The comments and prefatory note to the Uniform Prudent Investor Act are copyrighted
© 1997 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Used with permission.

June 2003

INTRODUCTION

UNIFORM ACT PREFATORY NOTE

TEXAS TRUST CODE CHAPTER 116. UNIFORM PRINCIPAL AND INCOME ACT

SUBCHAPTER A. DEFINITIONS, FIDUCIARY DUTIES, AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 116.001. SHORT TITLE.
Sec. 116.002. DEFINITIONS.
Sec. 116.003. UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION.
Sec. 116.004. FIDUCIARY DUTIES; GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
Sec. 116.005. TRUSTEE'S POWER TO ADJUST.
Sec. 116.006. JUDICIAL CONTROL OF DISCRETIONARY POWER.
Sec. 116.007. PROVISIONS REGARDING NONCHARITABLE UNITRUSTS.

SUBCHAPTER B. DECEDENT'S ESTATE OR TERMINATING INCOME INTEREST

Sec. 116.051. DETERMINATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF NET INCOME.
Sec. 116.052. DISTRIBUTION TO RESIDUARY AND REMAINDER BENEFICIARIES.

SUBCHAPTER C. APPORTIONMENT AT BEGINNING AND END OF INCOME INTEREST.

Sec. 116.101. WHEN RIGHT TO INCOME BEGINS AND ENDS.
Sec. 116.102. APPORTIONMENT OF RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS WHEN DECEDENT DIES OR INCOME INTEREST BEGINS.
Sec. 116.103. APPORTIONMENT WHEN INCOME INTEREST ENDS.

SUBCHAPTER D. ALLOCATION OF RECEIPTS DURING ADMINISTRATION OF TRUST

PART 1. RECEIPTS FROM ENTITIES

Sec. 116.151. CHARACTER OF RECEIPTS.
Sec. 116.152. DISTRIBUTION FROM TRUST OR ESTATE.
Sec. 116.153. BUSINESS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED BY TRUSTEE.

PART 2. RECEIPTS NOT NORMALLY APPORTIONED

Sec. 116.161. PRINCIPAL RECEIPTS.
Sec. 116.162. RENTAL PROPERTY.
Sec. 116.163. OBLIGATION TO PAY MONEY.
Sec. 116.164. INSURANCE POLICIES AND SIMILAR CONTRACTS.

PART 3. RECEIPTS NORMALLY APPORTIONED

Sec. 116.171. INSUBSTANTIAL ALLOCATIONS NOT REQUIRED.
Sec. 116.172. DEFERRED COMPENSATION, ANNUITIES, AND SIMILAR PAYMENTS.
Sec. 116.173. LIQUIDATING ASSET.
Sec. 116.174. MINERALS, WATER, AND OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES.
Sec. 116.175. TIMBER.
Sec. 116.176. PROPERTY NOT PRODUCTIVE OF INCOME.
Sec. 116.177. DERIVATIVES AND OPTIONS.
Sec. 116.178. ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES.

SUBCHAPTER E. ALLOCATION OF DISBURSEMENTS DURING ADMINISTRATION OF TRUST

Sec. 116.201. DISBURSEMENTS FROM INCOME.
Sec. 116.202. DISBURSEMENTS FROM PRINCIPAL.
Sec. 116.203. TRANSFERS FROM INCOME TO PRINCIPAL FOR DEPRECIATION.
Sec. 116.204. TRANSFERS FROM INCOME TO REIMBURSE PRINCIPAL.
Sec. 116.205. INCOME TAXES.
Sec. 116.206. ADJUSTMENTS BETWEEN PRINCIPAL AND INCOME BECAUSE OF TAXES.

EFFECTIVE DATE PROVISION

The 78^th Texas Legislature enacted a Texas version of the Uniform Principal and Income Act of 1997. HB 2241 becomes effective January 1, 2004. This legislation was part of the 2003 legislative package of the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. The Section studied three uniform acts promulgated by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) - the Uniform Prudent Investor Act of 1994, the Uniform Principal and Income Act of 1997 and the Uniform Trust Code of 2000 - for more than two years. The Section urged the adoption of Texas versions of two of those acts - Prudent Investor and Principal and Income - in 2003, and both were enacted into law.

Following are the provisions of the Uniform Principal and Income Act of 1997 (the "Act") as enacted in Texas, the official NCCUSL notes and comments to the Act and each section of the Act (identified as "Uniform Act Notes" or "Uniform Act Comments") and the official comments of the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas (the "Section") on the Texas variations of the Act (identified as "Texas Bar Comments").

This revision of the 1931 Uniform Principal and Income Act and the 1962 Revised Uniform Principal and Income Act has two purposes.

One purpose is to revise the 1931 and the 1962 Acts. Revision is needed to support the now widespread use of the revocable living trust as a will substitute, to change the rules in those Acts that experience has shown need to be changed, and to establish new rules to cover situations not provided for in the old Acts, including rules that apply to financial instruments invented since 1962.

The other purpose is to provide a means for implementing the transition to an investment regime based on principles embodied in the Uniform Prudent Investor Act, especially the principle of investing for total return rather than a certain level of "income" as traditionally perceived in terms of interest, dividends, and rents.

The prior Acts and this revision of those Acts deal with four questions affecting the rights of beneficiaries:

(1) How is income earned during the probate of an estate to be distributed to trusts and to persons who receive outright bequests of specific property, pecuniary gifts, and the residue?

(2) When an income interest in a trust begins (i.e., when a person who creates the trust dies or when she transfers property to a trust during life), what property is principal that will eventually go to the remainder beneficiaries and what is income?

(3) When an income interest ends, who gets the income that has been received but not distributed, or that is due but not yet collected, or that has accrued but is not yet due?

