§ 55-15-1 — Definitions.

Terms used in this chapter mean: (1) "Disinterested person," any person who is not a related or subordinate party, as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 672(c) , as amended and in effect on January 1, 2023, with respect to the person then acting as trustee of the trust and excludes the trustor of the trust and any interested trustee; (2) "Income trust," any trust, created by either an inter vivos or a testamentary instrument, which directs or permits the trustee to distribute the net income of the trust to one or more persons, whether at fixed intervals or from time to time, either in fixed proportions or in amounts or proportions determined by the trustee. However, no trust that otherwise is an income trust may qualify pursuant to this subdivision, if it is subject to taxation under 26 U.S.C. § 2001 or 26 U.S.C. § 2501, as amended and in effect on January 1, 2023, until the expiration of the period for filing the return therefor (including extensions); (3) "Interested distributee," any person to whom distributions of income or principal can currently be made who has the power to remove the existing trustee and designate as successor a person who may be a related or subordinate party, as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 672(c), as amended and in effect on January 1, 2023, with respect to such distributee; (4) "Interested trustee:" (a) Any individual trustee to whom the net income or principal of the trust can currently be distributed or would be distributed if the trust were then to terminate and be distributed; (b) Any trustee who may be removed and replaced by an interested distributee; (c) Any individual trustee whose legal obligation to support a beneficiary may be satisfied by distributions of income and principal of the trust; or (d) Any of the above; (5) "Total return unitrust," any income trust which has been converted under and meets the provisions of this chapter; (6) "Trustee," all persons acting as trustee of the trust, except where expressly noted otherwise, whether acting in their discretion or on the direction of one or more persons acting in a fiduciary capacity; (7) "Trustor," any individual who created an inter vivos or a testamentary trust; (7A) "Unitrust," a trust, the terms of which require or permit distribution of a unitrust amount, without regard to whether the trust has been converted to a unitrust in accordance with this chapter or whether the trust is established by express terms of the governing instrument; (8) "Unitrust amount," an amount equal to a percentage of a unitrust's assets that may or are required to be distributed to one or more beneficiaries annually in accordance with the terms of the unitrust. The unitrust amount may be determined by reference to the net fair market value of the unitrust's assets as of a particular date each year or as an average determined on a multiple year basis; (9) "Current valuation year," the accounting period of the trust for which the unitrust amount is being determined; (10) "Prior valuation year," each of the two accounting periods of the trust immediately preceding the current valuation year; (11) "I.R.C.," the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. section 1, et seq.); and (12) "Net income," the amount of income of the trust for the taxable year described in 26 U.S.C. § 643(b), as amended and in effect on January 1, 2023, as income when not preceded by the words, taxable, distributable net, undistributed net, or gross, otherwise known as the trust accounting income of a trust.

Legislative History

SL 2002, ch 225, § 1; SL 2009, ch 252, § 45; SL 2023, ch 161, § 12.