Sec. 45a-488. Division of trust for benefit of beneficiaries. Approval by beneficiaries required.
Sec. 45a-488. Division of trust for benefit of beneficiaries. Approval by beneficiaries required. (a) The trustee of an inter vivos or testamentary trust may divide a
single trust into two or more separate trusts if the division is in the best interests of the
beneficiaries of the trust. The provisions of the separate trusts shall be identical to the
provisions of the original trust, but differing tax elections may be made for the separate
trusts. The division of the trust shall be done on a fractional or percentage basis, based
upon the fair market value of the assets of the trust at the time of the division, except
that the separate trusts do not have to be funded with a pro rata portion of each asset
held by the undivided trust. The trustee may make a division under this subsection by:
(1) Giving written notice of the division, not later than thirty days before the date
of a division under this subsection, to each beneficiary who may then be entitled to
receive distributions from the trust or may be entitled to receive distributions from the
trust once it is funded or to the guardian or guardian ad litem, if any, of each such
beneficiary; and
(2) Executing a written instrument to be retained with the trust records, acknowledged before a notary public or other person authorized to take acknowledgments of
conveyances of real estate, stating that the trust has been divided pursuant to this subsection and that the notice requirements of this subsection have been satisfied.
(b) Before the date of the division, the trustee or any beneficiary of a trust that is
to be divided under subsection (a) of this section or the guardian or guardian ad litem,
if any, of each such beneficiary may seek approval of the division, or any beneficiary
of a trust that is to be so divided or the guardian or guardian ad litem, if any, of each
such beneficiary may object to the division, by petitioning (1) the court of probate having
jurisdiction over the estate of the settlor, or (2) in the case of an inter vivos trust, the
court of probate having jurisdiction under subsection (c) of this section.
(c) A court of probate shall have jurisdiction to review a division of an inter vivos
trust under subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this section if (1) a trustee of the trust
resides in the district, (2) in the case of a corporate trustee, the trustee has a place of
business in the district, (3) any of the trust assets are maintained or evidences of intangible property of the trust are situated in the district, or (4) the settlor resides in the district.
(d) The right to divide an inter vivos or testamentary trust under subsection (a) of this
section is in addition to, and does not exclude or abridge, any other rights or procedures to
divide a trust that exist under the governing instrument, under any other section of the
general statutes, at common law, or in equity.
(e) This section shall be applicable to trusts created before, on or after October
1, 1995.
(P.A. 95-82; P.A. 01-195, S. 25, 181.)
History: P.A. 01-195 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective July 11, 2001.