(4) After an income interest begins and before it ends, how should its receipts and disbursements be allocated to or between principal and income?

Changes in the traditional sections are of three types: new rules that deal with situations not covered by the prior Acts, clarification of provisions in the 1962 Act, and changes to rules in the prior Acts.

New rules. Issues addressed by some of the more significant new rules include:

(1) The application of the probate administration rules to revocable living trusts after the settlor's death and to other terminating trusts. Articles 2 and 3 [Subchapters B and C, Chapter 116, Texas Trust Code].

(2) The payment of interest or some other amount on the delayed payment of an outright pecuniary gift that is made pursuant to a trust agreement instead of a will when the agreement or state law does not provide for such a payment. Section 201(3) [Texas Trust Code §116.051(3)].

(3) The allocation of net income from partnership interests acquired by the trustee other than from a decedent (the old Acts deal only with partnership interests acquired from a decedent). Section 401 [Texas Trust Code §116.151].

(4) An "unincorporated entity" concept has been introduced to deal with businesses operated by a trustee, including farming and livestock operations, and investment activities in rental real estate, natural resources, timber, and derivatives. Section 403 [Texas Trust Code §116.153].

(5) The allocation of receipts from discount obligations such as zero-coupon bonds. Section 406(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.163(b)].

(6) The allocation of net income from harvesting and selling timber between principal and income. Section 412 [Texas Trust Code §116.174].

(7) The allocation between principal and income of receipts from derivatives, options, and asset-backed securities. Sections 414 and 415 [Texas Trust Code §§116.177 and 116.178].

(8) Disbursements made because of environmental laws. Section 502(a)(7) [Texas Trust Code §116.202(a)(7)].

(9) Income tax obligations resulting from the ownership of S corporation stock and interests in partnerships. Section 505 [Texas Trust Code §116.205].

(10) The power to make adjustments between principal and income to correct inequities caused by tax elections or peculiarities in the way the fiduciary income tax rules apply. Section 506 [Texas Trust Code §116.206].

Clarifications and changes in existing rules. A number of matters provided for in the prior Acts have been changed or clarified in this revision, including the following:

(1) An income beneficiary's estate will be entitled to receive only net income actually received by a trust before the beneficiary's death and not items of accrued income. Section 303 [Texas Trust Code §116.103].

(2) Income from a partnership is based on actual distributions from the partnership, in the same manner as corporate distributions. Section 401 [Texas Trust Code §116.151].

(3) Distributions from corporations and partnerships that exceed 20% of the entity's gross assets will be principal whether or not intended by the entity to be a partial liquidation. Section 401(d)(2) [Texas Trust Code §116.151(d)(2)].

(4) Deferred compensation is dealt with in greater detail in a separate section. Section 409 [Texas Trust Code §116.172].

(5) The 1962 Act rule for "property subject to depletion," (patents, copyrights, royalties, and the like), which provides that a trustee may allocate up to 5% of the asset's inventory value to income and the balance to principal, has been replaced by a rule that allocates 90% of the amounts received to principal and the balance to income. Section 410 [Texas Trust Code §116.173].

(6) The percentage used to allocate amounts received from oil and gas has been changed - 90% of those receipts are allocated to principal and the balance to income. Section 411 [Texas Trust Code §116.174 - but see this section and the Texas Bar Comment for changes from uniform act].

(7) The unproductive property rule has been eliminated for trusts other than marital deduction trusts. Section 413 [Texas Trust Code §116.176].

(8) Charging depreciation against income is no longer mandatory, and is left to the discretion of the trustee. Section 503 [Texas Trust Code §116.203].

The law of trust investment has been modernized. See Uniform Prudent Investor Act (1994); Restatement (Third) of Trusts: Prudent Investor Rule (1992) (hereinafter Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule). Now it is time to update the principal and income allocation rules so the two bodies of doctrine can work well together. This revision deals conservatively with the tension between modern investment theory and traditional income allocation. The starting point is to use the traditional system. If prudent investing of all the assets in a trust viewed as a portfolio and traditional allocation effectuate the intent of the settlor, then nothing need be done. The Act, however, helps the trustee who has made a prudent, modern portfolio-based investment decision that has the initial effect of skewing return from all the assets under management, viewed as a portfolio, as between income and principal beneficiaries. The Act gives that trustee a power to reallocate the portfolio return suitably. To leave a trustee constrained by the traditional system would inhibit the trustee's ability to fully implement modern portfolio theory.

As to modern investing see, e.g., the Preface to, terms of, and Comments to the Uniform Prudent Investor Act (1994); the discussion and reporter's note by Edward C. Halbach, Jr. in Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule; John H. Langbein, The Uniform Prudent Investor Act and the Future of Trust Investing, 81 Iowa L. Rev. 641 (1996); Bevis Longstreth, Modern Investment Management and the Prudent Man Rule (1986); John H. Langbein & Richard A. Posner, The Revolution in Trust Investment Law, 62 A.B.A.J. 887 (1976); and Jeffrey N. Gordon, The Puzzling Persistence of the Constrained Prudent Man Rule, 62 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 52 (1987). See also R.A. Brearly, An Introduction to Risk and Return from Common Stocks (2d ed. 1983); Jonathan R. Macey, An Introduction to Modern Financial Theory (2d ed. 1998). As to the need for principal and income reform see, e.g., Joel C. Dobris, Real Return, Modern Portfolio Theory and College, University and Foundation Decisions on Annual Spending From Endowments: A Visit to the World of Spending Rules, 28 Real Prop., Prob., & Tr. J. 49 (1993); Joel C. Dobris, The Probate World at the End of the Century: Is a New Principal and Income Act in Your Future?, 28 Real Prop., Prob., & Tr. J. 393 (1993); and Kenneth L. Hirsch, Inflation and the Law of Trusts, 18 Real Prop., Prob., & Tr. J. 601 (1983). See also, Jerold I. Horn, The Prudent Investor Rule - Impact on Drafting and Administration of Trusts, 20 ACTEC Notes 26 (Summer 1994).

