transferring an asset to or from a trust, or a consent, release, ratification, modification, termination or settlement agreement under §§ 35-15-109, 35-15-111, 35-15-411 or 35-15-412 is a transaction for the purposes of the Tennessee Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1103 ↗ Application to existing relationships: On July 1, 2004, the chapter applied to all trusts created before, on or after that date and to all judicial proceedings commenced on or after it, and to proceedings commenced before it unless the court finds that a particular provision would substantially interfere with their effective conduct or prejudice the parties' rights; its rules of construction and presumptions apply to instruments executed before that date unless the terms clearly indicate a contrary intent; an act done before that date is not affected; and a right acquired, extinguished or barred on the expiration of a period that began to run under another statute before that date continues to be governed by that statute.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1104 ↗ Alter ego: Absent clear and convincing evidence, no settlor of an irrevocable trust may be deemed the alter ego of its trustee; none of the dominion-and-control factors of § 35-15-1105, isolated occurrences of the settlor signing checks or documents as if a fiduciary, requests for distributions on behalf of beneficiaries, or requests to the trustee to hold, purchase or sell property, alone or in combination, is sufficient evidence that the settlor controls the trustee or is the trustee's alter ego.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1105 ↗ Dominion and control over a trust: Where a person challenges a settlor's or beneficiary's influence over a trust, none of the listed factors, alone or in combination, enters into a determination that dominion and control exists — among them the settlor or a beneficiary serving as a trustee, advisor, protector or other fiduciary; holding an unrestricted power to remove or replace one; managing an entity the trust holds an interest in; the appointment of a relative, agent, accountant, attorney, financial advisor, friend or business associate as a fiduciary; a beneficiary's power of appointment; the settlor's power to substitute property of equivalent value; a fiduciary's power to lend to the settlor on favorable terms; discretionary distribution language; a single current beneficiary; or a beneficiary serving as a cotrustee, advisor or protector.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1106 ↗ Confidential trust information in court filings: Confidential information related to trusts contained in court filings and orders may be redacted or filed under seal without a prior court order, so long as unredacted copies are promptly provided in camera to the court and to all qualified beneficiaries and the trustee and qualified beneficiaries consent, where the matter involves no third parties, concerns only the trustee and the qualified beneficiaries, and relates to the validity, construction and administration of a trust; once redacted or sealed, the information stays so in later filings. A court may order production for cause shown; a compelling interest in sealing is presumed for trust matters, rebuttable where a public entity would benefit from secrecy, the information is of public concern, or it matters to other litigation. Confidential information includes trust instruments, settlement and modification agreements, resolutions, inventories, accountings and reports; the names and addresses of settlors, trustees and beneficiaries; dispositive terms; corporate records relating to trusts; and personally identifying information.

Part 12: Trust advisors and trust protectors (directed trusts)

Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1201 ↗ Powers of trust advisors and trust protectors: A trust protector or trust advisor is any person, or a committee, other than a trustee, who under the terms of the trust, a nonjudicial settlement agreement or a court order has a power or duty with respect to a trust — among them the power to modify or amend the instrument to achieve favorable tax status or respond to tax-law changes, or to take advantage of changes in the rule against perpetuities and other state laws; to appoint a successor advisor or protector; to review and approve a trustee's reports or accountings; to change the governing law or principal place of administration; to remove and replace an advisor, protector or trustee for the instrument's reasons and appoint a successor; to consent to a trustee's distribution decisions; to increase or decrease a beneficiary's interest, grant a power of appointment or amend one; to perform a specific duty a trustee would normally perform; to advise the trustee concerning a beneficiary; to consent to or direct investment decisions and the acquisition, disposition or retention of an investment; to appoint under § 35-15-818; to terminate all or part of a trust; to veto or direct a distribution; to borrow and pledge; to make loans, including to a beneficiary; to vote proxies and exercise ownership rights; to select investment advisors and delegate to them; and to direct the trustee on additional investment and management powers. A power is exercised in the advisor's or protector's sole and absolute discretion and binds all other persons; a power to modify may be granted notwithstanding §§ 35-15-410 to 35-15-412 and 35-15-414; an excluded fiduciary may continue to follow a direction after the grantor's incapacity or death as the instrument provides; no modification of a wholly charitable trust may grant a noncharitable interest.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1202 ↗ Trust advisors and trust protectors as fiduciaries: A trust advisor or trust protector, other than a beneficiary, is a fiduciary with respect to each power granted to it and, in exercising or refraining from exercising a power, acts in good faith and in accordance with the terms and purposes of the trust and the interests of the beneficiaries; an advisor or protector is an excluded fiduciary, whether or not serving in a fiduciary capacity, with respect to each power granted or reserved exclusively to another trustee, advisor or protector; and an advisor or protector specifically appointed in a nonfiduciary capacity is liable only for acting in bad faith or with reckless indifference.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1203 ↗ Trust advisor and trust protector subject to court jurisdiction: By accepting appointment, a trust advisor or trust protector submits personally to the jurisdiction of Tennessee's courts, even where an investment advisory or related agreement provides otherwise, and may be made a party to any action relating to the advisor's or protector's decision, action or inaction.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1204 ↗ No duty to review the actions of a trustee, trust advisor or trust protector: Where, under the terms of a trust, an agreement of the qualified beneficiaries or a court order, an excluded fiduciary is to follow the direction of a trustee, trust advisor or trust protector on investment, distribution or other decisions, the excluded fiduciary — except as the terms, the agreement or the order provide otherwise — has no duty to review, evaluate, investigate or otherwise monitor the directing fiduciary's conduct, to make recommendations or provide advice to or consult with it, or to communicate with, warn or apprise any beneficiary or third party about instances in which the excluded fiduciary would have exercised its own discretion differently. Absent contrary provisions, the excluded fiduciary's actions within the directing fiduciary's authority — confirming that directions were carried out, and recording and reporting the directed actions or other information under § 35-15-813 — are administrative actions taken solely to perform the excluded fiduciary's own duties, and neither they nor the excluded fiduciary's communications with the directing fiduciary or its agents are an undertaking to monitor or participate.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1205 ↗ Fiduciary's liability for the action or inaction of a trustee, trust advisor or trust protector: An excluded fiduciary is not liable, individually or as a fiduciary, for any loss resulting from compliance with a direction of a trustee, trust advisor or trust protector — a loss from the director's breach of fiduciary responsibilities or act beyond its authority included — for any loss resulting from a director's action or inaction, or for a loss resulting from the director's failure to take an action the excluded fiduciary proposed that required the director's authorization, provided that an excluded fiduciary who had a duty to propose the action timely sought but failed to obtain the authorization.

Part 13: Special purpose entity

Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-15-1301 ↗ Special purpose entity: A special purpose entity — a Tennessee corporation or limited liability company established for the exclusive purpose of acting as a trust protector or trust advisor under § 35-15-1201 for trusts in which a family member of a designated ancestor is grantor or beneficiary and a corporate trustee serves — is not subject to the banking titles regulating fiduciary activity where it is not engaged in trust company business, does not hold itself out as a fiduciary for hire, files an annual report with the secretary of state, agrees to the department of financial institutions' examination at its own expense, does not use the word "trust" or "trustee" in its name, limits its activities by its governing documents to the functions of a trust protector or trust advisor for the named family, acts as no other fiduciary, and within 60 days of its formation notifies the department of its intention, its organizers, its principal office and its corporate trustees and pays a one-time fee of $1,000. The section defines the family by degrees of lineal and collateral kinship to the designated ancestor, with adopted, step and foster children and spouses' relatives treated as the section states.

General information about Tennessee law, not legal advice.

The Tennessee Uniform Trust Code, section by section

Part 1: General provisions and definitions

Part 2: Judicial proceedings

Part 3: Representation

Part 4: Creation, validity, modification and termination of a trust

Part 5: Creditor's claims; spendthrift and discretionary trusts

Part 6: Revocable trusts

Part 7: Office of trustee; trust advisors and trust protectors

Part 8: Duties and powers of trustee

Part 9: The Uniform Principal and Income Act and the Uniform Prudent Investor Act, incorporated

Part 10: Liability of trustees and rights of persons dealing with a trustee

Part 11: Miscellaneous provisions

Part 12: Trust advisors and trust protectors (directed trusts)

Part 13: Special purpose entity