Download This Version in Microsoft Word format
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
INTRODUCED
May 31, 2001
H. 4044
S. Printed 5/31/01--S.
Read the first time May 31, 2001.
TO ENACT THE SOUTH CAROLINA TRUSTEE INVESTMENT ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 62-7-302, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO A TRUSTEE'S STANDARD OF CARE, SO AS TO DESIGNATE THE SECTION AS THE "UNIFORM PRUDENT INVESTOR ACT", TO RECOGNIZE THE PRUDENT INVESTOR RULE AND THE TOTAL RETURN THEORY OF INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT; AND TO AMEND PART 4, ARTICLE 7, CHAPTER 7, TITLE 62, RELATING TO THE UNIFORM PRINCIPAL AND INCOME ACT, SO AS TO DESIGNATE PART 4 AS THE "UNIFORM PRINCIPAL AND INCOME ACT OF 1997"; TO PERMIT THE ALLOCATION OF BENEFICIARY RECEIPTS BY A TRUSTEE TO INCOME INSTEAD OF TO PRINCIPAL UNDER CERTAIN SPECIFIED CIRCUMSTANCES AND IN RECOGNITION OF TOTAL RETURN THEORY OF INVESTMENT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 62-7-204 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 521 of 1990, is further amended to read:
"Section 62-7-204. (A) The probate court has concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts of this State of actions and proceedings to determine the existence or nonexistence of trusts created other than by will, of actions by or against creditors or debtors of trusts, and of other actions and proceedings involving trustees and third parties. Venue is determined by the rules generally applicable to civil actions.
(B) The probate court has concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts of this State over attorney's fees. Attorney's fees may be set at a fixed or hourly rate or by contingency fee."
SECTION 2. Section 62-7-302 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 449 of 1994, is further amended to read:
'Section 62-7-302. (a) Except as otherwise provided by the terms or limitations set forth in any will, agreement, court order, or other instrument creating or defining the fiduciary's duties and powers (the terms "legal investment" or "authorized investment" or words of similar import, as used in any such instrument being taken, however, to mean any investment which is permitted by the terms of this section), in acquiring, investing, reinvesting, exchanging, retaining, selling, and managing property for the benefit of another, a fiduciary shall exercise the judgment and care under the circumstances then prevailing, that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use to attain the purposes of the fiduciary account. In making investment decisions, a fiduciary may consider the general economic conditions, the anticipated tax consequences of the investment, the anticipated duration of the fiduciary account, the needs and objectives of its beneficiaries, and other prevailing circumstances. Within the limitations of the foregoing standard and considering individual investments as part of an overall investment strategy, a fiduciary is authorized to:
(1) acquire and retain every kind of property and every kind of investment, specifically including, but not by way of limitation, bonds, debentures, and other corporate obligations, and stocks, preferred or common, and securities of any open-end or closed-end management-type investment company or investment trust registered under the Federal Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended;
(2) retain property properly acquired, without limitation as to time and without regard to its suitability for original purchase;
(3) retain the property received by such fiduciary on the creation of the estate, guardianship, trust, or other fiduciary account (including, in the case of a corporate fiduciary, stock or other securities of its own issue or of its parent corporation's issue) without regard to its suitability for original purchase;
(4) retain the securities into which corporate securities owned by the fiduciary may be converted or which may be derived therefrom as a result of merger, consolidation, stock dividends, splits, liquidations, and similar procedures (and may exercise by purchase or otherwise any rights, warrants, or conversion features attaching to any such securities);
(5) purchase or otherwise acquire and retain any security underwritten by a syndicate, even if the fiduciary or its affiliate (defined as any entity which owns or is owned by, in whole or in part, the fiduciary or is owned by the same entity that owns the fiduciary) participates or has participated as a member of the syndicate, provided the fiduciary does not purchase the security from itself, its affiliate, or from another member of the underwriting syndicate or its affiliate pursuant to an implied or express reciprocal agreement between the fiduciary or its affiliate, and such other member or its affiliate, to purchase all or part of each other's underwriting participation commitment within the syndicate. The propriety of an investment decision is to be determined by what the fiduciary knew or should have known at the time of the decision about the inherent nature and expected performance of the investment, the attributes of the portfolio, the general economic conditions, the anticipated tax consequences of the investment, the anticipated duration of the fiduciary account, the needs and objectives of the beneficiaries of the account, and other pertinent circumstances as they existed at the time of the decision. Any determination of liability for investment performance shall consider not only the performance of a particular investment but also the performance of the portfolio as a whole. Any fiduciary acting under a governing instrument shall not be liable to anyone whose interests arise from that instrument for the fiduciary's good faith reliance on the express provisions of such instrument. The standards set forth in this section may be expanded, restricted, or eliminated by express provisions in a governing instrument; and
(6) invest and reinvest in the securities of an open-end or closed-end management investment company or of an investment trust registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. A bank or trust company may invest in these securities even if the bank or trust company, or an affiliate of the bank or trust company, provides services to the investment company or investment trust such as that of an investment advisor, custodian, transfer agent, registrar, sponsor, distributor, manager, or otherwise, and receives reasonable remuneration for those services.
(b) The provisions of this section shall not be construed as restricting the power of a court of proper jurisdiction to permit a fiduciary to deviate from the terms of any will, agreement, or other instrument relating to the acquisition, investment, reinvestment, exchange, retention, sale, or management of fiduciary property.
(c) When a fiduciary shall invest the property in his charge in whole or in part in the manner authorized by this section such fiduciary shall not be chargeable in his account at a greater rate of interest, as to such property so invested, than such property shall have so earned.
(d) Whenever a trust instrument reserves unto the trustor, or vests in an advisory or investment committee or in any other person or persons, including a co-trustee, to the exclusion of the trustee or to the exclusion of one or more of several trustees, authority to direct the making or retention of investments or of any investment, the excluded trustee or co-trustee shall be liable, if at all, only as a ministerial agent and shall not be liable as trustee or co-trustee for any loss resulting from the making or retention of any investment pursuant to such authorized direction.
(e) Notwithstanding subsections (a) through (d), the duties of a trustee with respect to acquiring or retaining a contract of insurance upon the life of the trustor, or upon the lives of the trustor and the trustor's spouse, children, or parents do not include a duty to:
(i) determine whether any such contract is or remains a proper investment;
(ii) exercise policy options available under any such contract; or
(iii) diversify any such contract.
The trustee is not liable to the beneficiaries under the instrument or to any other party for any loss arising from the absence of this duty upon the trustee. Except as specifically provided in the trust instrument, the provisions of this subsection apply to any trust established before or after the effective date of this subsection and to any life insurance policy acquired by the trustee before or after the effective date of this subsection. (A) This section may be cited as the South Carolina Uniform Prudent Investor Act.
(B)(1) Except as otherwise provided in item (2), a trustee who invests and manages trust assets owes a duty to the beneficiaries of the trust to comply with the prudent investor rule in this section.
(2) The prudent investor rule is a default rule that may be expanded, restricted, eliminated, or otherwise altered by the provisions of a trust. A trustee is not liable to a beneficiary to the extent that the trustee acted in reasonable reliance on the provisions of the trust.
(C)(1) A trustee shall invest and manage trust assets as a prudent investor would by considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust. In satisfying this standard, the trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill, and caution.
(2) A trustee's investment and management decisions respecting individual assets must be evaluated not in isolation but in the context of the trust portfolio as a whole and as a part of an overall investment strategy having risk and return objectives reasonably suited to the trust.
(3) A trustee shall consider in investing and managing trust assets those circumstances of the following as are relevant to the trust or its beneficiaries:
(a) general economic conditions;
(b) the possible effect of inflation or deflation;
(c) the expected tax consequences of investment decisions or strategies;
(d) the role that each investment or course of action plays within the overall trust portfolio, including financial assets, interests in closely held enterprises, tangible and intangible personal property, and real property;
(e) the expected total return from income and the appreciation of capital;
(f) other resources of the beneficiaries;
(g) needs for liquidity, regularity of income, and preservation or appreciation of capital; and
(h) an asset's special relationship or special value to the purposes of the trust or to one or more of the beneficiaries.