TEXAS TRUST CODE CHAPTER 116. UNIFORM PRINCIPAL AND INCOME ACT

SUBCHAPTER A. DEFINITIONS, FIDUCIARY DUTIES, AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 116.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the Uniform Principal and Income Act.

Sec. 116.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Accounting period" means a calendar year unless another 12-month period is selected by a fiduciary. The term includes a portion of a calendar year or other 12-month period that begins when an income interest begins or ends when an income interest ends.

(2) "Beneficiary" includes, in the case of a decedent's estate, an heir, legatee, and devisee and, in the case of a trust, an income beneficiary and a remainder beneficiary.

(3) "Fiduciary" means a personal representative or a trustee. The term includes an executor, administrator, successor personal representative, special administrator, and a person performing substantially the same function.

(4) "Income" means money or property that a fiduciary receives as current return from a principal asset. The term includes a portion of receipts from a sale, exchange, or liquidation of a principal asset, to the extent provided in Subchapter D.

(5) "Income beneficiary" means a person to whom net income of a trust is or may be payable.

(6) "Income interest" means the right of an income beneficiary to receive all or part of net income, whether the terms of the trust require it to be distributed or authorize it to be distributed in the trustee's discretion.

(7) "Mandatory income interest" means the right of an income beneficiary to receive net income that the terms of the trust require the fiduciary to distribute.

(8) "Net income" means the total receipts allocated to income during an accounting period minus the disbursements made from income during the period, plus or minus transfers under this chapter to or from income during the period.

(9) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government; governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity.

(10) "Principal" means property held in trust for distribution to a remainder beneficiary when the trust terminates.

(11) "Remainder beneficiary" means a person entitled to receive principal when an income interest ends.

(12) "Terms of a trust" means the manifestation of the intent of a settlor or decedent with respect to the trust, expressed in a manner that admits of its proof in a judicial proceeding, whether by written or spoken words or by conduct.

(13) "Trustee" includes an original, additional, or successor trustee, whether or not appointed or confirmed by a court.

Inventory value. There is no definition for inventory value in this Act because the provisions in which that term was used in the 1962 Act have either been eliminated (in the case of the underproductive property provision) or changed in a way that eliminates the need for the term (in the case of bonds and other money obligations, property subject to depletion, and the method for determining entitlement to income distributed from a probate estate).

"Net income." The reference to "transfers under this Act to or from income" means transfers made under Sections 104(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(a)], 412(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.174(b)], 502(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.202(b)] , 503(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.203(b)], 504(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.204(a)], and 506 [Texas Trust Code §116.206].

"Terms of a trust." This term was chosen in preference to "terms of the trust instrument" (the phrase used in the 1962 Act) to make it clear that the Act applies to oral trusts as well as those whose terms are expressed in written documents. The definition is based on the Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 4 (1959) and the Restatement (Third) of Trusts § 4 (Tent. Draft No. 1, 1996). Constructional preferences or rules would also apply, if necessary, to determine the terms of the trust.

Sec. 116.003. UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION. In applying and construing this Uniform Act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

Sec. 116.004. FIDUCIARY DUTIES; GENERAL PRINCIPLES. (a) In allocating receipts and disbursements to or between principal and income, and with respect to any matter within the scope of Subchapters B and C, a fiduciary:

(1) shall administer a trust or estate in accordance with the terms of the trust or the will, even if there is a different provision in this chapter;

(2) may administer a trust or estate by the exercise of a discretionary power of administration given to the fiduciary by the terms of the trust or the will, even if the exercise of the power produces a result different from a result required or permitted by this chapter;

(3) shall administer a trust or estate in accordance with this chapter if the terms of the trust or the will do not contain a different provision or do not give the fiduciary a discretionary power of administration; and

(4) shall add a receipt or charge a disbursement to principal to the extent that the terms of the trust and this chapter do not provide a rule for allocating the receipt or disbursement to or between principal and income.

Prior Act. The rule in Section 2(a) of the 1962 Act is restated in Section 103(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.004(a)], without changing its substance, to emphasize that the Act contains only default rules and that provisions in the terms of the trust are paramount. However, Section 2(a) of the 1962 Act applies only to the allocation of receipts and disbursements to or between principal and income. In this Act, the first sentence of Section 103(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.004(a)] states that it also applies to matters within the scope of Articles 2 and 3 [Subchapters B and C of Texas Trust Code Chapter 116]. Section 103(a)(2) [Texas Trust Code §116.004(b)(2)] incorporates the rule in Section 2(b) of the 1962 Act that a discretionary allocation made by the trustee that is contrary to a rule in the Act should not give rise to an inference of imprudence or partiality by the trustee.

The Act deletes the language that appears at the end of 1962 Act Section 2(a)(3) - "and in view of the manner in which men of ordinary prudence, discretion and judgment would act in the management of their affairs" - because persons of ordinary prudence, discretion and judgment, acting in the management of their own affairs do not normally think in terms of the interests of successive beneficiaries. If there is an analogy to an individual's decision-making process, it is probably the individual's decision to spend or to save, but this is not a useful guideline for trust administration. No case has been found in which a court has relied on the "prudent man" rule of the 1962 Act.

Fiduciary discretion. The general rule is that if a discretionary power is conferred upon a trustee, the exercise of that power is not subject to control by a court except to prevent an abuse of discretion. Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 187. The situations in which a court will control the exercise of a trustee's discretion are discussed in the comments to § 187. See also id. § 233 Comment p.

