Терміни трастів Массачусетсу з визначеннями

Звірено із законами Массачусетсу 2026-10-24. Загальна інформація, не юридична консультація; офіційний текст має пріоритет.

Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code

Chapter 203E of the General Laws, known and cited as the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code (G.L. c. 203E, § 101), enacted by an emergency act approved July 8, 2012 that applies it to trusts created before, on or after the act's effective date — except that §§ 408(h), 502(a), 602(a) and 703(a) do not reach an instrument executed before that date. It applies to express trusts, charitable or non-charitable, of a donative nature and to trusts a judgment or decree requires to be administered as express trusts (§ 102); the common law of trusts and principles of equity supplement it except as modified (§ 106), and the terms of a trust prevail over it except for the ten rules § 105(b) lists. Посібник: Обов'язки наступника-довірчого власника у Массачусетсі після смерті

Probate and Family Court

The Probate and Family Court Department of the Trial Court. A proceeding under the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code to appoint or remove a trustee, to approve a trustee's resignation, to review and settle a trustee's accounts or concerning any other matter of a trust's administration may be initiated there by petition, with notice to interested parties as § 109 provides (G.L. c. 203E, § 201(d)); no trust is subject to continuing judicial supervision unless the court orders it (§ 201(b)). The court has jurisdiction concurrent with the Supreme Judicial Court and the Superior Court over matters in which equitable relief is sought relative to trusts created by will or other written instrument (G.L. c. 215, § 6). Посібник: Пробейт у Массачусетсі: пояснення

Settlor

A person, including a testator, who creates or contributes property to a trust; where more than one person does, each is a settlor of the portion of the trust property attributable to that person's contribution, except to the extent another person has the power to revoke or withdraw that portion (G.L. c. 203E, § 103). A trust is created only if, among the other requirements, the settlor has capacity to create it and indicates an intention to create it (§ 402(a)).

Trustee

An original, additional or successor trustee or a co-trustee (G.L. c. 203E, § 103). Upon acceptance of a trusteeship, the trustee administers the trust in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries and in accordance with the chapter (§ 801), as a prudent person would, exercising reasonable care, skill and caution (§ 804). Посібник: Обов'язки наступника-довірчого власника у Массачусетсі після смерті

Successor trustee

The trustee who fills a vacancy — which occurs when a person designated as trustee rejects the trusteeship, cannot be identified or does not exist, or when a trustee resigns, is disqualified or removed, dies, or has a guardian or conservator appointed (G.L. c. 203E, § 704(a)). A vacancy need not be filled while a co-trustee remains in office; one that must be filled is filled by the person the terms of the trust designate as successor trustee, then by a person the qualified beneficiaries appoint by unanimous agreement, then by a person the court appoints (§ 704(b), (c)). A trustee takes reasonable steps to compel a former trustee or other person to deliver the trust property and to redress a breach of trust known to the trustee to have been committed by a former trustee (§ 812). Посібник: Наступник-управитель у Массачусетсі: прийняття ролі

Acceptance of the trusteeship

A person designated as trustee accepts by substantially complying with a method of acceptance provided in the terms of the trust or, where the terms provide none or the method is not expressly made exclusive, by accepting delivery of the trust property, exercising powers or performing duties as trustee or otherwise indicating acceptance (G.L. c. 203E, § 701(a)). Without accepting, a designee may act to preserve the trust property if a rejection is sent within a reasonable time after acting — to the settlor or, if the settlor is dead or lacks capacity, to a qualified beneficiary — and may inspect or investigate the property (§ 701(c)). The acceptance is one of the two dates the trustee's notice counts from (§ 813(b)). Посібник: Наступник-управитель у Массачусетсі: прийняття ролі

Deemed rejection

A person designated as trustee who has not yet accepted may reject the trusteeship, and a designated trustee who does not accept within a reasonable time after knowing of the designation is deemed to have rejected it (G.L. c. 203E, § 701(b)) — the statute counts no days. A rejection by a person designated as trustee creates a vacancy (§ 704(a)(1)), filled in the order § 704(c) sets out. Посібник: Наступник-управитель у Массачусетсі: прийняття ролі

Letters of trusteeship

The Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code provides none for the trustee of a living trust: a trust is not subject to continuing judicial supervision unless the court orders it (G.L. c. 203E, § 201(b)), and instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish a certification of trust (§ 1013(a)). A testamentary trust's principal place of administration is deemed to be the location of the court in which the will creating it was granted informal or formal probate (§ 204), and its trustee furnishes a bond (§ 702).

Beneficiary

A person who has a present or future beneficial interest in a trust, vested or contingent (G.L. c. 203E, § 103). The interests of the beneficiaries are the beneficial interests provided in the terms of the trust (§ 103), and a trustee administers the trust solely in those interests (§ 802(a)).

Distributee and permissible distributee

Words the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code uses without defining them: a qualified beneficiary is one who, on the date of determination, is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal, or would be one if the trust terminated on that date (G.L. c. 203E, § 103), and the trustee's account goes at least annually and at the termination to the distributees and permissible distributees of trust income or principal and to other qualified beneficiaries who request it (§ 813(c)). A charitable organization expressly designated to receive distributions under a charitable trust has a qualified beneficiary's rights on the same test (§ 110(b)).