(4) A trustee shall make a reasonable effort to verify facts relevant to the investment and management of trust assets.
(5) A trustee may invest in any kind of property or type of investment consistent with the standards of this section.
(6) A trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is named trustee in reliance upon the trustee's representation that the trustee has special skills or expertise, has a duty to use those special skills or expertise.
(D) A trustee shall diversify the investments of the trust unless the trustee reasonably determines that, because of special circumstances, the purposes of the trust are better served without diversifying.
(E) Within a reasonable time after accepting a trusteeship or receiving trust assets, a trustee shall review the trust assets and make and implement decisions concerning the retention and disposition of assets in order to bring the trust portfolio into compliance with the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust and with the requirements of this section.
(F) A trustee shall:
(1) invest and manage the trust assets solely in the interest of the beneficiaries;
(2) act impartially in investing and managing the trust assets, taking into account any differing interests of the beneficiaries if a trust has two or more beneficiaries;
(3) incur only costs that are appropriate and reasonable in relation to the assets, the purposes of the trust, and the skills of the trustee in investing and managing trust assets.
(G) Compliance with the prudent investor rule is determined in light of the facts and circumstances existing at the time of a trustee's decision or action and not by hindsight.
(H)(1) A trustee may delegate investment and management functions if it is prudent to do so under the circumstances. The trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill, and caution in:
(a) selecting an agent;
(b) establishing the scope and terms of the delegation, consistent with the purposes and terms of the trust; and
(c) periodically reviewing the actions of the agent to monitor his performance and compliance with the terms of the delegation.
(2) In performing a delegated function, an agent owes a duty to the trust to exercise reasonable care to comply with the terms of the delegation.
(3) A trustee who complies with the requirements of item (1) is not liable to the beneficiaries or to the trust for the decisions or actions of the agent to whom the function was delegated.
(4) By accepting the delegation of a trust function from the trustee of a trust that is subject to the law of this State, an agent submits to the jurisdiction of the courts of this State.
(I) The following terms or comparable language in the provisions of a trust, unless otherwise limited or modified, authorize any investment or strategy permitted pursuant to this section: 'investments permissible by law for investment of trust funds', 'legal investments', 'authorized investments', 'using the judgment and care under the circumstances then prevailing that persons of prudence, discretion, and intelligence exercise in the management of their own affairs, not in regard to speculation but in regard to the permanent disposition of their funds, considering the probable income as well as the probable safety of their capital', 'prudent man rule', 'prudent trustee rule', 'prudent person rule', and 'prudent investor rule'.
(J)(1) Notwithstanding provisions of this section to the contrary, the duties of a trustee with respect to acquiring a contract of insurance upon the life of the trustor or upon the lives of the trustor and the trustor's spouse, children, or parents do not include a duty to:
(a) determine whether the contract is or remains a proper investment;
(b) exercise policy options available under the contract; or
(c) diversify the contract.
(2) The trustee is not liable to the beneficiaries of the contract of insurance or to another party for loss arising from this subsection.
(3) Except as specifically provided in the trust instrument, the provisions of this subsection apply to trust established before or after the effective date of this subsection and to a life insurance policy acquired by the trustee before or after the effective date of this section.
(K) This section applies to 'charitable remainder trusts'. 'Charitable remainder trust' means a trust that provides for a specified distribution at least annually for either life or a term of years to one or more beneficiaries, at least one of which is not a charity with an irrevocable remainder interest to be held for the benefit of, or paid over to, charity.
(L) This section must be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this section among the States enacting it."
SECTION 3. Part 4, Article 7, Chapter 7, Title 62 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
Section 62-7-401. This part [Sections 62-7-401 et seq.] may be cited as the Revised Uniform Principal and Income Act.
Section 62-7-402. As used in this part:
(1) "Income beneficiary" means the person to whom income is presently payable or for whom it is accumulated for distribution as income.
(2) "Inventory value" means the cost of property purchased by the trustee and the market value of other property at the time it was made subject to the trust, but in the case of a testamentary trust the trustee may use any value finally determined for the purposes of an estate or inheritance tax.
(3) "Remainderman" means the person entitled to principal, including income which has been accumulated and added to principal. and
(4) "Trustee" means an original trustee and any succeeding or added trustee.
Section 62-7-403. Except as specifically provided in the trust instrument or the will or in this part [Sections 62-7-401 et seq.], this part shall apply to any receipt or expense received or incurred by any trust or decedent's estate whether established before or after June 3, 1963, and whether the asset involved was acquired by the trustee before or after June 3, 1963; provided, however, it shall not be applied to upset apportionments or allocations of corporate distributions declared by the corporation or heretofore made in fact by trustees or to disturb any rights heretofore vested in the life beneficiary.
Section 62-7-404. (a) A trust shall be administered with due regard to the respective interests of income beneficiaries and remaindermen. A trust is so administered with respect to the allocation of receipts and expenditures if a receipt is credited or an expenditure is charged to income or principal or partly to each:
(1) in accordance with the terms of the trust instrument, notwithstanding contrary provisions of this part [Sections 62-7-401 et seq.];
(2) in the absence of any contrary terms of the trust instrument, in accordance with the provisions of this part [Sections 62-7-401 et seq.]; or
(3) if neither of the preceding rules of administration is applicable, in accordance with what is reasonable and equitable in view of the interests of those entitled to income as well as of those entitled to principal, and in view of the manner in which men of ordinary prudence, discretion, and judgment would act in the management of their own affairs.
(b) If the trust instrument gives the trustee discretion in crediting a receipt or charging an expenditure to income or principal or partly to each, no inference of imprudence or partiality arises from the fact that the trustee has made an allocation contrary to the provisions of this part [Sections 62-7-401 et seq.].
Section 62-7-405. Income is the return in money or property derived from the use of principal, including return received as:
(1) rent of real or personal property, including sums received for cancellation or renewal of a lease;
(2) interest on money lent, including sums received as consideration for the privilege of prepayment of principal except as provided in Section 62-7-410 on bond premium and bond discount;
(3) income earned during administration of a decedent's estate as provided in Sections 62-7-408 and 62-7-419;
(4) corporate distributions as provided in Section 62-7-409;
(5) accrued increment on bonds or other obligations issued at discount as provided in Section 62-7-410;
(6) receipts from principal used in business and farming as provided in Section 62-7-411;
(7) receipts from disposition of natural resources as provided in Sections 62-7-412 and 62-7-413;
(8) receipts from other principal subject to depletion as provided in Section 62-7-414; or
(9) receipts from disposition of underproductive property as provided in Section 62-7-415.
Section 62-7-406. Principal is the property which has been set aside by the owner or the person legally empowered so that it is held in trust eventually to be delivered to a remainderman while the return or use of the principal is in the meantime taken or received by or held for accumulation for an income beneficiary. Principal includes:
(1) consideration received by the trustee on the sale or other transfer of principal or on repayment of a loan or as a refund or replacement or change in the form of principal;
(2) proceeds of property taken on eminent domain proceedings;
(3) proceeds of insurance upon property forming part of the principal except proceeds of insurance upon a separate interest of an income beneficiary;
(4) stock dividends, receipts on liquidation of a corporation, and other corporate distributions as provided in Section 62-7-409;
(5) receipts from the disposition of corporate securities as provided in Section 62-7-410;
(6) royalties and other receipts from disposition of natural resources as provided in Sections 62-7-412 and 62-7-413;
(7) receipts from other principal subject to depletion as provided in Section 62-7-414;
(8) any profit resulting from any change in the form of principal except as provided in Section 62-7-415 on underproductive property;
(9) receipts from disposition of underproductive property as provided in Section 62-7-415; or
(10) any allowances for depreciation established under Sections 62-7-411 and 62-7-417(2).
Section 62-7-407. (a) An income beneficiary is entitled to income from the date specified in the trust instrument, or, if none is specified, from the date an asset becomes subject to the trust. In the case of an asset becoming subject to a trust by reason of a will, it becomes subject to the trust as of the date of the death of the testator even though there is an intervening period of administration of the testator's estate.