Questions for which there is no provision. Section 103(a)(4) [Texas Trust Code §116.004(a)(4)] allocates receipts and disbursements to principal when there is no provision for a different allocation in the terms of the trust, the will, or the Act. This may occur because money is received from a financial instrument not available at the present time (inflation-indexed bonds might have fallen into this category had they been announced after this Act was approved by the Commissioners on Uniform State Laws) or because a transaction is of a type or occurs in a manner not anticipated by the Drafting Committee for this Act or the drafter of the trust instrument.

Allocating to principal a disbursement for which there is no provision in the Act or the terms of the trust preserves the income beneficiary's level of income in the year it is allocated to principal, but thereafter will reduce the amount of income produced by the principal. Allocating to principal a receipt for which there is no provision will increase the income received by the income beneficiary in subsequent years, and will eventually, upon termination of the trust, also favor the remainder beneficiary. Allocating these items to principal implements the rule that requires a trustee to administer the trust impartially, based on what is fair and reasonable to both income and remainder beneficiaries. However, if the trustee decides that an adjustment between principal and income is needed to enable the trustee to comply with Section 103(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.004(b)], after considering the return from the portfolio as a whole, the trustee may make an appropriate adjustment under Section 104(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(a)].

Duty of impartiality. Whenever there are two or more beneficiaries, a trustee is under a duty to deal impartially with them. Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 183 (1992). This rule applies whether the beneficiaries' interests in the trust are concurrent or successive. If the terms of the trust give the trustee discretion to favor one beneficiary over another, a court will not control the exercise of such discretion except to prevent the trustee from abusing it. Id. § 183, Comment a. "The precise meaning of the trustee's duty of impartiality and the balancing of competing interests and objectives inevitably are matters of judgment and interpretation. Thus, the duty and balancing are affected by the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust, not only at the outset but as they may change from time to time." Id. § 232, Comment c.

The terms of a trust may provide that the trustee, or an accountant engaged by the trustee, or a committee of persons who may be family members or business associates, shall have the power to determine what is income and what is principal. If the terms of a trust provide that this Act specifically or principal and income legislation in general does not apply to the trust but fail to provide a rule to deal with a matter provided for in this Act, the trustee has an implied grant of discretion to decide the question. Section 103(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.004(b)] provides that the rule of impartiality applies in the exercise of such a discretionary power to the extent that the terms of the trust do not provide that one or more of the beneficiaries are to be favored. The fact that a person is named an income beneficiary or a remainder beneficiary is not by itself an indication of partiality for that beneficiary.

Texas Trust Code §116.004(a)(4) provides that a receipt or disbursement shall be allocated to principal if neither the terms of the trust nor the Act addresses how such receipt or disbursement is to be allocated. In contrast, former Section 113.101 of the Texas Trust Code provided that the trustee must allocate such receipts and disbursements in accordance with what is reasonable and equitable. While this appears to be a significant change, its effect is mitigated by Texas Trust Code §116.005, which gives the fiduciary the power to make adjustments between income and principal and such adjustments must be based on what is fair and reasonable to all of the beneficiaries.

Texas Trust Code §116.004(b) provides greater protection for fiduciaries by providing that an allocation in accordance with the Uniform Act will be presumed to be fair and reasonable to all beneficiaries. The Section believes that this is a positive adjustment to former Section 113.101(b) of the Texas Trust Code, which provided that no inference arises from the fact that the fiduciary makes an allocation contrary to the Texas Trust Code.

Sec. 116.005. TRUSTEE'S POWER TO ADJUST. (a) A trustee may adjust between principal and income to the extent the trustee considers necessary if the trustee invests and manages trust assets as a prudent investor, the terms of the trust describe the amount that may or must be distributed to a beneficiary by referring to the trust's income, and the trustee determines, after applying the rules in Section 116.004(a), that the trustee is unable to comply with Section 116.004(b). The power to adjust conferred by this subsection includes the power to allocate all or part of a capital gain to trust income.

(b) In deciding whether and to what extent to exercise the power conferred by Subsection (a), a trustee shall consider all factors relevant to the trust and its beneficiaries, including the following factors to the extent they are relevant:

(1) the nature, purpose, and expected duration of the trust;

(2) the intent of the settlor;

(3) the identity and circumstances of the beneficiaries;

(4) the needs for liquidity, regularity of income, and preservation and appreciation of capital;

(5) the assets held in the trust; the extent to which they consist of financial assets, interests in closely held enterprises, tangible and intangible personal property, or real property; the extent to which an asset is used by a beneficiary; and whether an asset was purchased by the trustee or received from the settlor;

(6) the net amount allocated to income under the other sections of this chapter and the increase or decrease in the value of the principal assets, which the trustee may estimate as to assets for which market values are not readily available;

(7) whether and to what extent the terms of the trust give the trustee the power to invade principal or accumulate income or prohibit the trustee from invading principal or accumulating income, and the extent to which the trustee has exercised a power from time to time to invade principal or accumulate income;

(8) the actual and anticipated effect of economic conditions on principal and income and effects of inflation and deflation; and

(9) the anticipated tax consequences of an adjustment.

(c) A trustee may not make an adjustment:

(1) that diminishes the income interest in a trust that requires all of the income to be paid at least annually to a spouse and for which an estate tax or gift tax marital deduction would be allowed, in whole or in part, if the trustee did not have the power to make the adjustment;

(2) that reduces the actuarial value of the income interest in a trust to which a person transfers property with the intent to qualify for a gift tax exclusion;

(3) that changes the amount payable to a beneficiary as a fixed annuity or a fixed fraction of the value of the trust assets;

(4) from any amount that is permanently set aside for charitable purposes under a will or the terms of a trust unless both income and principal are so set aside;

(5) if possessing or exercising the power to make an adjustment causes an individual to be treated as the owner of all or part of the trust for income tax purposes, and the individual would not be treated as the owner if the trustee did not possess the power to make an adjustment;

(6) if possessing or exercising the power to make an adjustment causes all or part of the trust assets to be included for estate tax purposes in the estate of an individual who has the power to remove a trustee or appoint a trustee, or both, and the assets would not be included in the estate of the individual if the trustee did not possess the power to make an adjustment;

(7) if the trustee is a beneficiary of the trust; or

(8) if the trustee is not a beneficiary, but the adjustment would benefit the trustee directly or indirectly.

