Judicial review of exercise of discretionary power -- Request for instruction.

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  • (1) In this section, "fiduciary decision" means:
    • (a) a fiduciary's allocation between income and principal or other determination regarding income and principal required or authorized by the terms of the trust or this chapter;
    • (b) the fiduciary's exercise or nonexercise of a discretionary power regarding income and principal granted by the terms of the trust or this chapter, including the power to:
      • (i) adjust under Section 22-3-203;
      • (ii) convert an income trust to a unitrust under Subsection 22-3-303(1)(a);
      • (iii) change the percentage or method used to calculate a unitrust amount under Subsection 22-3-303(1)(b); or
      • (iv) convert a unitrust to an income trust under Subsection 22-3-303(1)(c); or
    • (c) the fiduciary's implementation of a decision described in Subsection (1)(a) or (b).
  • (2) The court may not order a fiduciary to change a fiduciary decision, unless the court determines that the fiduciary decision was an abuse of the fiduciary's discretion.
  • (3)
    • (a) If the court determines that a fiduciary decision was an abuse of the fiduciary's discretion, the court may order a remedy authorized by law, including a remedy authorized in Section 75-7-1001.
    • (b) To place the beneficiaries in the positions that the beneficiaries would have occupied if there had not been an abuse of the fiduciary's discretion, the court may order:
      • (i) the fiduciary to exercise or refrain from exercising the power to adjust under Section 22-3-203;
      • (ii) the fiduciary to exercise or refrain from exercising the power to:
        • (A) convert an income trust to a unitrust under Subsection 22-3-303(1)(a);
        • (B) change the percentage or method used to calculate a unitrust amount under Subsection 22-3-303(1)(b); or
        • (C) convert a unitrust to an income trust under Subsection 22-3-303(1)(c);
      • (iii) the fiduciary to distribute an amount to a beneficiary;
      • (iv) a beneficiary to return some or all of a distribution; or
      • (v) the fiduciary to withhold an amount from one or more future distributions to a beneficiary.
  • (4)
    • (a) On petition by a fiduciary for instruction, the court may determine whether a proposed fiduciary decision will result in an abuse of the fiduciary's discretion.
    • (b) A beneficiary that opposes the proposed decision has the burden to establish that the proposed decision will result in an abuse of the fiduciary's discretion if the petition:
      • (i) describes the proposed decision;
      • (ii) contains sufficient information to inform the beneficiary of the reasons for making the proposed decision and the facts on which the fiduciary relies; and
      • (iii) explains how the beneficiary will be affected by the proposed decision.




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