Qualified beneficiary

A beneficiary who, on the date the beneficiary's qualification is determined, is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal, or would be one if the trust terminated on that date (G.L. c. 203E, § 103). The qualified beneficiaries receive the trustee's notice of name and address (§ 813(b)) and are kept reasonably informed (§ 813(a)); they receive a resignation notice where the trust is not revocable (§ 705(a)), the notice of a proposed transfer of the principal place of administration (§ 108(c)) and notice before an uneconomic trust is terminated or trusts are combined or divided (§§ 414(a), 417), and they may fill a vacancy by unanimous agreement (§ 704(c)).

Request for notice

Whenever the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code requires notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the trustee also gives notice to any other beneficiary who has sent the trustee a request for notice (G.L. c. 203E, § 110(a)). A charitable organization expressly designated to receive distributions under the terms of a charitable trust has the rights of a qualified beneficiary if, on the date of determination, it is a distributee or permissible distributee or would be one if the trust terminated on that date (§ 110(b)), and a person appointed to enforce a trust for the care of an animal or another non-charitable purpose has those rights as well (§ 110(c)).

Representation

Notice to a person who may represent and bind another under article 3 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 becomes effective (G.L. c. 203E, § 301(a), (b)). To the extent there is no conflict of interest, a conservator may represent the estate the conservator controls, a guardian the ward where no conservator has been appointed, an agent with authority over the question the principal, a trustee the beneficiaries, a personal representative the persons interested in the estate, and a parent a minor or unborn child where no conservator or guardian has been appointed (§ 303); a person with a substantially identical interest may represent a minor, incapacitated or unborn individual or a person whose identity or location is unknown and not reasonably ascertainable (§ 304); the holder of a general testamentary power of appointment may represent persons whose interests are subject to it (§ 302); and the court may appoint a guardian ad litem (§ 305).

Revocable trust

A trust that is revocable by the settlor without the consent of the trustee or a person holding an adverse interest (G.L. c. 203E, § 103). Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that it is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend it (§ 602(a)) — a rule that does not reach a trust instrument executed before July 8, 2012 — by a method the terms provide or, if they provide none, by any method manifesting clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent (§ 602(c)). While a trust is revocable and the settlor has capacity to revoke it, the beneficiaries' rights are subject to the settlor's control and the trustee's duties are owed exclusively to the settlor (§ 603(a)). Посібник: Відкличний прижиттєвий траст Массачусетсу: пояснення

Irrevocable trust

A trust that cannot be revoked — because its terms expressly so provide (G.L. c. 203E, § 602(a)) or because the settlor has died. Within 30 days after the trustee's acceptance or the trust's becoming irrevocable, whichever is later, the trustee informs the qualified beneficiaries in writing of the trustee's name and address (§ 813(b)); the account follows at least annually and at the termination (§ 813(c)). The court may approve the modification or termination of a non-charitable irrevocable trust by consent (§ 411). Посібник: Безвідкличний траст у Массачусетсі: пояснення

Trustee's notice of name and address

Massachusetts's one notice at the outset: within 30 days after acceptance of the trust or the trust becomes irrevocable, whichever is later, the trustee informs the qualified beneficiaries, in writing, of the trustee's name and address, delivered or sent by ordinary first class mail (G.L. c. 203E, § 813(b)). The clock runs from the later of the two events, not from the trustee's knowledge of either, and the statute asks for no telephone number and no statement of the trust's terms. While the trust is revocable and the settlor has capacity to revoke it, the trustee's duties are owed exclusively to the settlor (§ 603(a)); the duty is not among the rules of § 105(b), so the terms of the trust may vary it. Посібник: Наступник-управитель у Массачусетсі: прийняття ролі

Trustee's account

What a trustee sends the distributees and permissible distributees of trust income or principal, and other qualified beneficiaries who request it, at least annually and at the termination of the trust: an account of trust income and principal, formal or informal, including information relating to the trust property, liabilities, receipts and disbursements, including the amount of the trustee's compensation, a listing of the trust assets and, if feasible, their respective market values (G.L. c. 203E, § 813(c)). An account rendered to the probate court takes the three-schedule form of G.L. c. 206, § 2. Посібник: Вимоги до звітності трасту у Массачусетсі

Duty to inform

A trustee keeps the qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed about the administration of the trust and, unless unreasonable under the circumstances, promptly responds to a qualified beneficiary's request for information related to the administration (G.L. c. 203E, § 813(a)). The section gives no beneficiary a right to a copy of the trust instrument; to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish a certification of trust instead of the instrument (§ 1013(a)). Посібник: Вимоги до звітності трасту у Массачусетсі

Waiver of the account

A beneficiary may waive the right to a trustee's account of trust income or principal or other information the section requires, and may withdraw a waiver previously given as to future accounts and other information; a waiver does not relieve the trustee from accountability and potential liability for matters the account or other information would have disclosed (G.L. c. 203E, § 813(d)). Notice, or the sending of a document, under the chapter may also be waived by the person to be notified or sent it (§ 109(c)). Посібник: Вимоги до звітності трасту у Массачусетсі