(d) If Subsection (c)(5), (6), (7), or (8) applies to a trustee and there is more than one trustee, a cotrustee to whom the provision does not apply may make the adjustment unless the exercise of the power by the remaining trustee or trustees is not permitted by the terms of the trust.

(e) A trustee may release the entire power conferred by Subsection (a) or may release only the power to adjust from income to principal or the power to adjust from principal to income if the trustee is uncertain about whether possessing or exercising the power will cause a result described in Subsection (c)(1)-(6) or (c)(8) or if the trustee determines that possessing or exercising the power will or may deprive the trust of a tax benefit or impose a tax burden not described in Subsection (c). The release may be permanent or for a specified period, including a period measured by the life of an individual.

(f) Terms of a trust that limit the power of a trustee to make an adjustment between principal and income do not affect the application of this section unless it is clear from the terms of the trust that the terms are intended to deny the trustee the power of adjustment conferred by Subsection (a).

Section 104 [Texas Trust Code §116.005] does not empower a trustee to increase or decrease the degree of beneficial enjoyment to which a beneficiary is entitled under the terms of the trust; rather, it authorizes the trustee to make adjustments between principal and income that may be necessary if the income component of a portfolio's total return is too small or too large because of investment decisions made by the trustee under the prudent investor rule. The paramount consideration in applying Section 104(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(a)] is the requirement in Section 103(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.004(b)] that "a fiduciary must administer a trust or estate impartially, based on what is fair and reasonable to all of the beneficiaries, except to the extent that the terms of the trust or the will clearly manifest an intention that the fiduciary shall or may favor one or more of the beneficiaries." The power to adjust is subject to control by the court to prevent an abuse of discretion. Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 187 (1959). See also id. §§ 183, 232, 233, Comment p (1959).

Section 104 [Texas Trust Code §116.005] will be important for trusts that are irrevocable when a State adopts the prudent investor rule by statute or judicial approval of the rule in Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule. Wills and trust instruments executed after the rule is adopted can be drafted to describe a beneficiary's distribution rights in terms that do not depend upon the amount of trust accounting income, but to the extent that drafters of trust documents continue to describe an income beneficiary's distribution rights by referring to trust accounting income, Section 104 [Texas Trust Code §116.005] will be an important tool in trust administration.

Three conditions to the exercise of the power to adjust. The first of the three conditions that must be met before a trustee can exercise the power to adjust - that the trustee invest and manage trust assets as a prudent investor - is expressed in this Act by language derived from the Uniform Prudent Investor Act, but the condition will be met whether the prudent investor rule applies because the Uniform Act or other prudent investor legislation has been enacted, the prudent investor rule has been approved by the courts, or the terms of the trust require it. Even if a State's legislature or courts have not formally adopted the rule, the Restatement establishes the prudent investor rule as an authoritative interpretation of the common law prudent man rule, referring to the prudent investor rule as a "modest reformulation of the Harvard College dictum and the basic rule of prior Restatements." Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule, Introduction, at 5. As a result, there is a basis for concluding that the first condition is satisfied in virtually all States except those in which a trustee is permitted to invest only in assets set forth in a statutory "legal list."

The second condition will be met when the terms of the trust require all of the "income" to be distributed at regular intervals; or when the terms of the trust require a trustee to distribute all of the income, but permit the trustee to decide how much to distribute to each member of a class of beneficiaries; or when the terms of a trust provide that the beneficiary shall receive the greater of the trust accounting income and a fixed dollar amount (an annuity), or of trust accounting income and a fractional share of the value of the trust assets (a unitrust amount). If the trust authorizes the trustee in its discretion to distribute the trust's income to the beneficiary or to accumulate some or all of the income, the condition will be met because the terms of the trust do not permit the trustee to distribute more than the trust accounting income.

To meet the third condition, the trustee must first meet the requirements of Section 103(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.004(a)], i.e., she must apply the terms of the trust, decide whether to exercise the discretionary powers given to the trustee under the terms of the trust, and must apply the provisions of the Act if the terms of the trust do not contain a different provision or give the trustee discretion. Second, the trustee must determine the extent to which the terms of the trust clearly manifest an intention by the settlor that the trustee may or must favor one or more of the beneficiaries. To the extent that the terms of the trust do not require partiality, the trustee must conclude that she is unable to comply with the duty to administer the trust impartially. To the extent that the terms of the trust do require or permit the trustee to favor the income beneficiary or the remainder beneficiary, the trustee must conclude that she is unable to achieve the degree of partiality required or permitted. If the trustee comes to either conclusion - that she is unable to administer the trust impartially or that she is unable to achieve the degree of partiality required or permitted - she may exercise the power to adjust under Section 104(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(a)].

