Resignation of Trustee

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Wills, Trusts, and Administration of Estates
  4. Trusts
  5. Trustees
  6. Resignation and Removal
  7. Resignation of Trustee

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  1. A trustee may resign:
    1. In the manner and under the circumstances described in the trust instrument;
    2. Upon at least 30 days' written notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the settlor, if living, and all cotrustees; or
    3. Upon a trustee's petition to the court.
  2. The petition to the court provided for in paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be served upon all qualified beneficiaries. In approving a trustee's resignation, the court may issue orders and impose conditions reasonably necessary for the protection of the trust property.
  3. The resignation of a trustee shall not relieve such trustee from liability for any actions prior to the resignation except to the extent such trustee is relieved by the court in the appropriate proceeding or to the extent relieved by the trust instrument.
  4. If the resignation would create a vacancy required to be filled, then the trustee's resignation shall not be effective until the successor trustee accepts the trust and the resigning trustee shall remain liable for any actions until such acceptance, except as such liability may be limited by court order or the trust instrument.

(Code 1981, §53-12-220, enacted by Ga. L. 2010, p. 579, § 1/SB 131; Ga. L. 2018, p. 262, § 17/HB 121.)

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, rewrote this Code Section.

Law reviews.

- For article on the 2018 amendment of this Code section, see 35 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 219 (2018).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, decisions under former O.C.G.A. § 53-12-175 of the 1991 Trust Act are included in the annotations for this Code section.

Resignation ineffective when vacancy created that was required to be filled.

- Pursuant to former O.C.G.A. § 53-12-175 (see O.C.G.A. § 53-12-220), when the resignation of a co-trustee created a vacancy that was required to be filled, the resignation was not effective; accordingly, service on the co-trustee after the purported resignation was effective, and with no answer having been filed, entry of a default judgment was proper. Hays v. Hamblen Family Irrevocable Trust (In re Hamblen), Bankr. (Bankr. N.D. Ga. May 9, 2007) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 53-12-175).

Cited in Ledbetter v. First State Bank & Trust Co., 85 F.3d 1537 (11th Cir. 1996).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 76 Am. Jur. 2d, Trusts, § 223 et seq.

C.J.S.

- 90 C.J.S., Trusts, §§ 229 et seq., 246. 90A C.J.S., Trusts, § 383.


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