Default and mandatory rules

Except as otherwise provided in the terms of the trust, the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code governs the trustee's duties and powers, relations among trustees and the beneficiaries' rights and interests (G.L. c. 203E, § 105(a)); the terms prevail over the chapter except for ten rules — the requirements for creating a trust; the duty to act in good faith and in accordance with the terms and purposes of the trust and the interests of the beneficiaries; a lawful purpose; the court's power to modify or terminate a trust (§§ 410, 411, 412, 414, 415); the effect of a spendthrift provision and certain creditors' rights under article 5; the court's power over a bond (§ 702); its power to adjust compensation (§ 708(b)); the effect of an exculpatory term (§ 1008); the rights of a person other than a trustee or beneficiary (§§ 1010, 1011, 1012, 1013); and the court's power to act in the interests of justice (§ 105(b)). The duties to notify, inform and account of § 813 are not among them. Посібник: Вимоги до звітності трасту у Массачусетсі

Court account

An account rendered to the probate court by an executor, administrator, trustee, guardian or conservator covers a period distinctly stated in it and has three schedules — the property at the start, from the inventory or the prior account's balance, with all income and other property received and gains; the payments, charges, losses and distributions; and the investment of the balance and changes of investment — and a trustee states the receipts of principal and income separately and the payments and charges on account of each separately (G.L. c. 206, § 2). No trust is subject to continuing judicial supervision unless the court orders it (G.L. c. 203E, § 201(b)); a proceeding to review and settle a trustee's accounts may be initiated by petition with notice to interested parties (§ 201(d)).

Testamentary trustee's bond

In the case of a testamentary trust, the trustee furnishes a bond for the performance of the trustee's fiduciary duties, and a surety is required unless the terms of the trust waive it or the Probate and Family Court finds it not necessary to protect the beneficiaries' interests; on petition the court may excuse the bond, reduce it, release the surety or permit a substitute bond, and it may require a bond, or a larger one, where the instrument exempts or limits it or the bond is insufficient and the court concludes one is necessary (G.L. c. 203E, § 702) — a power the terms of the trust cannot displace (§ 105(b)(6)). Посібник: Види трастів у Массачусетсі

Certification of trust

A statement a trustee may furnish to a person other than a beneficiary instead of a copy of the trust instrument, containing eight items: that the trust exists and the date the trust instrument was executed; the identity of the settlor; the identity and address of the currently acting trustee; the powers of the trustee; the revocability or irrevocability of the trust and the identity of any person holding a power to revoke it; the authority of co-trustees to sign or otherwise authenticate and whether all or less than all are required to exercise the trustee's powers; the trust's taxpayer identification number; and the manner of taking title to trust property (G.L. c. 203E, § 1013(a)). Any trustee may sign or otherwise authenticate it; it states that the trust has not been revoked, modified or amended in any manner that would cause its representations to be incorrect, and it need not contain the dispositive terms (§ 1013(b), (c), (d)); a person who acts in reliance on it without knowledge that its representations are incorrect is not liable to any person for so acting (§ 1013(f)). Посібник: Повноваження управителя у Массачусетсі (G.L. c. 203E, §§ 815, 816)

Trustee's certificate for land

A certificate sworn to, or stated to be executed under the penalties of perjury, and signed by a person who appears from the records of the registry of deeds, or of the land court's registry district, for the county or district where a nontestamentary trust's real estate lies to be a trustee, certifying the identity of the trustees or the beneficiaries, the trustees' authority to act with respect to the trust's real estate, or the existence or nonexistence of a fact that is a condition precedent to the trustees' acts or otherwise germane to the trust's affairs; it binds all trustees and the trust estate in favor of a purchaser or other person relying on it in good faith, and the certificate most recently recorded controls (G.L. c. 184, § 35). It is a separate instrument from the certification of trust (G.L. c. 203E, § 1013). Посібник: Дім після смерті у Массачусетсі

Duty of loyalty

A trustee administers the trust solely in the interests of the beneficiaries (G.L. c. 203E, § 802(a)); a sale, encumbrance or other transaction involving the investment or management of trust property entered into for the trustee's own account, or otherwise affected by a conflict between fiduciary and personal interests, is voidable by an affected beneficiary unless the terms authorized it, the court approved it, the beneficiary did not commence a proceeding within the time § 1005 allows, the beneficiary consented, ratified or released under § 1009, or it involves a contract or claim the trustee had before becoming trustee (§ 802(b)); a transaction with the trustee's spouse, the trustee's descendants, siblings, parents or their spouses, the trustee's agent or attorney, or an enterprise in which the trustee has an interest that might affect the trustee's best judgment is presumed conflicted (§ 802(c)). Посібник: Обов'язки наступника-довірчого власника у Массачусетсі після смерті

Prudent administration

A trustee administers the trust as a prudent person would, considering the purposes, terms and other circumstances of the trust, exercising reasonable care, skill and caution (G.L. c. 203E, § 804); incurs only costs that are appropriate and reasonable in relation to the trust property, the purposes of the trust and the skills of the trustee (§ 805); and, having special skills or expertise, or having been named trustee in reliance on the trustee's representation of having them, uses them (§ 806). Посібник: Обов'язки наступника-довірчого власника у Массачусетсі після смерті