Impartiality and productivity of income. The duty of impartiality between income and remainder beneficiaries is linked to the trustee's duty to make the portfolio productive of trust accounting income whenever the distribution requirements are expressed in terms of distributing the trust's "income." The 1962 Act implies that the duty to produce income applies on an asset by asset basis because the right of an income beneficiary to receive "delayed income" from the sale proceeds of underproductive property under Section 12 of that Act arises if "any part of principal ... has not produced an average net income of a least 1% per year of its inventory value for more than a year ... ." Under the prudent investor rule, "[t]o whatever extent a requirement of income productivity exists, ... the requirement applies not investment by investment but to the portfolio as a whole." Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 227, Comment i, at 34. The power to adjust under Section 104(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(a)] is also to be exercised by considering net income from the portfolio as a whole and not investment by investment. Section 413(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.176(b)] of this Act eliminates the underproductive property rule in all cases other than trusts for which a marital deduction is allowed; the rule applies to a marital deduction trust if the trust's assets "consist substantially of property that does not provide the spouse with sufficient income from or use of the trust assets ..." - in other words, the section applies by reference to the portfolio as a whole.

While the purpose of the power to adjust in Section 104(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(a)] is to eliminate the need for a trustee who operates under the prudent investor rule to be concerned about the income component of the portfolio's total return, the trustee must still determine the extent to which a distribution must be made to an income beneficiary and the adequacy of the portfolio's liquidity as a whole to make that distribution.

For a discussion of investment considerations involving specific investments and techniques under the prudent investor rule, see Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 227, Comments k-p.

Factors to consider in exercising the power to adjust. Section 104(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(b)] requires a trustee to consider factors relevant to the trust and its beneficiaries in deciding whether and to what extent the power to adjust should be exercised. Section 2(c) of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act [Texas Trust Code §117.004(c)] sets forth circumstances that a trustee is to consider in investing and managing trust assets. The circumstances in Section 2(c) of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act [Texas Trust Code §117.004(c)] are the source of the factors in paragraphs (3) through (6) and (8) of Section 104(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(b)] (modified where necessary to adapt them to the purposes of this Act) so that, to the extent possible, comparable factors will apply to investment decisions and decisions involving the power to adjust. If a trustee who is operating under the prudent investor rule decides that the portfolio should be composed of financial assets whose total return will result primarily from capital appreciation rather than dividends, interest, and rents, the trustee can decide at the same time the extent to which an adjustment from principal to income may be necessary under Section 104 [Texas Trust Code §116.005]. On the other hand, if a trustee decides that the risk and return objectives for the trust are best achieved by a portfolio whose total return includes interest and dividend income that is sufficient to provide the income beneficiary with the beneficial interest to which the beneficiary is entitled under the terms of the trust, the trustee can decide that it is unnecessary to exercise the power to adjust.

Assets received from the settlor. Section 3 of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act [Texas Trust Code §117.005] provides that "[a] trustee shall diversify the investments of the trust unless the trustee reasonably determines that, because of special circumstances, the purposes of the trust are better served without diversifying." The special circumstances may include the wish to retain a family business, the benefit derived from deferring liquidation of the asset in order to defer payment of income taxes, or the anticipated capital appreciation from retaining an asset such as undeveloped real estate for a long period. To the extent the trustee retains assets received from the settlor because of special circumstances that overcome the duty to diversify, the trustee may take these circumstances into account in determining whether and to what extent the power to adjust should be exercised to change the results produced by other provisions of this Act that apply to the retained assets. See Section 104(b)(5) [Texas Trust Code §116.105(b)(5)]; Uniform Prudent Investor Act § 3 [Texas Trust Code §117.005], Comment, 7B U.L.A. 18, at 25-26 (Supp. 1997); Restatement of Trusts 3d: Prudent Investor Rule § 229 and Comments a-e.

Limitations on the power to adjust. The purpose of subsections (c)(1) through (4) is to preserve tax benefits that may have been an important purpose for creating the trust. Subsections (c)(5), (6), and (8) deny the power to adjust in the circumstances described in those subsections in order to prevent adverse tax consequences, and subsection (c)(7) denies the power to adjust to any beneficiary, whether or not possession of the power may have adverse tax consequences.

Under subsection (c)(1), a trustee cannot make an adjustment that diminishes the income interest in a trust that requires all of the income to be paid at least annually to a spouse and for which an estate tax or gift tax marital deduction is allowed; but this subsection does not prevent the trustee from making an adjustment that increases the amount of income paid from a marital deduction trust to the spouse. Subsection (c)(1) applies to a trust that qualifies for the marital deduction because the spouse has a general power of appointment over the trust, but it applies to a qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trust only if and to the extent that the fiduciary makes the election required to obtain the tax deduction. Subsection (c)(1) does not apply to a so-called "estate" trust. This type of trust qualifies for the marital deduction because the terms of the trust require the principal and undistributed income to be paid to the surviving spouse's estate when the spouse dies; it is not necessary for the terms of an estate trust to require the income to be distributed annually. Reg. § 20.2056(c)-2(b)(1)(iii).

Subsection (c)(3) applies to annuity trusts and unitrusts with no charitable beneficiaries as well as to trusts with charitable income or remainder beneficiaries; its purpose is to make it clear that a beneficiary's right to receive a fixed annuity or a fixed fraction of the value of a trust's assets is not subject to adjustment under Section 104(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(a)]. Subsection (c)(3) does not apply to any additional amount to which the beneficiary may be entitled that is expressed in terms of a right to receive income from the trust. For example, if a beneficiary is to receive a fixed annuity or the trust's income, whichever is greater, subsection (c)(3) does not prevent a trustee from making an adjustment under Section 104(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(a)] in determining the amount of the trust's income.

If subsection (c)(5), (6), (7), or (8), prevents a trustee from exercising the power to adjust, subsection (d) permits a cotrustee who is not subject to the provision to exercise the power unless the terms of the trust do not permit the cotrustee to do so.

Release of the power to adjust. Section 104(e) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(e)] permits a trustee to release all or part of the power to adjust in circumstances in which the possession or exercise of the power might deprive the trust of a tax benefit or impose a tax burden. For example, if possessing the power would diminish the actuarial value of the income interest in a trust for which the income beneficiary's estate may be eligible to claim a credit for property previously taxed if the beneficiary dies within ten years after the death of the person creating the trust, the trustee is permitted under subsection (e) to release just the power to adjust from income to principal.