(b) In the administration of a decedent's estate or a testamentary trust or in the case of an asset received under a will by a trustee:
(1) receipts due but not paid at the date of death of the testator are principal;
(2) receipts in the form of periodic payments (other than corporate distributions to stockholders), such as rent, interest, or annuities, not due at the date of the death of the testator shall be treated as accruing from day to day. That portion of such a receipt accruing before the date of death is principal and the balance is income.
(c) In all other cases, any receipt from an income producing asset is income even though the receipt was earned or accrued in whole or in part before the date when the asset became subject to the trust.
(d) On termination of an income interest, the income beneficiary whose interest is terminated, or his estate, is entitled to:
(1) income undistributed on the date of termination;
(2) income due but not paid to the trustee on the date of termination; or
(3) income in the form of periodic payments (other than corporate distributions to stockholders), such as rent, interest, or annuities, not due on the date of termination, accrued from day to day.
(e) Corporate distributions to stockholders shall be treated as due on the day fixed by the corporation for determination of stockholders of record entitled to distribution or, if no date is fixed, on the date of declaration of the distribution by the corporation.
Section 62-7-408. Unless the will otherwise provides, income from the assets of a decedent's estate after the death of the testator and before distribution, including income from property used to discharge liabilities, shall be determined in accordance with the rules applicable to a trustee under this Part [Sections 62-7-401 et seq.,] and distributed as follows:
(1) to specific legatees and devisees, the income from the property bequeathed or devised to them respectively, less taxes, ordinary repairs, and other expenses of management and operation of the property, and an appropriate portion of interest accrued since the death of the testator and of taxes imposed on income (excluding taxes on capital gains) which accrue during the period of administration;
(2)(i) for one year after the first appointment of a personal representative, to all other legatees and devisees, except legatees of pecuniary bequests not in trust, the balance of the income, less the balance of taxes, ordinary repairs, and other expenses of management and operation of all property from which the State is entitled to income, interest accrued since the death of the testator, and taxes imposed on income (excluding taxes on capital gains) which accrue during the period of administration, in proportion to their respective interests in the undistributed assets of the estate computed at times of distribution on the basis of inventory value. Income received by a trustee under this section shall be treated as income of the trust.
(ii) beginning one year after the first appointment of a personal representative, to all other legatees and devisees, the balance of the income less the balance of taxes, ordinary repairs, and other expenses of management and operation of all property from which the State is entitled to income, interest accrued since the death of the testator, and taxes imposed on income (excluding taxes on capital gains) which accrue during the period of administration, in proportion to their respective interests in the undistributed assets of the estate computed at times of distribution on the basis of inventory value. Income received by a trustee under this section shall be treated as income of the trust.
Section 62-7-409. (a) Corporate distributions of shares of the distributing corporation, including distributions in the form of a stock split or stock dividend, are principal. A right to subscribe to shares or other securities issued by the distributing corporation accruing to stockholders on account of their stock ownership and the proceeds of any sale of the right are principal.
(b) Except to the extent that the corporation indicates that some part of a corporate distribution is a settlement of preferred to guaranteed dividends accrued since the trustee became a stockholder or is in lieu of an ordinary cash dividend, a corporate distribution is principal if the distribution is pursuant to:
(1) a call of shares;
(2) a merger, consolidation, reorganization, or other plan by which assets of the corporation are acquired by another corporation; or
(3) a total or partial liquidation of the corporation. For the purposes of this section, a distribution is pursuant to a liquidation if the corporation so indicates, or if the corporation is making a distribution of assets, other than cash, pursuant to a court decree or final administrative order by a government agency ordering distribution of the particular assets.
(c) Distributions made from ordinary income by a regulated investment company or by a trust qualifying and electing to be taxed as a real estate investment trust under federal law are income. All other distributions made by such a company or trust, including distributions from capital gains, depreciation, or depletion, whether in the form of cash or an option to take new stock or cash or an option to purchase additional shares, are principal.
(d) Except as provided in subsections (a), (b), and (c), all corporate distributions are income, including cash dividends, distributions of, or rights to, subscribe to shares or securities or obligations of corporations other than the distributing corporation, and the proceeds of such rights or property distributions. Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), if the distributing corporation gives a stockholder an option to receive a distribution either in cash or in its own shares, the distribution chosen is income.
(e) The trustee may rely upon any statement of the distributing corporation as to any fact relevant under any provision of this part [Sections 62-7-401 et seq.] concerning the source or character of dividends or distributions of corporate assets.
Section 62-7-410. (a) Bonds or other obligations for the payment of money are principal at their inventory value, except as provided in subsection (b) for discount bonds. No provision shall be made for amortization of bond premiums or for accumulation for discount. The proceeds of sale, redemption, or other disposition of the bonds or obligations are principal.
(b) The increment in value of a bond or other obligation for the payment of money payable at a future time in accordance with a fixed schedule of appreciation in excess of the price at which it was issued, and the amount of the accretion of a bond or other obligation for the payment of money bearing no stated interest but redeemable at maturity or at a future time in an amount in excess of the amount in consideration for which it was issued, is distributable as income. The increment in value is distributable to the beneficiary who was the income beneficiary at the time of increment from the first principal cash available or, if none is available, when realized by sale, redemption, or other disposition. Whenever unrealized increment is distributed as income but out of principal, the principal shall be reimbursed for the increment when realized.
Section 62-7-411. (a) If a trustee uses any part of the principal in the continuance of a business of which the settlor was a sole proprietor or a partner, the net profits of the business, computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for a comparable business, are income. If a loss results in any fiscal or calendar year, the loss falls on principal and shall not be carried into any other fiscal or calendar year for the purposes of calculating net income.
(b) Generally accepted accounting principles shall be used to determine income from an agricultural or farming operation, including the raising of animals or the operation of a nursery.
Section 62-7-412. (a) If any part of the principal consists of a right to receive royalties, overriding or limited royalties, working interests, production payments, net profit interests, or other interests in minerals or other natural resources in, on, or under land, the receipts from taking the natural resources from the land shall be allocated as follows:
(1) If received as rent on a lease or extension payments on a lease, the receipts are income.
(2) If received from a production payment, the receipts are income to the extent of any factor for interest or its equivalent provided in the governing instrument. There shall be allocated to principal the fraction of the balance of the receipts which the unrecovered cost of the production payment bears to the balance owed on the production payment, exclusive of any factor for interest or its equivalent. The receipts not allocated to principal are income.
(3) If received as a royalty, overriding or limited royalty, or as a bonus, or from a working interest or net profit, or from any other interest in minerals or other natural resources, receipts not provided for in the preceding paragraphs of this section shall be apportioned on a yearly basis in accordance with this paragraph whether or not any natural resource was being taken from the land at the time the trust was established. Twenty-seven and one-half percent of the gross receipts (but not to exceed fifty percent of the net receipts remaining after payment of all expenses, direct and indirect, computed without allowance for depletion) shall be added to principal as an allowance for depletion. The balance of the gross receipts, after payment therefrom of all expenses, direct and indirect, is income.
(b) If a trustee, on June 3, 1963, held an item of depletable property of a type specified in this section, he shall allocate receipts from the property in the manner used before June 3, 1963, but as to all depletable property acquired after June 3, 1963, by an existing or new trust, the method of allocation provided herein shall be used.
(c) This section does not apply to timber, water, soil, sod, dirt, turf, or mosses.
Section 62-7-413. If any part of the principal consists of land from which merchantable timber may be removed, the receipts from taking the timber from the land shall be allocated in accordance with paragraph (3) of Section 62-7-404.
Section 62-7-414. Except as provided in Sections 62-7-412 and 62-7-413, if the principal consists of property subject to depletion, including leaseholds, patents, copyrights, royalty rights, and rights to receive payments on a contract for deferred compensation, the receipts from the property not in excess of five percent per year of its inventory value are income and the balance is principal.
Section 62-7-415. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a portion of the net proceeds of sale of any part of principal which has not produced an average net income of at least one percent per year of its inventory value for more than a year (including as income the value of any beneficial use of the property by the income beneficiary) shall be treated as delayed income to which the income beneficiary is entitled as provided in this section. The net proceeds of sale are the gross proceeds received, including the value of any property received in substitution for the property disposed of, less the expenses, including capital gains tax, if any, incurred in disposition and less any carrying charges which have been paid while the property was underproductive.