Massachusetts Prudent Investor Act

Chapter 203C of the General Laws (G.L. c. 203C, § 1): a trustee who invests and manages trust assets owes the beneficiaries a duty to comply with the prudent investor rule, which the provisions of a trust may expand, restrict, eliminate or otherwise alter (§ 2); invests and manages them as a prudent investor would, considering the purposes, terms and other circumstances of the trust, with reasonable care, skill and caution, each decision considered in the context of the trust portfolio as a whole (§ 3); reasonably diversifies unless it is prudent not to (§ 4); and, within a reasonable time after accepting a trusteeship or receiving trust assets, reviews them and decides on their retention and disposition (§ 5). Compliance is determined in light of the facts and circumstances existing at the time of the trustee's decision or action (§ 9). Посібник: Повноваження управителя у Массачусетсі (G.L. c. 203E, §§ 815, 816)

Impartiality

If 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 (G.L. c. 203E, § 803). Посібник: Обов'язки наступника-довірчого власника у Массачусетсі після смерті

Delegation

A trustee may delegate duties and powers if it is prudent to do so, exercising reasonable care, skill and caution in selecting an agent, establishing the scope and terms of the delegation consistent with the trust's purposes and terms, and periodically reviewing the agent's actions (G.L. c. 203E, § 807(a)); a trustee who complies is not liable to the beneficiaries or to the trust for an action of the agent (§ 807(c)). Investment and management functions are delegated on the same terms (G.L. c. 203C, § 10). Посібник: Повноваження управителя у Массачусетсі (G.L. c. 203E, §§ 815, 816)

Co-trustees

Trustees serving together. Co-trustees unable to reach a unanimous decision may act by majority decision (G.L. c. 203E, § 703(a)) — a rule that does not reach a trust instrument executed before July 8, 2012; the remaining co-trustees may act during a vacancy (§ 703(b)); a co-trustee participates in a trustee's function unless unavailable through absence, illness, disqualification or other temporary incapacity or having properly delegated it to another trustee (§ 703(c)); 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 co-trustee's breach of trust and to compel its redress (§ 703(e), (f)). Посібник: Наступник-управитель у Массачусетсі: прийняття ролі

Power to direct

While a trust is revocable, the trustee may follow a direction of the settlor that is contrary to the terms of the trust (G.L. c. 203E, § 808(a)); where the terms confer on another person a power to direct certain actions of the trustee, the trustee acts in accordance with an exercise of the power unless it is manifestly contrary to the terms or the trustee knows it would be a serious breach of a fiduciary duty the holder owes the beneficiaries (§ 808(b)); the holder is presumptively a fiduciary, required to act in good faith with regard to the trust's purposes and the beneficiaries' interests, and is liable for any loss that results from a breach of fiduciary duty (§ 808(c)). Massachusetts has no separate directed-trust act; § 808 is its rule.

Trustee's compensation

Where the terms of a trust do not specify the trustee's compensation, compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances; where they do, as specified, but the court may allow more or less where the trustee's duties are substantially different from those contemplated when the trust was created or the specified compensation would be unreasonably low or high (G.L. c. 203E, § 708) — a power of the court the terms cannot displace (§ 105(b)(7)). The trustee's account states the amount of the trustee's compensation (§ 813(c)); the statute provides no fee schedule and no advance notice of a change. Посібник: Винагорода управителя у Массачусетсі (G.L. c. 203E, § 708)

Reimbursement of expenses

A trustee is entitled to be reimbursed out of the trust property, with interest as appropriate, for expenses that were properly incurred in the administration of the trust, and for expenses that were not properly incurred to the extent necessary to prevent the trust's unjust enrichment (G.L. c. 203E, § 709(a)); an advance of money by the trustee for the protection of the trust gives rise to a lien against trust property to secure reimbursement with reasonable interest (§ 709(b)). Посібник: Винагорода управителя у Массачусетсі (G.L. c. 203E, § 708)

Spendthrift provision

A term of a trust which restrains transfer of a beneficiary's interest (G.L. c. 203E, § 103), valid only if it restrains both voluntary and involuntary transfer (§ 502(a)) — a rule that does not reach a spendthrift provision in a trust created under an instrument executed before July 8, 2012; a term holding the interest subject to a "spendthrift trust", or words of similar import, suffices (§ 502(b)). A beneficiary may not transfer an interest in violation of a valid spendthrift provision and, except as article 5 provides, a creditor or assignee may not reach the interest or a distribution before the beneficiary receives it (§ 502(c)). Посібник: Захист активів у Массачусетсі: основи

Overdue distribution

Whether or not a trust contains a spendthrift provision, a creditor or assignee of a beneficiary may reach a mandatory distribution of income or principal, including a distribution upon termination, that the trustee has not made within a reasonable time after the designated distribution date (G.L. c. 203E, § 506(b)); a "mandatory distribution" is one the terms require the trustee to make, and excludes a distribution subject to the trustee's discretion even where the discretion is expressed as a standard of distribution or the terms couple language of discretion with language of direction (§ 506(a)). Посібник: Захист активів у Массачусетсі: основи

