§ 72-39-102 — Definitions

Montana § 72-39-102

• Jurisdiction: Montana
• Title 72: ESTATES, TRUSTS, AND FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIPS
• Ch. 39: UNIFORM TRUST DECANTING ACT
• Part 1: General Provisions

Text

72-39-102 . Definitions. In this chapter:
(1) "Appointive property" has the meaning in 72-7-102 (2).
(2) "Ascertainable standard" means a standard relating to an individual's health, education, support, or maintenance within the meaning of 26 U.S.C. 2041(b)(1)(A), as amended, or 26 U.S.C. 2514(c)(1), as amended, and any applicable regulations.
(3) "Authorized fiduciary" means:
(a) a trustee or other fiduciary, other than a settlor, that has discretion to distribute or direct a trustee to distribute part or all of the principal of the first trust to one or more current beneficiaries;
(b) a special fiduciary appointed under 72-39-205 ; or
(c) a special-needs fiduciary under 72-39-209 .
(4) "Beneficiary" means a person that:
(a) has a present or future, vested or contingent, beneficial interest in a trust;
(b) holds a power of appointment over trust property; or
(c) is an identified charitable organization that will or may receive distributions under the terms of the trust.
(5) "Charitable interest" means an interest in a trust that:
(a) is held by an identified charitable organization and makes the organization a qualified beneficiary;
(b) benefits only charitable organizations and, if the interest were held by an identified charitable organization, would make the organization a qualified beneficiary; or
(c) is held solely for charitable purposes and, if the interest were held by an identified charitable organization, would make the organization a qualified beneficiary.
(6) "Charitable organization" means:
(a) a person, other than an individual, organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes; or
(b) a government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, to the extent it holds funds exclusively for a charitable purpose.
(7) "Charitable purpose" means the relief of poverty, the advancement of education or religion, the promotion of health, a municipal or other governmental purpose, or another purpose the achievement of which is beneficial to the community.
(8) "Court" means the court in this state having jurisdiction in matters relating to trusts.
(9) "Current beneficiary" means a beneficiary that on the date the beneficiary's qualification is determined is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal. The term includes the holder of a presently exercisable general power of appointment but does not include a person that is a beneficiary only because the person holds any other power of appointment.
(10) "Decanting power" or "the decanting power" means the power of an authorized fiduciary under this chapter to distribute property of a first trust to one or more second trusts or to modify the terms of the first trust.
(11) "Expanded distributive discretion" means a discretionary power of distribution that is not limited to an ascertainable standard or a reasonably definite standard.
(12) "First trust" means a trust over which an authorized fiduciary may exercise the decanting power.
(13) "First-trust instrument" means the trust instrument for a first trust.
(14) "General power of appointment" has the meaning in 72-7-102 (6).
(15) "Jurisdiction", with respect to a geographic area, includes a state or country.
(16) "Person" has the meaning in 72-38-103 (12).
(17) "Power of appointment" has the meaning in 72-7-102 (13).
(18) "Powerholder" has the meaning in 72-7-102 (14).
(19) "Presently exercisable power of appointment" means a power of appointment exercisable by the powerholder at the relevant time. The term:
(a) includes a power of appointment exercisable only after the occurrence of a specified event, the satisfaction of an ascertainable standard, or the passage of a specified time only after:
(i) the occurrence of the specified event;
(ii) the satisfaction of the ascertainable standard; or
(iii) the passage of the specified time; and
(b) does not include a power exercisable only at the powerholder's death.
(20) "Qualified beneficiary" means a beneficiary that on the date the beneficiary's qualification is determined:
(a) is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal;
(b) would be a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal if the interests of the distributees described in subsection (20)(a) terminated on that date without causing the trust to terminate; or
(c) would be a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal if the trust terminated on that date.
(21) "Reasonably definite standard" means a clearly measurable standard under which a holder of a power of distribution is legally accountable within the meaning of 26 U.S.C. 674(b)(5)(A), as amended, and any applicable regulations.
(22) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
(23) "Second trust" means:
(a) a first trust after modification under this chapter; or
(b) a trust to which a distribution of property from a first trust is or may be made under this chapter.
(24) "Second-trust instrument" means the trust instrument for a second trust.
(25) "Settlor", except as otherwise provided in 72-39-221 , means a person, including a testator, that creates or contributes property to a trust. If more than one person creates or contributes property to a trust, each person is a settlor of the portion of the trust property attributable to the person's contribution except to the extent another person has power to revoke or withdraw that portion.
(26) "Sign" means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:
(a) to execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
(b) to attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.
(27) "State" has the meaning in 72-38-103 (20).
(28) "Terms of the trust" means:
(a) except as otherwise provided in subsection (28)(b), the manifestation of the settlor's intent regarding a trust's provisions as:
(i) expressed in the trust instrument; or
(ii) established by other evidence that would be admissible in a judicial proceeding; or
(b) the trust's provisions as established, determined, or amended by:
(i) a trustee or other person in accordance with applicable law;
(ii) a court order; or
(iii) a nonjudicial settlement agreement under 72-38-111 .
(29) "Trust instrument" means a record executed by the settlor to create a trust or by any person to create a second trust that contains some or all of the terms of the trust, including any amendments.

Legislative History

En. Sec. 2, Ch. 177, L. 2021.