(1) During the period of administration of the
estate or trust and until final distribution, a fiduciary has the power to perform,
without court authorization, every act reasonably necessary to administer the
estate or trust, including but not limited to the powers specified in subsection (2) of
this section. In the exercise of any of his powers, whether derived from this part 8 or
from any other source, a fiduciary has a duty to act reasonably and equitably with
due regard for his obligations and responsibilities toward the interests of
beneficiaries and creditors, the estate or trust involved, and the purposes thereof
and with due regard for the manner in which men of prudence, discretion, and
intelligence would act in the management of the property of another.
(2) Subject to subsection (1) of this section, a fiduciary has the power:
(a) To receive, take possession of, recover, and preserve the assets of the
estate or trust, both real and personal, coming to his attention or knowledge and
the rents, issues, and profits arising therefrom;
(b) To retain the initial assets of the estate or trust without liability for loss,
depreciation, or diminution in value resulting from such retention until, in the
judgment of the fiduciary, disposition of such assets should be made;
(c) To accept additions to the estate or trust, not only from the estate of the
decedent or the settlor of the trust, but also from other sources;
(d) To acquire an undivided interest in an estate or trust asset in which the
fiduciary, in a fiduciary or individual capacity, also holds an undivided interest;
(e) To invest and reinvest assets of the estate or trust, as provided by law;
(f) To effect and keep in force fire, rent, title, liability, casualty, or other
insurance to protect the assets of the estate or trust and the fiduciary against
hazards usually insured against;
(g) With respect to real property or any interest in real property owned by
the estate or trust, except where such real property, or interest in real property, is
specifically devised:
(I) To grant options to sell and to sell and convey the same at public or
private sale, for cash or on credit, upon fair, reasonable, and equitable terms;
(II) To lease the same, even for a term extending beyond the duration of the
administration of the estate or trust, and, in any such case, to include or exclude the
right to explore for and remove mineral or other natural resources, and in
connection with mineral leases to enter into pooling and unitization agreements;
(III) To encumber the same;
(IV) To make repairs or alterations in buildings, or other structures; to
improve or demolish any improvements; to raze existing party walls or buildings and
erect new party walls or buildings together with owners of adjoining or adjacent
property or to enter into agreements with respect thereto; to subdivide, develop,
and dedicate to public use; to make or obtain the vacation of public plats; to adjust
boundaries; to adjust differences in valuation on exchange or partition by giving or
receiving money or money's worth; and to dedicate and grant easements to public
use without consideration;
(h) With respect to personal property or any interest in personal property,
owned by the estate or trust, except where such personal property is specifically
bequeathed:
(I) To grant options to sell and to sell the same at public or private sale, for
cash or on credit, upon fair, reasonable, and equitable terms;
(II) To lease personal property, even for a term extending beyond the
duration of the administration of the estate or trust;
(III) To encumber the same;
(IV) To make repairs to the personal property of the estate or trust;
(i) With respect to any indebtedness owed to the estate or trust, secured or
unsecured:
(I) To continue the same upon and after maturity, with or without renewal or
extension, upon such terms as the fiduciary deems advisable;
(II) To foreclose any security for such indebtedness, to purchase any
property securing such indebtedness, and to acquire any property by conveyance
from the debtor in lieu of foreclosure;
(j) To perform, in the case of an estate, any and all valid and legally
enforceable executory contracts to which at the time of his death the decedent was
a party and which at the time of such death had not been fully performed by such
decedent and to discharge all obligations of the estate arising under or by reason of
such contracts if such obligations are legally enforceable against the estate;
(k) To enter into contracts which are reasonably incident to the
administration of the estate or trust;
(l) To continue or to participate in the operation of any business activity or
enterprise, including a sole proprietorship or partnership, existing at the inception
of the estate or trust (in the case of an estate having due regard for those having
claims against the estate) and to incorporate or otherwise change its form;
(m) To deposit funds of the estate or trust in one or more banks, including
the banking department of a corporate fiduciary;
(n) To deposit fiduciary property with others, to the extent permitted by part
5 of this article, so long as the cost thereof does not constitute an additional charge
against the estate or trust but is payable out of compensation otherwise properly
payable to the fiduciary;
(o) To hold title to fiduciary property in the name of a nominee, without
disclosure of the estate or trust, to the extent permitted by part 5 of this article;
(p) To borrow money from any source, including the commercial department
of a corporate fiduciary, with any such indebtedness being repayable solely from
assets of the estate or trust and to pledge or encumber estate or trust assets as
security for such loans;
(q) To advance money for the protection of the estate, or the trust, or the
assets thereof and for all expenses, losses, and liabilities incurred in or by the
collection, care, administration, or protection of the estate, or trust, or the assets
thereof. For all such advances, the fiduciary shall have a lien on the estate or trust
assets and may reimburse himself with interest at a reasonable rate out of the
estate or trust.