Discretionary powers

Notwithstanding broad discretion granted in the terms of the trust, including terms such as "absolute", "sole" or "uncontrolled", the trustee exercises a discretionary power in good faith and in accordance with the terms and purposes of the trust and the interests of the beneficiaries (G.L. c. 203E, § 814(a)). Unless the terms expressly provide otherwise, a beneficiary-trustee other than the settlor may make discretionary distributions for the trustee's own benefit only in accordance with an ascertainable standard — one relating to health, education, support or maintenance (§ 103) — and no trustee makes a discretionary distribution to satisfy a legal obligation of support the trustee personally owes another person (§ 814(b)), subject to the exceptions of § 814(d). Посібник: Види трастів у Массачусетсі

Settlor's creditors

Whether or not a trust contains a spendthrift provision, during the settlor's lifetime the property of a revocable trust is subject to the claims of the settlor's creditors, and 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 — trust property is not distributable for the settlor's benefit solely because the trustee may reimburse the settlor's tax on trust income or capital gain (G.L. c. 203E, § 505(a)(1), (2)). After the settlor's death, and subject to the settlor's right to direct the source from which liabilities will be paid, the property of a trust that was revocable at the death is subject to the claims of the settlor's creditors, the expenses of the funeral and disposal of remains and the statutory allowances to a surviving spouse and children, to the extent the probate estate is inadequate (§ 505(a)(3)). Посібник: Захист активів у Массачусетсі: основи

Nominee trust

A title-holding entity — a so-called "nominee trust" — that a trustee may establish or continue for the purpose of holding legal title to any portion or all of the trust property without the need to record or make public the terms of the trust (G.L. c. 203E, § 816(26)); the exercise of the power is subject to the trustee's fiduciary duties (§ 815(b)). Посібник: Види трастів у Массачусетсі

Non-judicial settlement agreement

A binding agreement on any matter involving a trust among the interested persons — those whose consent would be required for a binding settlement were the court to approve it — valid only to the extent it does not violate a material purpose of the trust and includes terms and conditions the court could properly approve (G.L. c. 203E, § 111(a), (b), (c)). The matters include the interpretation of the terms of the trust, the approval of a trustee's report or accounting, a direction to refrain from an act or the grant of a power, a trustee's resignation, appointment and compensation, a transfer of the principal place of administration and a trustee's liability, and any interested person may ask the court to approve the agreement (§ 111(d), (e)).

Uneconomic trust

After notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the trustee of a trust whose property has a total value of less than $200,000 may terminate the trust on concluding that the value of the trust property is insufficient to justify the cost of administration (G.L. c. 203E, § 414(a)); the court may modify or terminate a trust, or remove the trustee and appoint a different trustee, on the same determination (§ 414(b)). On termination the trustee distributes the property in a manner consistent with the purposes of the trust (§ 414(c)); the section does not apply to an easement for conservation or preservation, and applies regardless of any spendthrift or similar protective provision (§ 414(d), (e)). Посібник: Припинення трасту у Массачусетсі: завершальні кроки довірчого власника

Modification or termination by consent

On petition, the court may approve the modification or termination of a non-charitable irrevocable trust to which the settlor and all beneficiaries consent, even if it is inconsistent with a material purpose of the trust (G.L. c. 203E, § 411(a)); on the consent of all the beneficiaries, the trust may be terminated if the court concludes that its continuance is not necessary to achieve any material purpose, and modified if the court concludes that the modification is not inconsistent with one (§ 411(b)); where not all consent, the court may approve on the findings § 411(c) requires. The court may also modify or terminate a trust because of circumstances the settlor did not anticipate (§ 412) and reform its terms to correct a mistake proved by clear and convincing evidence (§ 415). Посібник: Безвідкличний траст у Массачусетсі: пояснення

Transfer of the principal place of administration

The trustee may, but has no affirmative duty to, transfer a trust's principal place of administration to another state or to a jurisdiction outside the United States (G.L. c. 203E, § 108(b)), notifying the qualified beneficiaries not less than 60 days before initiating the transfer of 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 notify the trustee of an objection (§ 108(c)); the trustee's authority to transfer terminates if a qualified beneficiary objects on or before that date (§ 108(d)).

Resignation

A trustee may resign on at least 30 days' notice — to the settlor and all co-trustees of a revocable trust, and to the qualified beneficiaries and all co-trustees of any other trust — or with the court's approval, which may carry orders and conditions reasonably necessary for the protection of the trust property (G.L. c. 203E, § 705(a), (b)); the resignation does not discharge or affect any liability of the resigning trustee or of the sureties on the trustee's bond (§ 705(c)), and the former trustee proceeds expeditiously to deliver the trust property within the trustee's possession to the co-trustee, successor trustee or other person entitled to it (§ 707). Посібник: Наступник-управитель у Массачусетсі: прийняття ролі

Removal

The settlor, a co-trustee or a beneficiary may ask the court to remove a trustee, or the court may act on its own initiative (G.L. c. 203E, § 706(a)), for a serious breach of trust; a lack of cooperation among co-trustees that substantially impairs the administration; unfitness, unwillingness or persistent failure to administer the trust effectively, where removal best serves the beneficiaries' interests; or a substantial change of circumstances or a request by all the qualified beneficiaries, where removal best serves the interests of all the beneficiaries, is not inconsistent with a material purpose of the trust and a suitable co-trustee or successor trustee is available (§ 706(b)); the court may order relief under § 1001(b) meanwhile (§ 706(c)).

