Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Section 25 of chapter 203 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1986 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following two paragraphs:-

The court having jurisdiction of a trust under a will or other instrument, upon petition and after notice to the beneficiaries and other interested parties, may order either the consolidation or termination and distribution of the trust property. Such order may be issued regardless of any spendthrift or other such similar protective provision, if the court finds that the costs of administration thereof are such that the continuance of the trust, or the establishment of the trust if it is to be established upon distribution from an estate, would be uneconomical or would defeat or substantially impair the purposes of the trust. In ordering either the consolidation or termination and distribution of such trust the court shall consolidate the trust with other trusts where such consolidation is in the best interests of the trust beneficiaries, where consolidation will result in a more economical administration of the trust and where consolidation would not substantially impair the purposes of the trust. If consolidation of the trust is impractical in light of the foregoing considerations, the court may order the termination and distribution of the trust. In addition, the court may make such other and further orders as it deems proper or necessary to protect the interests of the beneficiaries and the trustee.

Such petition may be filed by the trustee, by any person interested in such trust or by the personal representative of a decedent's estate. The order shall specify the appropriate share of each beneficiary who is to share in the proceeds of the trust, taking into account the interests of income beneficiaries and remaindermen so as to conform as nearly as possible to the intention of the settlor or testator, but a trust qualifying for the marital deduction for tax purposes shall be distributed only to the surviving spouse of the decedent. The order may direct that the interest of a minor beneficiary, or any portion thereof, be distributed to a custodian pursuant to the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act or as otherwise provided by law. In the event that two or more petitions for the termination of such trusts are brought in the same division of the probate court, the court may, in order to reduce the expense of such petitions, consolidate such cases and hear them concurrently. Nothing in the preceding paragraphs shall limit the right of a trustee acting alone to terminate a trust without an order of the court in accordance with applicable provisions of the governing instrument.