(b) The sum allocated as delayed income is the difference between the net proceeds and the amount which, had it been invested at simple interest at four percent per year while the property was underproductive, would have produced the net proceeds. This sum plus any carrying charges and expenses previously charged against income while the property was underproductive, less any income received by the income beneficiary from the property and less the value of any beneficial use of the property by the income beneficiary, is income, and the balance is principal.
(c) An income beneficiary or his estate is entitled to delayed income under this section as if it accrued from day to day during the time he was a beneficiary.
(d) If principal subject to this section is disposed of by conversion into property which cannot be apportioned easily, including land or mortgages (for example, realty acquired by or in lieu of foreclosure), the income beneficiary is entitled to the net income from any form of property or obligation into which the original principal was converted while the property or obligation is held. If within five years after the conversion the property into which the underproductive property is converted has not been further converted into easily apportionable property, no allocation as provided in this section shall be made.
Section 62-7-416. After determining income and principal in accordance with the terms of the trust instrument or of this part, the trustee shall charge to income or principal expenses and other charges as provided in Sections 62-7-417, 62-7-418, and 62-7-420.
Section 62-7-417. (a) The following charges shall be made against income:
(1) ordinary expenses incurred in connection with the administration, management, and preservation of the trust property, including regularly recurring taxes assessed against any portion of the principal, water rates, premiums on insurance taken upon the interests of the income beneficiary, remainderman or trustee, interest paid by the trustee, and ordinary repairs;
(2) a reasonable allowance for depreciation on property subject to depreciation under generally accepted accounting principles, but no allowance shall be made for depreciation of that portion of any real property used by a beneficiary as a residence; nor for depreciation of any property held by the trustee on June 3, 1963, (except as to subsequent expenses incurred for extraordinary repairs or capital improvements to such property), for which the trustee was not then making an allowance for depreciation;
(3) one-half of court costs, attorney's fees, and other fees on periodic judicial accounting, unless the court directs otherwise;
(4) court costs, attorney's fees, and other fees on other accountings or judicial proceedings if the matter primarily concerns the income interest, unless the court directs otherwise;
(5) one-half of the trustee's regular compensation, whether based on a percentage of principal or income, and all expenses reasonably incurred for current management of principal and application of income;
(6) any tax levied upon receipts defined as income under this part [Sections 62-7-401 et seq.] or the trust instrument and payable by the trustee.
(b) If charges against income are of unusual amount, the trustee may by means of reserves or other reasonable means charge them over a reasonable period of time and withhold from distribution sufficient sums to regularize distributions.
Section 62-7-418. The following charges shall be made against principal:
(1) trustee's compensation not chargeable to income under subsection (a), items (4) and (5) of Section 62-7-417, including special compensation of trustees and expenses reasonably incurred in connection with the principal, court costs, and attorney's fees concerning matters of principal, and trustee's compensation computed on principal as an acceptance, distribution, or termination fee;
(2) charges not provided for in Section 62-7-417(a) including the cost of investing and reinvesting principal, the payments on principal of an indebtedness (including a mortgage amortized by periodic payments of principal), expenses for preparation of property for rental or sale, and, unless the court directs otherwise, expenses incurred in maintaining or defending any action to protect or construe the trust or the property or assure the title of any trust property;
(3) extraordinary repairs or expenses incurred in making a capital improvement of principal, including special assessments, but, to the extent permitted by Section 62-7-411 and subsection (a), item (2), of Section 62-7-417 a trustee may establish an allowance for depreciation out of income;
(4) any tax levied upon profit, gain, or other receipts allocated to principal notwithstanding denomination of the tax as an income tax by the taxing authority;
(5) if an estate or inheritance tax is levied in respect of a trust in which both an income beneficiary and a remainderman have an interest, any amount apportioned to the trust, including interest and penalties, even though the income beneficiary also has rights in the principal.
Section 62-7-419. Unless the will otherwise provides and subject to Section 62-7-408, all expenses incurred in connection with the settlement of a decedent's estate, including debts, funeral expenses, estate taxes, interest and penalties concerning taxes, family allowances, fees of attorneys and personal representatives, and court costs shall be charged against the principal of the estate.
Section 62-7-420. Regularly recurring charges payable from income shall be apportioned to the same extent and in the same manner that income is apportioned under Section 62-7-407.
Section 62-7-421. This part [Sections 62-7-401 et seq.] shall be so construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it.
Section 62-7-401. This part may be cited as the South Carolina Uniform Principal and Income Act.
Section 62-7-402. As used in this part:
(1) 'Accounting period' means a calendar year unless another twelve-month period is selected by a fiduciary. The term includes a portion of a calendar year or other twelve-month period that begins when an income interest begins or ends when an income interest ends.
(2) 'Beneficiary' includes, in the case of a decedent's estate, an heir, legatee, and devisee and, in the case of a trust, an income beneficiary and a remainder beneficiary.
(3) 'Fiduciary' means a personal representative or a trustee. The term includes an executor, administrator, successor personal representative, special administrator, and a person performing substantially the same function.
(4) 'Income' means money or property that a fiduciary receives as current return from a principal asset. The term includes a portion of receipts from a sale, exchange, or liquidation of a principal asset, to the extent provided in Section 62-7-410 through Section 62-7-424.
(5) 'Income beneficiary' means a person to whom net income of a trust is or may be payable.
(6) 'Income interest' means the right of an income beneficiary to receive all or part of net income, whether the terms of the trust require it to be distributed or authorize it to be distributed in the trustee's discretion.
(7) 'Mandatory income interest' means the right of an income beneficiary to receive net income that the terms of the trust require the fiduciary to distribute.
(8) 'Net income' means the total receipts allocated to income during an accounting period minus the disbursements made from income during the period, plus or minus transfers under this part to or from income during the period.
(9) 'Person' means an individual, a corporation, a business trust, an estate, a trust, a partnership, a limited liability company, an association, a joint venture, a government or a governmental subdivision, an agency, or an instrumentality; a public corporation, or other legal or commercial entity.
(10) 'Principal' means property held in trust for distribution to a remainder beneficiary when the trust terminates.
(11) 'Remainder beneficiary' means a person entitled to receive principal when an income interest ends.
(12) 'Terms of a trust' means the manifestation of the intent of a settlor or decedent with respect to the trust, expressed in a manner that admits of its proof in a judicial proceeding, whether by written or spoken words or by conduct.
(13) 'Trustee' includes an original, additional, or successor trustee, whether or not appointed or confirmed by a court.
Section 62-7-403. (A) In allocating receipts and disbursements to or between principal and income, and with respect to any matter within the scope of Sections 62-7-405 and 62-7-409, a fiduciary:
(1) shall administer a trust or estate in accordance with the terms of the trust or the will, even if there is a different provision in this part;
(2) may administer a trust or estate by the exercise of a discretionary power of administration given to the fiduciary by the terms of the trust or the will, even if the exercise of the power produces a result different from a result required or permitted by this part;
(3) shall administer a trust or estate in accordance with this part if the terms of the trust or the will do not contain a different provision or do not give the fiduciary a discretionary power of administration; and
(4) shall add a receipt or charge a disbursement to principal to the extent that the terms of the trust and this part do not provide a rule for allocating the receipt or disbursement to or between principal and income.
(B) In exercising the power to adjust pursuant to Section 62-7-404(A) or a discretionary power of administration regarding a matter within the scope of this part, whether granted by the terms of a trust, a will, or this part, a fiduciary shall administer a trust or estate impartially, based on what is fair and reasonable to all of the beneficiaries, except to the extent that the terms of the trust or the will clearly manifest an intention that the fiduciary shall or may favor one or more of the beneficiaries. A determination in accordance with this part is presumed to be fair and reasonable to all of the beneficiaries.
Section 62-7-404. (A) A trustee may adjust between principal and income to the extent the trustee considers necessary if the trustee invests and manages trust assets as a prudent investor, the terms of the trust describe the amount that may or must be distributed to a beneficiary by referring to the trust's income, and the trustee determines, after applying the provisions in Section 62-7-403(A), that the trustee is unable to comply with Section 62-7-403(B).