Breach of trust and remedies

A violation by a trustee of a duty the trustee owes to a beneficiary is a breach of trust (G.L. c. 203E, § 1001(a)); to remedy one that has occurred or may occur, the court may compel the trustee to perform the trustee's duties, enjoin a breach, compel redress by paying money or restoring property, order the trustee to account, appoint a special fiduciary, suspend or remove the trustee, reduce or deny compensation, void an act, impose a lien or a constructive trust or trace trust property wrongfully disposed of, or order any other appropriate relief (§ 1001(b)). Посібник: Обов'язки наступника-довірчого власника у Массачусетсі після смерті

Exculpatory term

A term of a trust 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 an abuse by the trustee of a fiduciary or confidential relationship to the settlor (G.L. c. 203E, § 1008(a)); a term the trustee drafted or caused to be drafted may be invalid unless the trustee proves that its existence and contents were adequately communicated to the settlor (§ 1008(b)) — rules the terms of the trust cannot displace (§ 105(b)(8)).

Beneficiary's consent, release or ratification

A trustee is not liable to a beneficiary for a breach of trust if the beneficiary, while having capacity, in writing consented to the conduct constituting the breach, released the trustee from liability for it or ratified the transaction constituting it, unless the consent, release or ratification was induced by improper conduct of the trustee or the beneficiary did not then know the material facts relating to the breach (G.L. c. 203E, § 1009).

Final account and limitation periods

A claim against a trustee for breach of trust is barred as to a beneficiary who has received a final account or other statement fully disclosing the matter and showing termination of the trust relationship, unless a proceeding is commenced within six months after its receipt; and it is barred in any event, notwithstanding lack of full disclosure, three years after a final account or statement was received and the trustee informed the beneficiary of the location and availability of records for examination (G.L. c. 203E, § 1005(a)). Where those bars do not apply, a proceeding may not be commenced more than three years after the beneficiary or a representative knew or reasonably should have known of a potential claim (§ 1005(b)); otherwise it is commenced within five years after the first of the trustee's removal, resignation or death, the termination of the beneficiary's interest, or the termination of the trust (§ 1005(c)). Посібник: Вимоги до звітності трасту у Массачусетсі

Contest period

A person may commence a judicial proceeding to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death within the earlier of one year after the death or 60 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 (G.L. c. 203E, § 604(a)). After the death the trustee may distribute in accordance with the terms of the trust without liability unless the trustee knows of a pending contest, or a potential contestant has notified the trustee of a possible contest and a proceeding is commenced within 60 days after the notification was sent (§ 604(b)); a beneficiary of a trust determined to have been invalid is liable to return any distribution received (§ 604(c)). Посібник: Наступник-довірчий власник після смерті у Массачусетсі: перші кроки

Distribution on termination

On an event terminating or partially terminating a trust, the trustee proceeds expeditiously to distribute the trust property to the persons entitled to it, subject to the right to retain a reasonable reserve for the payment of debts, expenses and taxes (G.L. c. 203E, § 817(b)); the trustee may send the beneficiaries a proposal for distribution, and a beneficiary's right to object ends if no objection is made within 30 days after it was sent, but only if the proposal informed the beneficiary of the right to object and of the time allowed and provided sufficient material facts to evaluate it (§ 817(a)). Посібник: Припинення трасту у Массачусетсі: завершальні кроки довірчого власника

Methods of notice

Notice to a person, or the sending of a document, under the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code 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 or delivery to the person's last known place of residence or place of business (G.L. c. 203E, § 109(a)), and the section names no electronic method. The trustee's notice of name and address is delivered or sent by ordinary first class mail (§ 813(b)). Notice need not be given to a person whose identity or location is unknown to and not reasonably ascertainable by the trustee (§ 109(b)); the person may waive it (§ 109(c)); and under § 109(d) notice of a judicial proceeding brought by petition in the Probate and Family Court is given as G.L. c. 190B, § 1-401 provides.

Persons dealing with a 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 free from liability as if the trustee had properly exercised the power (G.L. c. 203E, § 1012(a)); such a person need not 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 other than a beneficiary who in good faith assists, or in good faith and for value deals with, a former trustee without knowledge that the trusteeship has terminated is free from liability as if the former trustee were still a trustee (§ 1012(b), (c), (d)).

Creditors' one year after the death

A personal representative is not held to answer a creditor's action unless it is commenced within one year after the date of death and, within that year, the process is served in hand or accepted or a notice stating the name of the estate, the creditor's name and address, the amount of the claim and the court in which the action has been brought is filed with the register (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-803(a)); a trustee of a trust whose assets are subject as a matter of substantive law to being reached by the decedent's creditors is not held to answer an action unless it is commenced against the trustee or the personal representative in the same time and manner, and has immunity from personal liability in the same manner as a personal representative (§ 3-803(b)). The property of a trust revocable at the settlor's death answers for the settlor's creditors, the funeral expenses and the statutory allowances to the extent the probate estate is inadequate (G.L. c. 203E, § 505(a)(3)). Посібник: Пробейт у Массачусетсі: пояснення

MassHealth estate recovery

The recovery of medical assistance correctly paid, which the statute permits — for a death on or after August 1, 2024 — only from the estate of an individual who received it while a resident of a nursing facility or other medical institution, or at 55 or older for the nursing facility, home and community-based and related hospital and prescription drug services federal law requires recovery for, and only after the death of any surviving spouse and while the individual has no surviving child under 21, blind or with a disability; for recovery, the estate is the property includable in the decedent's probate estate (G.L. c. 118E, § 31). A petition for probate or administration includes a sworn statement that copies of the petition and the death certificate were sent to the division by certified mail, and a personal representative completes and sends the division's form within 30 days of its request (§ 32(a)).