Trust terms that limit a power to adjust. Section 104(f) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(f)] applies to trust provisions that limit a trustee's power to adjust. Since the power is intended to enable trustees to employ the prudent investor rule without being constrained by traditional principal and income rules, an instrument executed before the adoption of this Act whose terms describe the amount that may or must be distributed to a beneficiary by referring to the trust's income or that prohibit the invasion of principal or that prohibit equitable adjustments in general should not be construed as forbidding the use of the power to adjust under Section 104(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(a)] if the need for adjustment arises because the trustee is operating under the prudent investor rule. Instruments containing such provisions that are executed after the adoption of this Act should specifically refer to the power to adjust if the settlor intends to forbid its use. See generally, Joel C. Dobris, Limits on the Doctrine of Equitable Adjustment in Sophisticated Postmortem Tax Planning, 66 Iowa L. Rev. 273 (1981).

Examples. The following examples illustrate the application of Section 104 [Texas Trust Code §116.005]:

Example (1) - T is the successor trustee of a trust that provides income to A for life, remainder to B. T has received from the prior trustee a portfolio of financial assets invested 20% in stocks and 80% in bonds. Following the prudent investor rule, T determines that a strategy of investing the portfolio 50% in stocks and 50% in bonds has risk and return objectives that are reasonably suited to the trust, but T also determines that adopting this approach will cause the trust to receive a smaller amount of dividend and interest income. After considering the factors in Section 104(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(b)], T may transfer cash from principal to income to the extent T considers it necessary to increase the amount distributed to the income beneficiary.

Example (2) - T is the trustee of a trust that requires the income to be paid to the settlor's son C for life, remainder to C's daughter D. In a period of very high inflation, T purchases bonds that pay double-digit interest and determines that a portion of the interest, which is allocated to income under Section 406 [Texas Trust Code §116.163] of this Act, is a return of capital. In consideration of the loss of value of principal due to inflation and other factors that T considers relevant, T may transfer part of the interest to principal.

Example (3) - T is the trustee of a trust that requires the income to be paid to the settlor's sister E for life, remainder to charity F. E is a retired schoolteacher who is single and has no children. E's income from her social security, pension, and savings exceeds the amount required to provide for her accustomed standard of living. The terms of the trust permit T to invade principal to provide for E's health and to support her in her accustomed manner of living, but do not otherwise indicate that T should favor E or F. Applying the prudent investor rule, T determines that the trust assets should be invested entirely in growth stocks that produce very little dividend income. Even though it is not necessary to invade principal to maintain E's accustomed standard of living, she is entitled to receive from the trust the degree of beneficial enjoyment normally accorded a person who is the sole income beneficiary of a trust, and T may transfer cash from principal to income to provide her with that degree of enjoyment.

Example (4) - T is the trustee of a trust that is governed by the law of State X. The trust became irrevocable before State X adopted the prudent investor rule. The terms of the trust require all of the income to be paid to G for life, remainder to H, and also give T the power to invade principal for the benefit of G for "dire emergencies only." The terms of the trust limit the aggregate amount that T can distribute to G from principal during G's life to 6% of the trust's value at its inception. The trust's portfolio is invested initially 50% in stocks and 50% in bonds, but after State X adopts the prudent investor rule T determines that, to achieve suitable risk and return objectives for the trust, the assets should be invested 90% in stocks and 10% in bonds. This change increases the total return from the portfolio and decreases the dividend and interest income. Thereafter, even though G does not experience a dire emergency, T may exercise the power to adjust under Section 104(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(a)] to the extent that T determines that the adjustment is from only the capital appreciation resulting from the change in the portfolio's asset allocation. If T is unable to determine the extent to which capital appreciation resulted from the change in asset allocation or is unable to maintain adequate records to determine the extent to which principal distributions to G for dire emergencies do not exceed the 6% limitation, T may not exercise the power to adjust. See Joel C. Dobris, Limits on the Doctrine of Equitable Adjustment in Sophisticated Postmortem Tax Planning, 66 Iowa L. Rev. 273 (1981).

Example (5) - T is the trustee of a trust for the settlor's child. The trust owns a diversified portfolio of marketable financial assets with a value of $600,000, and is also the sole beneficiary of the settlor's IRA, which holds a diversified portfolio of marketable financial assets with a value of $900,000. The trust receives a distribution from the IRA that is the minimum amount required to be distributed under the Internal Revenue Code, and T allocates 10% of the distribution to income under Section 409(c) [Texas Trust Code §116.172(c) - but see Section116.172(c) and the Texas Bar Comment to that section, since the Texas version varies from uniform act] of this Act. The total return on the IRA's assets exceeds the amount distributed to the trust, and the value of the IRA at the end of the year is more than its value at the beginning of the year. Relevant factors that T may consider in determining whether to exercise the power to adjust and the extent to which an adjustment should be made to comply with Section 103(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.004(b)] include the total return from all of the trust's assets, those owned directly as well as its interest in the IRA, the extent to which the trust will be subject to income tax on the portion of the IRA distribution that is allocated to principal, and the extent to which the income beneficiary will be subject to income tax on the amount that T distributes to the income beneficiary.

Example (6) - T is the trustee of a trust whose portfolio includes a large parcel of undeveloped real estate. T pays real property taxes on the undeveloped parcel from income each year pursuant to Section 501(3) [Texas Trust Code §116.201(3)]. After considering the return from the trust's portfolio as a whole and other relevant factors described in Section 104(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(b)], T may exercise the power to adjust under Section 104(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(a)] to transfer cash from principal to income in order to distribute to the income beneficiary an amount that T considers necessary to comply with Section 103(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.004(b)].