(B) In deciding whether and to what extent to exercise the power of adjustment in subsection (A), a trustee shall consider all factors relevant to the trust and its beneficiaries, including:
(1) nature, purpose, and expected duration of the trust;
(2) intent of the settlor;
(3) identity and circumstances of the beneficiaries;
(4) needs for liquidity, regularity of income, and preservation and appreciation of capital;
(5) assets held in the trust and the extent to which they consist of financial assets, interests in closely held enterprises, tangible and intangible personal property, or real property and the extent to which an asset is used by a beneficiary, and whether an asset was purchased by the trustee or received from the settlor;
(6) net amount otherwise allocated to income and the increase or decrease in the value of the principal assets, which the trustee may estimate as to assets for which market values are not readily available;
(7) terms of the trust and whether and to what extent they give the trustee the power to, or prohibit him from, invade principal or accumulate income or prohibit the trustee from invading principal or accumulating income, and the extent to which the trustee has exercised a power from time to time to invade principal or accumulate income;
(8) actual and anticipated effect of economic conditions on principal and income and effects of inflation and deflation; and
(9) anticipated tax consequences of an adjustment.
(C) A trustee may not make an adjustment:
(1) that diminishes the income interest in a trust that requires all of the income to be paid at least annually to a surviving spouse and for which an estate tax or gift tax marital deduction is allowed, in whole or in part, if the trustee did not have the power to make the adjustment;
(2) that reduces the actuarial value of the income interest in a trust to which a person transfers property with the intent to qualify for a gift tax exclusion;
(3) that changes the amount payable to a beneficiary as a fixed annuity or a fixed fraction of the value of the trust assets;
(4) from any amount that is permanently set aside for charitable purposes under a will or the terms of a trust unless both income and principal are so set aside;
(5) if possessing or exercising the power to make an adjustment is determinative in causing an individual to be treated as the owner of all or part of the trust for income tax purposes;
(6) if possessing or exercising the power to make an adjustment is determinative in causing all or part of the trust assets to be included for estate tax purposes in the estate of an individual who has the power to remove a trustee or appoint a trustee, or both;
(7) if the trustee is a beneficiary of the trust; or
(8) if the trustee is not a beneficiary, but the adjustment benefits the trustee directly or indirectly.
(D) If subsection (C)(5), (6), (7), or (8) applies to a trustee and there is more than one trustee, a cotrustee to whom the provision does not apply may make the adjustment unless the exercise of the power by the remaining trustee or trustees is not permitted by the terms of the trust.
(E) A trustee may release the entire power of adjustment in by subsection (A) or may release only the power to adjust from income to principal or the power to adjust from principal to income if the trustee is uncertain about whether possessing or exercising the power causes a result described in subsections (C)(1) through (6) or (C)(8) or if the trustee determines that possessing or exercising the power may deprive the trust of a tax benefit or impose a tax burden not contemplated in subsection (C). The release may be permanent or for a specified period, including a period measured by the life of an individual.
(F) Terms of a trust that limit the power of a trustee to make an adjustment between principal and income do not affect the application of this section unless it is clear from the terms of the trust that the terms are intended to deny the trustee the power of adjustment in subsection (A).
Section 62-7-405. After a decedent dies, in the case of an estate, or after an income interest in a trust ends, a fiduciary:
(1) of an estate or of a terminating income interest shall determine the amount of net income and net principal receipts received from property specifically given to a beneficiary pursuant to Sections 62-7-407 through 62-7-430 which apply to trustees and the provisions of item (5). The fiduciary shall distribute the net income and net principal receipts to the beneficiary who is to receive the specific property;
(2) shall determine the remaining net income of a decedent's estate or a terminating income interest pursuant to Sections 62-7-407 through 62-7-430 which apply to trustees and by:
(a) including in net income all income from property used to discharge liabilities;
(b) paying from income or principal, in the fiduciary's discretion, fees of attorneys, accountants, and fiduciaries, court costs and other expenses of administration, and interest on death taxes; except that the fiduciary may pay those expenses from income of property passing to a trust for which the fiduciary claims an estate tax marital or charitable deduction only to the extent that the payment of those expenses from income does not cause the reduction or loss of the deduction; and
(c) paying from principal all other disbursements made or incurred in connection with the settlement of a decedent's estate or the winding up of a terminating income interest, including debts, funeral expenses, disposition of remains, family allowances, and death taxes and related penalties that are apportioned to the estate or terminating income interest by the will, the terms of the trust, or applicable law;
(3) shall distribute to a beneficiary who receives a pecuniary amount outright the interest or other amount provided by the will, the terms of the trust, or applicable law from net income as determined by item (2) or from principal to the extent that net income is insufficient. If a beneficiary is to receive a pecuniary amount outright from a trust after an income interest ends and no interest or other amount is provided for by the terms of the trust or applicable law, the fiduciary shall distribute the interest or other amount to which the beneficiary would be entitled under applicable law if the pecuniary amount were required to be paid under a will;
(4) shall distribute the net income remaining after distributions required by item (3) in the manner pursuant to Section 62-7-406 to all other beneficiaries, including a beneficiary who receives a pecuniary amount in trust, even if the beneficiary holds an unqualified power to withdraw assets from the trust or other presently exercisable general power of appointment over the trust; and
(5) may not reduce principal or income receipts from property described in item (1) because of a payment pursuant to Sections 62-7-424 and 62-7-425 to the extent that the will, the terms of the trust, or applicable law requires the fiduciary to make the payment from assets other than the property or to the extent that the fiduciary recovers or expects to recover the payment from a third party. The net income and principal receipts from the property are determined by including all of the amounts the fiduciary receives or pays with respect to the property, whether those amounts accrued or became due before, on, or after the date of a decedent's death or an income interest's terminating event, and by making a reasonable provision for amounts that the fiduciary believes the estate or terminating income interest may become obligated to pay after the property is distributed.
Section 62-7-406. (A) Each beneficiary described in Section 62-7-405(4) is entitled to receive a portion of the net income equal to his fractional interest in undistributed principal assets, using values as of the distribution date. If a fiduciary makes more than one distribution of assets to beneficiaries to whom this section applies, each beneficiary, including one who does not receive part of the distribution, is entitled, as of each distribution date, to the net income the fiduciary has received after the date of death or terminating event or earlier distribution date but has not distributed as of the current distribution date.
(B) In determining a beneficiary's share of net income, the:
(1) beneficiary is entitled to receive a portion of the net income equal to his fractional interest in the undistributed principal assets immediately before the distribution date, including assets that later may be sold to meet principal obligations.
(2) fractional interest of the beneficiary in the undistributed principal assets must be calculated without regard to property specifically given to a beneficiary and property required to pay pecuniary amounts not in trust.
(3) fractional interest of the beneficiary in the undistributed principal assets must be calculated on the basis of the aggregate value of those assets as of the distribution date without reducing the value by any unpaid principal obligation; and
(4) distribution date for purposes of this section may be the date as of which the fiduciary calculates the value of the assets if that date is reasonably near the date on which assets are actually distributed.
(C) If a fiduciary does not distribute all of the collected but undistributed net income to each person as of a distribution date, the fiduciary shall maintain appropriate records showing the interest of each beneficiary in that net income.
(D) A trustee may apply the provisions of this section, to the extent that the trustee considers it appropriate, to net gain or loss realized after the date of death or terminating event or earlier distribution date from the disposition of a principal asset if this section applies to the income from the asset.
Section 62-7-407. (A) An income beneficiary is entitled to net income from the date on which the income interest begins. An income interest begins on the date specified in the terms of the trust or, if no date is specified, on the date an asset becomes subject to a trust or successive income interest.
(B) An asset becomes subject to a trust on the date:
(1) it is transferred to the trust, in the case of an asset that is transferred to a trust during the transferor's life;
(2) the testator dies, in the case of an asset that becomes subject to a trust by reason of a will, even if there is an intervening period of administration of the estate; or
(3) the individual dies, in the case of an asset that is transferred to a fiduciary by a third party because of the death of the individual.
(C) An asset becomes subject to a successive income interest on the day after the preceding income interest ends, as determined pursuant to subsection (D), even if there is an intervening period of administration to wind up the preceding income interest.