Surviving spouse's waiver and claim

Within six months after the probate of the deceased spouse's will, the surviving spouse may file in the registry of probate a signed writing waiving the will's provisions for the spouse and claiming a portion of the estate: one third of the personal and one third of the real property where the deceased left issue; $25,000 and one half of the remaining personal and real property where the deceased left kindred but no issue — in either case, above $25,000, only the income for life of the excess, the personal property held in trust and the real property vested for life; and, where the deceased left neither issue nor kindred, $25,000 and one half of the remainder absolutely (G.L. c. 191, § 15). Where the will's validity or effect is drawn in question, the court may extend the time to six months after those proceedings end. Посібник: Заповіт чи відкличний траст у Массачусетсі: порівняння

Estate of homestead

An estate in a home, exempt from the laws of conveyance, descent, devise, attachment, seizure, execution on judgment, levy and sale for payment of debts or legacies except for the six claims the statute lists — taxes, assessments, claims and liens; a lien recorded before the homestead; a mortgage; a support order; ground rent; and a judgment based on fraud, duress, undue influence or lack of capacity (G.L. c. 188, § 3(b)) — to the extent of the declared homestead exemption of $1,000,000 created by a recorded declaration (§§ 1, 3(a)) or, without one, the automatic homestead exemption of $125,000 (§§ 1, 4). For a home owned in trust, only the trustee executes the declaration (§ 5(a)), and a deed to the trustee of a trust for the grantor's benefit does not terminate the grantor's existing homestead (§ 10(a)); the estate of homestead existing at a holder's death continues for the surviving spouse and minor children — under the chapter's definition, persons aged 21 and under (§ 1) — who occupy or intend to occupy the home as their principal residence (§ 7). Посібник: Дім після смерті у Массачусетсі

Voluntary administration

Where a person domiciled in the commonwealth dies leaving an estate consisting entirely of personal property — which may include a motor vehicle the decedent owned and other personal property not exceeding $25,000 in value — an interested person may, after the expiration of 30 days from the death and if no petition for appointment of a personal representative has been filed in the county where the decedent resided, file a statement on the court's form, verified by oath or affirmation, undertaking to act as voluntary personal representative, and certify that copies of the statement and the death certificate were sent to the division of medical assistance by certified mail; the voluntary personal representative pays the funeral, last-sickness and administration expenses and the debts, then distributes the balance as part 1 of article II of the chapter provides (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-1201). Посібник: Пробейт у Массачусетсі: пояснення

Per capita at each generation

Massachusetts's division for an intestate estate passing to descendants: any part of the estate not passing to a surviving spouse passes to the decedent's descendants per capita at each generation, then to the parents, then to the parents' descendants per capita at each generation, then to the next of kin in equal degree (G.L. c. 190B, § 2-103). The estate is divided into as many equal shares as there are surviving descendants in the generation nearest the decedent that contains one, and deceased descendants in that generation who left surviving descendants; each surviving descendant in that generation takes one share, and the remaining shares are combined and divided in the same manner among the surviving descendants of the deceased descendants (§ 2-106(b)). Посібник: Смерть без заповіту у Массачусетсі

Intestate share of the surviving spouse

The entire intestate estate where no descendant or parent of the decedent survives, or where all the decedent's surviving descendants are also the spouse's and the spouse has no other surviving descendant; the first $200,000 plus three-fourths of the balance where no descendant but a parent of the decedent survives; and the first $100,000 plus one-half of the balance where all the decedent's surviving descendants are also the spouse's but the spouse has a surviving descendant who is not the decedent's, or where one or more of the decedent's surviving descendants are not the spouse's (G.L. c. 190B, § 2-102). Посібник: Смерть без заповіту у Массачусетсі

Personal representative's inventory

Within three months after appointment, a personal representative who is not a successor to another prepares an inventory of the property the decedent owned at death, listing it with reasonable detail with each item's fair market value as of the date of death and any encumbrance, and files a copy with the court or mails one to all interested persons whose addresses are reasonably available (G.L. c. 190B, § 3-706); a successor's inventory values the estate as of the successor's appointment. To the extent there is no conflict of interest, a personal representative may represent and bind the persons interested in the estate in a trust matter (G.L. c. 203E, § 303). Посібник: Пробейт у Массачусетсі: пояснення

Execution of a will

A will is in writing; signed by the testator, or in the testator's name by another individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction; and signed by at least two individuals, each of whom witnessed the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or of the will (G.L. c. 190B, § 2-502(a)). Intent that a document constitute the testator's will can be established by extrinsic evidence (§ 2-502(b)). Посібник: Після підписання вашого заповіту у Массачусетсі: що далі