(r) To pay, contest, or otherwise settle claims by or against the estate or
trust, including taxes, assessments, and expenses, by compromise, arbitration, or
otherwise;
(s) To determine all matters of estate and trust accounting as the fiduciary
deems to be proper and equitable;
(t) In the case of a trust, to advance trust income to or for the use of a
beneficiary, for which advance the fiduciary shall have a lien on the future benefits
of such beneficiary from the trust;
(u) To make distributions in kind, in money, or partially in each, at fair market
values on the effective date of distribution, as determined by the fiduciary, and
without requiring pro rata distribution of specific assets;
(v) In the case of a trust, to abandon, charge off, or otherwise dispose of any
property held by or on behalf of the trust which is of no value or of insufficient value
to justify collection, care, administration, or protection;
(w) To execute and deliver all legal instruments which are necessary or
appropriate for the administration of the estate or trust;
(x) (I) To employ attorneys or other advisors to advise or assist the fiduciary
in the performance of his or her duties or, instead of acting personally, to employ
one or more agents to do any ministerial act required to be done by the fiduciary in
the performance of his or her duties;
(II) In accordance with section 15-1.1-109 of the Colorado Uniform Prudent
Investor Act, to delegate investment and management functions that a prudent
trustee of comparable skills could properly delegate under the circumstances;
(y) In the case of the survivors of the holders of a power given to or imposed
upon two or more fiduciaries, to exercise or perform such power, unless the
exercise of such power would be contrary to any express provision of the will, trust
instrument, or other instrument;
(z) As successor or substitute fiduciary, to succeed to all of the powers and
duties of an original, successor, or prior substitute fiduciary, unless contrary to any
express provision of the will, trust instrument, or other instrument;
(aa) To vote in person or by proxy shares of stock or other securities which
are assets of the estate or trust;
(bb) To pay calls, assessments, and any other sums chargeable to or
accruing against or on account of shares of stock or other securities which are
assets of the estate or trust whenever such payments may be legally enforceable
against the fiduciary or any property of the estate or trust or whenever the fiduciary
deems payment expedient and for the best interests of the estate or trust;
(cc) To sell or exercise stock subscription or conversion rights, participate in
foreclosures, reorganizations, consolidations, mergers, or liquidations; to enter into
voting trust agreements or other similar arrangements; and to consent to corporate
sales, leases, and encumbrances. In the exercise of such powers, the fiduciary shall
be authorized, whenever he deems such course expedient, to deposit stocks or
other securities which are assets of the estate or trust with any protective or other
similar committee or with voting trustees under such terms and conditions
respecting the deposit thereof as the fiduciary may approve.
(dd) In the case of a trustee, to hold the assets of two or more trusts or parts
of such trusts created by the same instrument or by two or more instruments if the
trust provisions are substantially similar, as an undivided whole, without separation
as between the assets of such trusts or parts of such trusts; but such separate
trusts or parts of such trusts shall have undivided interests in such assets; and no
such holding shall defer the vesting of any estate in possession or otherwise;
(ee) In the case of an estate, to join with the surviving spouse, his
conservator, his guardian, the executor of his will, or the administrator of his estate,
in the execution and filing of a joint income tax return for any period prior to the
death of a decedent for which he has not filed a return, a federal gift tax return on
gifts made by the decedent's surviving spouse, or a Colorado gift tax return on gifts
made before January 1, 1980, by the decedent's surviving spouse, and to consent to
said gifts being made one-half by the decedent, for any period prior to a decedent's
death, and to pay such taxes thereon as are chargeable to the decedent;
(ff) With respect to stock of a corporation held in an estate or trust where
the powers of investment conferred upon the fiduciary by the governing instrument
or by this part 8 include the power to retain assets initially contributed, or
subsequently added from the estate of the decedent or by the settlor of the trust or
from any other source, to retain such stock, to exchange or convert such stock for
the stock or other securities of an affiliate of the corporation issuing such stock,
and to retain such new stock and other securities. For the purposes of this
paragraph (ff), corporation includes the corporate fiduciary as well as any other
corporation, and affiliate of a corporation means any corporation controlling,
controlled by, or under common control with such corporation, or any corporation
formed as a result of or for the purpose of effectuating any merger, consolidation,
or reorganization of such corporation. The powers conferred by this paragraph (ff)
are hereby conferred upon the fiduciaries of all estates and trusts, unless otherwise
limited by language or provisions in the will or trust agreement expressing a clear
intention to the contrary.
(gg) In the case of a bank acting as a corporate fiduciary, to invest fiduciary
funds awaiting investment or distribution in short-term investments, including, but
not limited to, a collective investment fund. A bank acting as a corporate fiduciary
may also deposit fiduciary funds awaiting investment or distribution in the
commercial department of such bank or in an affiliate bank. For the purposes of this
paragraph (gg), the term bank includes a state bank or bank and trust company
which is chartered by this state or as a national bank.
(hh) To grant a conservation easement in gross, as defined in section 38-30.5-102, C.R.S., whether for consideration or gratuitously; except that, if such
grant is for less than fair market value, the consent of interested persons, as
defined in section 15-10-201 (27), shall be obtained in writing or an order of the
court shall be obtained after notice to interested persons, unless a will or trust
instrument directs, permits, or requires a donation of a conservation easement in
gross, in which case no such consent or order shall be required;
(ii) Subject to the terms of the documents controlling the entity concerned,
to retain or acquire interests in any entity in which the fiduciary does not have
general liability, regardless of form, including but not limited to any partnership,
corporation, limited liability company, and joint venture, and to become a
shareholder, partner, member, or joint venturer.