(D) An income interest ends on the day before an income beneficiary dies or another terminating event occurs or on the last day of a period during which there is no beneficiary to whom a trustee may distribute income.
Section 62-7-408. (A) A trustee shall allocate an income receipt or disbursement, other than one subject to Section 62-7-405(1), to principal if its due date occurs before a decedent dies in the case of an estate or before an income interest begins in the case of a trust or successive income interest.
(B) A trustee shall allocate an income receipt or disbursement to income if its due date occurs on or after the date on which a decedent dies or an income interest begins and it is a periodic due date. An income receipt or disbursement must be treated as accruing from day to day if its due date is not periodic or it has no due date. The portion of the receipt or disbursement accruing before the date on which a decedent dies or an income interest begins must be allocated to principal and the balance must be allocated to income.
(C) An item of income or an obligation is due on the date the payer is required to make a payment. If a payment date is not stated, there is no due date for the purposes of this part. Distributions to shareholders or other owners from an entity subject to Section 62-7-410 are considered due on the date fixed by the entity for determining who is entitled to receive the distribution or, if no date is fixed, on the declaration date for the distribution. A due date is periodic for receipts or disbursements that must be paid at regular intervals under a lease or an obligation to pay interest or if an entity customarily makes distributions at regular intervals.
Section 62-7-409. (A) In this section, 'undistributed income' means net income received before the date on which an income interest ends. The term does not include an item of income or expense that is due or accrued or net income that has been added or must be added to principal under the terms of the trust.
(B) When a mandatory income interest ends, the trustee shall pay to a mandatory income beneficiary who survives that date, or the estate of a deceased mandatory income beneficiary whose death causes the interest to end, the beneficiary's share of the undistributed income that is not disposed of under the terms of the trust, unless the beneficiary has an unqualified power to revoke more than five percent of the trust immediately before the income interest ends. In that case, the undistributed income from the portion of the trust that may be revoked must be added to principal.
(C) When the obligation of a trustee to pay a fixed annuity or a fixed fraction of the value of the trust assets ends, the trustee shall prorate the final payment if, and to the extent, required by applicable law to accomplish a purpose of the trust or its settlor relating to income, gift, estate, or other tax requirements.
Section 62-7-410. (A) In this section, 'entity' means a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, regulated investment company, real estate investment trust, common trust fund, or other organization in which a trustee has an interest other than a trust or estate subject to Section 62-7-411, a business or activity to which Section 62-7-412 applies, or an asset-backed security to which Section 62-7-424 applies.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a trustee shall allocate to income money received from an entity.
(C) A trustee shall allocate the following receipts from an entity to principal:
(1) property other than money;
(2) money received in one distribution or a series of related distributions in exchange for part or all of a trust's interest in the entity;
(3) money received in total or partial liquidation of the entity; and
(4) money received from an entity that is a regulated investment company or a real estate investment trust if the money distributed is a capital gain dividend for federal income tax purposes.
(D) Money is received in partial liquidation:
(1) to the extent that the entity, at or near the time of a distribution, indicates that it is a distribution in partial liquidation; or
(2) if the total amount of money and property received in a distribution or series of related distributions is greater than twenty percent of the entity's gross assets of the entity, as shown by the its year-end financial statements immediately preceding the initial receipt.
(E) Money is not received in partial liquidation, nor may it be taken into account pursuant to subsection (D)(2), to the extent that it does not exceed the amount of income tax that a trustee or beneficiary must pay on taxable income of the entity that distributes the money.
(F) A trustee may rely upon a statement made by an entity about the source or character of a distribution if the statement is made at or near the time of distribution by the its board of directors or other person or group of persons authorized to exercise powers to pay money or transfer property comparable to those of a corporation's board of directors.
Section 62-7-411. A trustee shall allocate to income an amount received as a distribution of income from a trust or an estate in which the trust has an interest other than a purchased interest, and shall allocate to principal an amount received as a distribution of principal from such a trust or estate. If a trustee purchases an interest in a trust that is an investment entity, or a decedent or donor transfers an interest in such a trust to a trustee, Section 62-7-410 or 62-7-424 applies to a receipt from the trust.
Section 62-7-412. (A) If a trustee who conducts a business or other activity determines that it is in the best interest of all the beneficiaries to account separately for the business or activity instead of accounting for it as part of the general accounting records of the trust, the trustee may maintain separate accounting records for its transactions, whether or not its assets are segregated from other trust assets.
(B) A trustee who accounts separately for a business or other activity may determine the extent to which its net cash receipts must be retained for working capital, the acquisition or replacement of fixed assets, and other reasonably foreseeable needs of the business or activity, and the extent to which the remaining net cash receipts are accounted for as principal or income in the trust's general accounting records. If a trustee sells assets of the business or other activity, other than in the ordinary course of the business or activity, the trustee shall account for the net amount received as principal in the general accounting records of the trust to the extent the trustee determines that the amount received is no longer required in the conduct of the business.
(C) Activities for which a trustee may maintain separate accounting records include:
(1) retail, manufacturing, service, and other traditional business activities;
(2) farming;
(3) raising and selling livestock and other animals;
(4) management of rental properties;
(5) extraction of minerals and other natural resources;
(6) timber operations; and
(7) activities subject to Section 62-7-423.
Section 62-7-413. A trustee shall allocate to principal:
(1) to the extent not allocated to income pursuant to this part, assets received from a transferor during his lifetime, a decedent's estate, a trust with a terminating income interest, or a payer under a contract naming the trust or its trustee as beneficiary;
(2) money or other property received from the sale, exchange, liquidation, or change in form of a principal asset, including realized profit;
(3) amounts recovered from third parties to reimburse the trust because of disbursements described in Section 62-7-426(A)(7) or for other reasons to the extent not based on the loss of income;
(4) proceeds of property taken by eminent domain, but a separate award made for the loss of income with respect to an accounting period during which a current income beneficiary had a mandatory income interest is income;
(5) net income received in an accounting period during which there is no beneficiary to whom a trustee may or must distribute income; and
(6) other receipts as provided in Sections 62-7-417 through 62-7-424.
Section 62-7-414. To the extent that a trustee accounts for receipts from rental property pursuant to this section, the trustee shall allocate to income an amount received as rent of real or personal property, including an amount received for cancellation or renewal of a lease. An amount received as a refundable deposit, including a security deposit or a deposit applied as rent for future periods, must be added to principal and held subject to the terms of the lease and is not available for distribution to a beneficiary until the trustee's contractual obligations have been satisfied with respect to that amount.
Section 62-7-415. (A) An amount received as interest, whether determined at a fixed, variable, or floating rate, on an obligation to pay money to the trustee, including an amount received as consideration for prepaying principal, must be allocated to income without provision for amortization of premium.
(B) A trustee shall allocate to principal an amount received from the sale, redemption, or other disposition of an obligation to pay money to the trustee more than one year after it is purchased or acquired by the trustee, including an obligation whose purchase price or value when it is acquired is less than its value at maturity. If the obligation matures within one year after it is purchased or acquired by the trustee, an amount received in excess of its purchase price or its value when acquired by the trust must be allocated to income.
(C) This section does not apply to an obligation subject to Section 62-7-418, 62-7-419, 62-7-420, 62-7-421, or 62-7-424.
Section 62-7-416. (A) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (B), a trustee shall allocate to principal the proceeds of a life insurance policy or other contract in which the trust or its trustee is named as beneficiary, including a contract that insures the trust or its trustee against loss for damage to, destruction of, or loss of title to a trust asset. The trustee shall allocate dividends on an insurance policy to income if the premiums on the policy are paid from income, and to principal if the premiums are paid from principal.
(B) A trustee shall allocate to income proceeds of a contract that insures the trustee against loss of occupancy or other use by an income beneficiary, loss of income, or, subject to Section 62-7-412, loss of profits from a business.
(C) This section does not apply to a contract subject to Section 62-7-418.
