11-1.6 - Property held as fiduciary to be kept separate
§ 11-1.6 Property held as fiduciary to be kept separate (a) Every fiduciary shall keep property received as fiduciary separate from his individual property. He shall not invest or deposit such property with any corporation or other person doing business under the banking law, or with any other person or institution, in his own name, but all transactions by him affecting such property shall be in his name as fiduciary; provided, however, that any bank or trust company, when acting as fiduciary, whether alone or jointly with an individual, may with the consent of the individual fiduciary, if any (who is hereby authorized to give such consent), register and hold stock or other securities (referred to in this section as "securities") in the name of the nominee of such bank or trust company; and provided, further, that any individual acting as fiduciary is authorized to direct any bank or trust company incorporated under the laws of this state, any national bank located in this state or any private banker duly authorized by the superintendent of banks of this state to engage in business here (who, as private banker, maintains a permanent capital of not less than one million dollars) to register and hold any securities in the name of a nominee of such bank, trust company or private banker (referred to in this section as "bank"). Such bank shall not redeliver such securities to the individual fiduciary, who authorized their registration in the name of a nominee of the bank, without first registering the securities in the name of the individual fiduciary, as such. But, any sale of such securities by the bank at the direction of the individual fiduciary shall not be treated as a redelivery. The bank may make any disposition of such securities which is authorized or directed by an order or decree of the court having jurisdiction of the estate or trust. (b) Any bank shall be absolutely liable for any loss occasioned by the acts of its nominee with respect to the securities so registered. (c) The records of such bank shall at all times show the ownership of any such securities and of those held in bearer form. Such securities and those held in bearer form shall at all times be kept separate from the assets of the bank and may be kept by such bank (A) in a manner such that all certificates representing the securities from time to time constituting the assets of a particular estate, trust or other fiduciary account are held separate from those of all other estates, trusts or other fiduciary accounts; or (B) in a manner such that, without certification as to ownership attached, certificates representing securities of the same class of the same issuer and from time to time constituting assets of particular estates, trusts or other fiduciary accounts are held in bulk, including, to the extent feasible, the merging of certificates of small denomination into one or more certificates of large denomination, provided that a bank, when operating under the method of safekeeping security certificates described in this subparagraph (B), shall be subject to such rules and regulations as, in the case of state chartered institutions, the state banking board and, in the case of national banking associations, the comptroller of the currency may from time to time issue. Such banks shall, on demand by the fiduciary, certify in writing the securities held for such fiduciary. (d) Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (e) This section shall apply to all estates and trusts now in existence or which may hereafter come into existence.