Liability and Remedies for Trustees: Breach of Trust and Relief, Exams of Acting

Download Liability and Remedies for Trustees: Breach of Trust and Relief and more Exams Acting in PDF only on Docsity! NC General Statutes - Chapter 36C Article 10 1 Article 10. Liability of Trustees and Rights of Persons Dealing with Trustees. § 36C-10-1001. Remedies for breach of trust. (a) A violation by a trustee of a duty the trustee owes under a trust is a breach of trust. (b) To remedy a breach of trust that has occurred or may occur, the court may: (1) Compel the trustee to perform the trustee's duties; (2) Enjoin the trustee from committing a breach of trust; (3) Compel the trustee to redress a breach of trust by paying money, restoring property, or other means; (4) Order a trustee to account; (5) Appoint a special fiduciary to take possession of the trust property and administer the trust; (6) Suspend the trustee; (7) Remove the trustee as provided in G.S. 36C-7-706; (8) Reduce or deny compensation to the trustee; (9) Subject to G.S. 36C-10-1012, void an act of the trustee, impose a lien or a constructive trust on trust property, or trace trust property wrongfully disposed of and recover the property or its proceeds; or (10) Order any other appropriate relief. (c) The court may, for cause shown, relieve a trustee from liability for any breach of trust, or wholly or partly excuse a trustee who has acted honestly and reasonably from liability for a breach of trust. (2005-192, s. 2.) § 36C-10-1002. Damages for breach of trust. (a) A trustee who commits a breach of trust is liable for the greater of: (1) The amount required to restore the value of the trust property and trust distributions to what they would have been had the breach not occurred; or (2) The profit the trustee made by reason of the breach. (b) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if more than one trustee is liable to the beneficiaries for a breach of trust, a trustee is entitled to contribution from the other trustee or trustees. A trustee is not entitled to contribution if the trustee was substantially more at fault than another trustee or if the trustee committed the breach of trust in bad faith or with reckless indifference to the purposes of the trust or the interests of the beneficiaries. A trustee who received a benefit from the breach of trust is not entitled to contribution from another trustee to the extent of the benefit received. (2005-192, s. 2.) § 36C-10-1003. Liability in absence of breach. (a) A trustee is accountable for any profit made by the trustee arising from the administration of the trust, even absent a breach of trust. Nothing in this section limits a trustee's right to compensation under G.S. 36C-7-708 or payments allowed under G.S. 36C-8-802(f). (b) Absent a breach of trust, a trustee is not liable for a loss or depreciation in the value of trust property or for not having made a profit. (2005-192, s. 2.) § 36C-10-1004. Attorneys' fees and costs. NC General Statutes - Chapter 36C Article 10 2 In a judicial proceeding involving the administration of a trust, the court may award costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, as provided in the General Statutes, except that, in the case of a proceeding to establish the validity of a trust under Article 4C of this Chapter, the court shall allow for attorneys' fees for the attorneys of a party contesting the proceeding only if the court finds the party had reasonable grounds for contesting the proceeding. (2005-192, s. 2; 2021-53, s. 1.3.) § 36C-10-1005. Limitation of action against trustee. (a) No proceeding against a trustee for breach of trust may be commenced more than five years after the first to occur of: (i) the removal, resignation, or death of the trustee; (ii) the termination of the beneficiary's interest in the trust; or (iii) the termination of the trust. (b) Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, Chapter 1 of the General Statutes governs the limitations of actions on judicial proceedings involving trusts. However, for purposes of those limitations both of the following apply: (1) On the date that any limitation starts running as to a person with respect to a claim held by the person involving a trust, the limitation also shall start running as to all other persons the person would be entitled to represent under Article 3 of this Chapter, whether or not the person consented to serve as a representative. (2) G.S. 1-17 of the General Statutes shall not apply to toll the running of the limitation as to the persons described in subdivision (1) of this subsection. Those persons shall be treated as if they were under no disability on the date that the limitation starts running. (2005-192, s. 2; 2015-205, s. 6.) § 36C-10-1006. Reliance on trust instrument. A trustee who acts in reasonable reliance on the terms of the trust as expressed in a trust instrument is not liable for a breach of trust to the extent that the breach resulted from the reliance. (2005-192, s. 2.) § 36C-10-1007. Event affecting administration or distribution. If the happening of an event, including marriage, divorce, performance of educational requirements, or death, affects the administration or distribution of a trust, a trustee who has exercised reasonable care to ascertain the happening of the event is not liable for a loss resulting from the trustee's lack of knowledge. (2005-192, s. 2.) § 36C-10-1008. Exculpation of trustee. A term of a trust relieving a trustee of liability for breach of trust is unenforceable to the extent that it relieves the trustee of liability for breach of trust committed in bad faith or with reckless indifference to the purposes of the trust or the interests of the beneficiaries. (2005-192, s. 2.)