Section 62-7-417. If a trustee determines that an allocation between principal and income required by Section 62-7-418, 62-7-419, 62-7-420, 62-7-421, or 62-7-424 is insubstantial, the trustee may allocate the entire amount to principal unless one of the circumstances provided in Section 62-7-404(C) applies to the allocation. This power may be exercised by a cotrustee in the circumstances provided in Section 62-7-404(D) and may be released for the reasons and in the manner provided in Section 62-7-404(E). An allocation is presumed to be insubstantial if:
(1) the amount of the allocation increases or decreases net income in an accounting period, as determined before the allocation, by less than ten percent; or
(2) the value of the asset producing the receipt for which the allocation is made is less than ten percent of the total value of the assets of the trust at the beginning of the accounting period.
Section 62-7-418. (A) In this section, 'payment' means a payment that a trustee may receive over a fixed number of years or during the life of one or more individuals because of services rendered or property transferred to the payer in exchange for future payments. The term includes a payment made in money or property from the payer's general assets or from a separate fund created by the payer, including a private or commercial annuity, an individual retirement account, and a pension, profit-sharing, stock-bonus, or stock-ownership plan.
(B) To the extent that a payment is characterized as interest or a dividend or a payment made instead of interest or a dividend, a trustee shall allocate it to income. The trustee shall allocate to principal the balance of the payment and any other payment received in the same accounting period that is not characterized as interest, a dividend, or an equivalent payment.
(C) If part of a payment is not characterized as interest, a dividend, or an equivalent payment, and all or part of the payment is required to be made, a trustee shall allocate to income ten percent of the part that is required to be made during the accounting period and the balance to principal. If a part of a payment is not required to be made or the payment received is the entire amount to which the trustee is entitled, the trustee shall allocate the entire payment to principal. For purposes of this subsection, a payment is not 'required to be made' to the extent that it is made because the trustee exercises a right of withdrawal.
(D) If, to obtain an estate tax marital deduction for a trust, a trustee must allocate more of a payment to income than provided for by this section, the trustee shall allocate to income the additional amount necessary to obtain the marital deduction.
(E) This section does not apply to payments subject to Section 62-7-419.
Section 62-7-419. (A) In this section, 'liquidating asset' means an asset whose value diminishes or terminates because the asset is expected to produce receipts for a period of limited duration. The term includes a leasehold, patent, copyright, royalty right, and right to receive payments during a period of more than one year under an arrangement that does not provide for the payment of interest on the unpaid balance. The term does not include a payment subject to Section 62-7-418, resources subject to Section 62-7-420, timber subject to Section 62-7-421, an activity subject to Section 62-7-423, an asset subject to Section 62-7-424, or any asset for which the trustee establishes a reserve for depreciation pursuant to Section 62-7-427.
(B) A trustee shall allocate to income ten percent of the receipts from a liquidating asset and the balance to principal.
Section 62-7-420. (A) To the extent that a trustee accounts for receipts from an interest in minerals or other natural resources pursuant to this section, the trustee shall allocate them if:
(1) received as nominal delay rental or nominal annual rent on a lease, a receipt must be allocated to income;
(2) received from a production payment, a receipt must be allocated to income if and to the extent that the agreement creating the production payment provides a factor for interest or its equivalent. The balance must be allocated to principal;
(3) an amount received as a royalty, shut-in-well payment, take-or-pay payment, bonus, or delay rental is more than nominal, ninety percent must be allocated to principal and the balance to income;
(4) an amount is received from a working interest or any other interest not otherwise provided for in this subsection, ninety percent of the net amount received must be allocated to principal and the balance to income.
(B) An amount received on account of an interest in water that is renewable must be allocated to income. If the water is not renewable, ninety percent of the amount must be allocated to principal and the balance to income.
(C) This part applies whether or not a decedent or donor was extracting minerals, water, or other natural resources before the interest became subject to the trust.
(D) If a trust owns an interest in minerals, water, or other natural resources on the effective date of this part, the trustee may allocate receipts from the interest as provided in this part or in the manner used by the trustee before the effective date of this part. If the trust acquires an interest in minerals, water, or other natural resources after the effective date of this part, the trustee shall allocate receipts from the interest as provided in this part.
Section 62-7-421. (A) To the extent that a trustee accounts for receipts from the sale of timber and related products pursuant to this section, the trustee shall allocate the net receipts to:
(1) income, to the extent that the amount of timber removed from the land does not exceed the rate of growth of the timber during the accounting periods in which a beneficiary has a mandatory income interest;
(2) principal, to the extent that the amount of timber removed from the land exceeds the rate of growth of the timber or the net receipts are from the sale of standing timber;
(3) or between income and principal, if the net receipts are from the lease of timberland or from a contract to cut timber from land owned by a trust, by determining the amount of timber removed from the land under the lease or contract and applying items (1) and (2); or
(4) principal, to the extent that advance payments, bonuses, and other payments are not otherwise allocated pursuant this subsection.
(B) In determining net receipts to be allocated pursuant to subsection (A), a trustee shall deduct and transfer to principal a reasonable amount for depletion.
(C) This part applies whether or not a decedent or transferor was harvesting timber from the property before it become subject to the trust.
(D) If a trust owns an interest in timberland on the effective date of this part, the trustee may allocate net receipts from the sale of timber and related products as provided in this part or in the manner used by the trustee before the effective date of this part. If the trust acquires an interest in timberland after the effective date of this part, the trustee shall allocate net receipts from the sale of timber and related products as provided in this part.
Section 62-7-422. (A) If a marital deduction is allowed for all or part of a trust whose assets consist substantially of property that does not provide the surviving spouse with sufficient income from or use of the trust assets, and if the amounts that the trustee transfers from principal to income pursuant to Section 62-7-404 and distributes to the spouse from principal pursuant to the terms of the trust are insufficient to provide the spouse with the beneficial enjoyment required to obtain the marital deduction, the spouse may require the trustee to make property productive of income, convert property within a reasonable time, or exercise the power in Section 62-7-404(A). The trustee may decide which action or combination of actions to take.
(B) If subsection (A) is inapplicable, proceeds from the sale or other disposition of an asset are principal without regard to the amount of income the asset produces during any accounting period.
Section 62-7-423. (A) In this section, 'derivative' means a contract or financial instrument or a combination of contracts and financial instruments which gives a trust the right or obligation to participate in some or all changes in the price of a tangible or intangible asset or group of assets, or changes in a rate, an index of prices or rates, or other market indicator for an asset or a group of assets.
(B) To the extent that a trustee does not account pursuant to Section 62-7-412 for transactions in derivatives, the trustee shall allocate to principal receipts from and disbursements made in connection with those transactions.
(C) If a trustee grants an option to buy property from the trust, whether or not the trust owns the property when the option is granted, grants an option that permits another person to sell property to the trust, or acquires an option to buy property for the trust or an option to sell an asset owned by the trust, and the trustee or other owner of the asset is required to deliver the asset if the option is exercised, an amount received for granting the option must be allocated to principal. An amount paid to acquire the option must be paid from principal. A gain or loss realized upon the exercise of an option, including an option granted to a settlor of the trust for services rendered, must be allocated to principal.
Section 62-7-424. (A) In this section, 'asset-backed security' means an asset whose value is based upon the right it gives the owner to receive distributions from the proceeds of financial assets that provide collateral for the security. The term includes an asset that gives the owner the right to receive from the collateral financial assets only the interest or other current return or only the proceeds other than interest or current return. The term does not include an asset subject to Section 62-7-409 or 62-7-418.
(B) If a trust receives a payment from interest or other current return and from other proceeds of the collateral financial assets, the trustee shall allocate to income the portion of the payment which the payer identifies as being from interest or other current return and shall allocate the balance of the payment to principal.
(C) If a trust receives one or more payments in exchange for the its entire interest in an asset-backed security in one accounting period, the trustee shall allocate the payments to principal. If a payment is one of a series of payments that results in the liquidation of the interest of the trust in the security over more than one accounting period, the trustee shall allocate ten percent of the payment to income and the balance to principal.
Section 62-7-425. A trustee shall make the following disbursements from income to the extent that they are not disbursements subject to Section 62-7-405(2)(b) or (c):
(1) one-half of the regular compensation of the trustee and of any person providing investment advisory or custodial services to the trustee;
(2) one-half of all expenses for accountings, judicial proceedings, or other matters that involve both the income and remainder interests;
(3) all of the other ordinary expenses incurred in connection with the administration, management, or preservation of trust property and the distribution of income, including interest, ordinary repairs, regularly recurring taxes assessed against principal, and expenses of a proceeding or other matter that concerns primarily the income interest; and
(4) recurring premiums on insurance covering the loss of a principal asset or the loss of income from or use of the asset.