Self-proved will

A will may be executed, attested and made self-proved at the same time, or an attested will made self-proved at any time after its execution, by the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits made before an officer authorized to administer oaths and evidenced by the officer's certificate under official seal, in substantially the form the section prints (G.L. c. 190B, § 2-504(a), (b)); a signature affixed to a self-proving affidavit attached to a will is considered a signature affixed to the will, if necessary to prove its due execution (§ 2-504(c)). Посібник: Після підписання вашого заповіту у Массачусетсі: що далі

Custodian of a will

After the death of a testator, a person having custody of the testator's will delivers it within thirty days after notice of the death to a person able to secure its probate or, if none is known, to an appropriate court; a person who willfully fails to deliver it is liable to any person aggrieved for the damages, and one who willfully refuses or fails after the court's order is subject to penalty for contempt (G.L. c. 190B, § 2-516). During the testator's lifetime, a will may be deposited with any court for safekeeping, sealed and kept confidential (§ 2-515). Посібник: Після підписання вашого заповіту у Массачусетсі: що далі

Health care proxy

Every competent adult may appoint a health care agent by executing a health care proxy — in writing, signed by the adult or at the adult's direction in the presence of two other adults who subscribe their names as witnesses and affirm in writing that the principal appeared to be at least eighteen years of age, of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence; the person named as agent may not act as a witness, and an alternate agent may be designated (G.L. c. 201D, § 2). Посібник: Довіреності та попередні розпорядження у Массачусетсі

Fraudulent transfer

A transfer made or obligation incurred by a debtor is fraudulent as to a creditor, whether the creditor's claim arose before or after it, if made with actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud any creditor, or without receiving a reasonably equivalent value while the debtor's remaining assets were unreasonably small for a business or transaction or the debtor intended to incur, or believed or reasonably should have believed the debtor would incur, debts beyond the ability to pay as they became due (G.L. c. 109A, § 5(a), with the factors of § 5(b) bearing on actual intent); and fraudulent as to a creditor whose claim arose before it, if made without a reasonably equivalent value while the debtor was insolvent or became insolvent as a result, or to an insider for an antecedent debt while the debtor was insolvent and the insider had reasonable cause to believe it (§ 6). Посібник: Захист активів у Массачусетсі: основи

Exempt insurance and retirement plans

The lawful beneficiary of a life or endowment insurance policy effected in favor of another person with an insurable interest takes the proceeds against the creditors and representatives of the person who effected it, whether or not the right to change the beneficiary was reserved, subject to the recovery of premiums paid in fraud of creditors (G.L. c. 175, § 125); and a person's interest in an ERISA plan, a Keogh plan, a corporate plan under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, a simplified employee plan, a section 403(b) annuity, an individual retirement account or annuity, or an annuity distributed from or purchased with any of them, is exempt from insolvency law, attachment and execution except for a divorce, separate maintenance or child support order or a criminal penalty or restitution order — and an individual plan's deposits in the five years before bankruptcy or judgment above 7 per cent of the individual's total income for the period are not exempt (G.L. c. 235, § 34A). Посібник: Захист активів у Массачусетсі: основи

Massachusetts estate tax

A tax on the transfer of the estate of a resident decedent, and of a nonresident's real and tangible personal property in the commonwealth, measured by the credit for state death taxes as computed under the federal Code as in effect on December 31, 2000 (G.L. c. 65C, § 2A(a), (b)); for a decedent dying on or after January 1, 2023, a credit of up to $99,600 is allowed and no tax is payable if the value of the federal taxable estate is not more than $2,000,000 (§ 2A(f), (g)). Where the estate is liable for any tax, the executor makes the return within nine months after the date of death (G.L. c. 62C, § 17); unpaid, the tax is a lien on the Massachusetts gross estate for ten years from the death, and a trustee or other transferee who receives, or has at the death, property included in that estate is personally liable for it to the extent of the property's value at the death (G.L. c. 65C, § 14). Посібник: Спадкове планування у Массачусетсі: заповіти, трасти, пробейт

Fiduciary income tax

Every trust whose federal gross income exceeds $100 makes a return of its income (G.L. c. 62C, § 6(a)), and every trustee or other fiduciary receiving income taxable under the income tax chapter that exceeds one hundred dollars makes an annual return of the taxable income — on or before the fifteenth day of the fourth month following the close of the taxable year, or, for a fiduciary intending to make final distribution before the year ends, immediately before the distribution (§ 6(b), (c)). The Department of Revenue's fiduciary return is Form 2.

Practice of law

No individual other than a member in good standing of the bar of the commonwealth may practice law or hold out as authorized, entitled, competent, qualified or able to practice law (G.L. c. 221, § 46A), and no corporation or association may practice law, draw agreements or other legal documents not relating to its lawful business, draw wills, or give legal advice in matters not relating to its lawful business, or hold itself out as entitled to do any of those acts (§ 46). Nothing on this site is legal advice.

Breach notification law

A person or agency that owns or licenses data that includes personal information about a resident of the commonwealth gives notice, as soon as practicable and without unreasonable delay, when it knows or has reason to know of a breach of security or that the resident's personal information was acquired or used by an unauthorized person or for an unauthorized purpose — to the attorney general, the director of consumer affairs and business regulation and the resident; a person or agency that maintains or stores such data without owning or licensing it notifies the owner or licensor on the same standard and cooperates with it (G.L. c. 93H, § 3(a), (b)). The statute states no number of days.