Section 62-7-426. (A) A trustee shall make the following disbursements from principal:
(1) the remaining one-half of the disbursements provided in Section 62-7-425(1) and (2);
(2) all of the trustee's compensation calculated on principal as a fee for acceptance, distribution, or termination, and disbursements made to prepare property for sale;
(3) payments on the principal of a trust debt;
(4) expenses of a proceeding that concerns primarily principal, including a proceeding to construe the trust or to protect the trust or its property;
(5) premiums paid on a policy of insurance not provided in Section 62-7-425(4) of which the trust is the owner and beneficiary;
(6) estate, inheritance, and other transfer taxes, including penalties, apportioned to the trust; and
(7) disbursements related to environmental matters, including reclamation, assessing environmental conditions, remedying and removing environmental contamination, monitoring remedial activities and the release of substances, preventing future releases of substances, collecting amounts from persons liable or potentially liable for the costs of those activities, penalties imposed under environmental laws or regulations and other payments made to comply with those laws or regulations, statutory or common law claims by third parties, and defending claims based on environmental matters.
(B) If a principal asset is encumbered with an obligation that requires income from that asset to be paid directly to the creditor, the trustee shall transfer from principal to income an amount equal to the income paid to the creditor in reduction of the principal balance of the obligation.
Section 62-7-427. (A) In this section, 'depreciation' means a reduction in value due to wear, tear, decay, corrosion, or gradual obsolescence of a fixed asset having a useful life of more than one year.
(B) A trustee may transfer to principal a reasonable amount of the net cash receipts from a principal asset that is subject to depreciation, but may not transfer any amount for depreciation:
(1) of that portion of real property used or available for use by a beneficiary as a residence or of tangible personal property held or made available for the personal use or enjoyment of a beneficiary;
(2) during the administration of a decedent's estate; or
(3) under this section if the trustee is accounting pursuant to Section 62-7-412 for the business or activity in which the asset is used.
(C) An amount transferred to principal need not be held as a separate fund.
Section 62-7-428. (A) If a trustee makes or expects to make a principal disbursement described in this section, the trustee may transfer an appropriate amount from income to principal in one or more accounting periods to reimburse principal or to provide a reserve for future principal disbursements.
(B) A principal disbursement for purposes of this section includes the following, but only to the extent that the trustee has not been, and does not expect to be, reimbursed by a third party:
(1) an amount chargeable to income but paid from principal because it is unusually large, including extraordinary repairs;
(2) a capital improvement to a principal asset, whether in the form of changes to an existing asset or the construction of a new asset, including special assessments;
(3) a disbursement made to prepare property for rental, including tenant allowances, leasehold improvements, and broker's commissions;
(4) a periodic payment on an obligation secured by a principal asset to the extent that the amount transferred from income to principal for depreciation is less than the periodic payments; and
(5) a disbursement described in Section 62-7-426(A)(7).
(C) If the asset whose ownership gives rise to the disbursements becomes subject to a successive income interest after an income interest ends, a trustee may continue to transfer amounts from income to principal as provided in subsection (A).
Section 62-7-429. (A) A tax required to be paid by a trustee based on receipts allocated to income must be paid from income.
(B) A tax required to be paid by a trustee based on receipts allocated to principal must be paid from principal, even if the tax is called an income tax by the taxing authority.
(C) A tax required to be paid by a trustee on the trust's share of the taxable income of the entity must be paid proportionately from:
(1) income, to the extent that receipts from the entity are allocated to income; and
(2) principal, to the extent that:
(a) receipts from the entity are allocated to principal; and
(b) the trust's share of the taxable income of the entity exceeds the total receipts described in items (1) and (2)(a).
(D) For purposes of this section, receipts allocated to principal or income must be reduced by the amount distributed to a beneficiary from principal or income for which the trust receives a deduction in calculating the tax.
Section 62-7-430. (A) A fiduciary may make adjustments between principal and income to offset the shifting of economic interests or tax benefits between income beneficiaries and remainder beneficiaries which arise from:
(1) elections and decisions, other than those provided in subsection (B), that the fiduciary makes from time to time regarding tax matters;
(2) an income tax or any other tax that is imposed upon the fiduciary or a beneficiary as a result of a transaction involving or a distribution from the estate or trust; or
(3) the ownership by an estate or trust of an interest in an entity whose taxable income, whether or not distributed, is includable in the taxable income of the estate, trust, or a beneficiary.
(B) If the amount of an estate tax marital deduction or charitable contribution deduction is reduced because a fiduciary deducts an amount paid from principal for income tax purposes instead of deducting it for estate tax purposes, and as a result estate taxes paid from principal are increased and income taxes paid by an estate, trust, or beneficiary are decreased, each estate, trust, or beneficiary that benefits from the decrease in income tax shall reimburse the principal from which the increase in estate tax is paid. The total reimbursement must equal the increase in the estate tax to the extent that the principal used to pay the increase would have qualified for a marital deduction or charitable contribution deduction but for the payment. The proportionate share of the reimbursement for each estate, trust, or beneficiary whose income taxes are reduced must be the same as its proportionate share of the total decrease in income tax. An estate or trust shall reimburse principal from income.
Section 62-7-431. In applying and construing this Uniform Act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
Section 62-7-432. (A) A court shall not change a fiduciary's decision to exercise or not to exercise a discretionary power conferred by this part unless it determines that the decision was an abuse of the fiduciary's discretion. A court shall not determine that a fiduciary abused its discretion merely because the court would have exercised the discretion in a different manner or would not have exercised the discretion.
(B) The decisions subject to subsection (a) include a determination:
(1) pursuant to Section 62-7-404(A) of whether and to what extent an amount should be transferred from principal to income or from income to principal; and
(2) of the factors that are relevant to the trust and its beneficiaries, the extent to which they are relevant, and the weight, if any, to be given to the relevant factors, in deciding whether and to what extent to exercise the power in Section 62-7-404(A).
(C) If a court determines that a fiduciary has abused its discretion, the remedy is to restore the income and remainder beneficiaries to the positions they would have occupied if the fiduciary had not abused its discretion, according to the following rules:
(1) to the extent that the abuse of discretion has resulted in no distribution to a beneficiary or a distribution that is too small, the court shall require the fiduciary to distribute from the trust to the beneficiary an amount that the court determines will restore the beneficiary, in whole or in part, to his or her appropriate position;
(2) to the extent that the abuse of discretion has resulted in a distribution to a beneficiary that is too large, the court shall restore the beneficiaries, the trust, or both, in whole or in part, to their appropriate positions by requiring the fiduciary to withhold an amount from one or more future distributions to the beneficiary who received the distribution that was too large or requiring that beneficiary to return some or all of the distribution to the trust;
(3) to the extent that the court is unable, after applying items (1) and (2), to restore the beneficiaries, the trust, or both, to the positions they would have occupied if the fiduciary had not abused its discretion, the court may require the fiduciary to pay an appropriate amount from its own funds to one or more of the beneficiaries or the trust or both.
(D) Upon a petition by the fiduciary, the court having jurisdiction over the trust or estate shall determine whether a proposed exercise or nonexercise by the fiduciary of a discretionary power in this part results in an abuse of the fiduciary's discretion. If the petition describes the proposed exercise or nonexercise of the power and contains sufficient information to inform the beneficiaries of the reasons for the proposal, the facts upon which the fiduciary relies, and an explanation of how the income and remainder beneficiaries are affected by the proposed exercise or nonexercise of the power, a beneficiary who challenges the proposed exercise or nonexercise has the burden of establishing that it will result in an abuse of discretion."
SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.
SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. SECTION 2 applies to trusts existing on and created after its effective date, except that as applied to trusts existing on its effective date, SECTION 2 governs only decisions or actions occurring after that date. SECTION 3 applies to every trust or decedent's estate existing on the effective date of this act, except as otherwise expressly provided in the will or terms of the trust or in Section 3
This web page was last updated on Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 2:17 P.M.