Example (7) - T is the trustee of a trust whose portfolio includes an interest in a mutual fund that is sponsored by T. As the manager of the mutual fund, T charges the fund a management fee that reduces the amount available to distribute to the trust by $2,000. If the fee had been paid directly by the trust, one-half of the fee would have been paid from income under Section 501(1) [Texas Trust Code §116.201(1)] and the other one-half would have been paid from principal under Section 502(a)(1) [Texas Trust Code §116.202(a)(1)]. After considering the total return from the portfolio as a whole and other relevant factors described in Section 104(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(b)], T may exercise its power to adjust under Section 104(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.005(a)] by transferring $1,000, or half of the trust's proportionate share of the fee, from principal to income.

Some states that have adopted the Uniform Principal and Income Act have also adopted a provision which allows the trustee to elect a unitrust distribution standard. Instead of requiring the trustee to allocate receipts between income and principal, these states authorized the trustee to pay a stated percentage of the trust property to the income beneficiaries. The Section decided that this provision is unnecessary. Each year, the trustee can use the power to adjust to allocate a certain percentage of the trust property to the income beneficiaries. Although this would require the trustee to determine whether to exercise the power each year, the trustee could effectively achieve a unitrust standard. The Section considered the yearly review and determination to be appropriate.

The Section included a specific provision permitting the allocation of capital gains to trust income in subsection (a) to allow the newly allocated income to be treated as distributable net income, in light of proposed treasury regulations under Section 643 of the Internal Revenue Code.

In cases where Section 116.005 cannot be used (for example, in cases where the trustee also is a beneficiary of the trust, judicial means may be available to provide relief in appropriate cases (see, for example, Sections 112.054 and 115.001 of the Texas Trust Code).

Sec. 116.006. JUDICIAL CONTROL OF DISCRETIONARY POWER. (a) The court may not order a trustee to change a decision to exercise or not to exercise a discretionary power conferred by Section 116.005 of this chapter unless the court determines that the decision was an abuse of the trustee's discretion. A trustee's decision is not an abuse of discretion merely because the court would have exercised the power in a different manner or would not have exercised the power.

(b) The decisions to which Subsection (a) applies include:

(1) a decision under Section 116.005(a) as to whether and to what extent an amount should be transferred from principal to income or from income to principal; and

(2) a decision regarding the factors that are relevant to the trust and its beneficiaries, the extent to which the factors are relevant, and the weight, if any, to be given to those factors, in deciding whether and to what extent to exercise the discretionary power conferred by Section 116.005(a).

(c) If the court determines that a trustee has abused the trustee's discretion, the court may place the income and remainder beneficiaries in the positions they would have occupied if the discretion had not been abused, according to the following rules:

(1) to the extent that the abuse of discretion has resulted in no distribution to a beneficiary or in a distribution that is too small, the court shall order the trustee to distribute from the trust to the beneficiary an amount that the court determines will restore the beneficiary, in whole or in part, to the beneficiary's appropriate position;

(2) to the extent that the abuse of discretion has resulted in a distribution to a beneficiary which is too large, the court shall place the beneficiaries, the trust, or both, in whole or in part, in their appropriate positions by ordering the trustee to withhold an amount from one or more future distributions to the beneficiary who received the distribution that was too large or ordering that beneficiary to return some or all of the distribution to the trust; and

(3) to the extent that the court is unable, after applying Subdivisions (1) and (2), to place the beneficiaries, the trust, or both, in the positions they would have occupied if the discretion had not been abused, the court may order the trustee to pay an appropriate amount from its own funds to one or more of the beneficiaries or the trust or both.

(d) If the trustee of a trust reasonably believes that one or more beneficiaries of such trust will object to the manner in which the trustee intends to exercise or not exercise a discretionary power conferred by Section 116.005 of this chapter, the trustee may petition the court having jurisdiction over the trust, and the court shall determine whether the proposed exercise or nonexercise by the trustee of such discretionary power will result in an abuse of the trustee's discretion. The trustee shall state in such petition the basis for its belief that a beneficiary would object. The failure or refusal of a beneficiary to sign a waiver or release is not reasonable grounds for a trustee to believe the beneficiary will object. The court may appoint one or more guardians ad litem pursuant to Section 115.014 of this subtitle. If the petition describes the proposed exercise or nonexercise of the power and contains sufficient information to inform the beneficiaries of the reasons for the proposal, the facts upon which the trustee relies, and an explanation of how the income and remainder beneficiaries will be affected by the proposed exercise or nonexercise of the power, a beneficiary who challenges the proposed exercise or nonexercise has the burden of establishing that it will result in an abuse of discretion. The trustee shall advance from the trust principal all costs incident to the judicial determination, including the reasonable attorney's fees and costs of the trustee, any beneficiary or beneficiaries who are parties to the action and who retain counsel, and any guardian ad litem. At the conclusion of the proceeding, the court may award costs and reasonable and necessary attorney's fees as provided in Section 114.064 of this subtitle, including, if the court considers it appropriate, awarding part or all of such costs against the trust principal or income, awarding part or all of such costs against one or more beneficiaries or such beneficiary's or beneficiaries' share of the trust, or awarding part or all of such costs against the trustee in the trustee's individual capacity if the court determines the trustee's exercise or nonexercise of discretionary power would have resulted in an abuse of discretion or that the trustee did not have reasonable grounds for believing one or more beneficiaries will object to the proposed exercise or nonexercise of the discretionary power.

The Section was concerned that Section 105 of the Act did not have adequate protection for the rights of beneficiaries. As a result, the Texas version has additional protections for beneficiaries.

First, the trustee must have a reasonable belief that a beneficiary will object, and the trustee must state the grounds for this belief in the petition. The failure of a beneficiary to sign a waiver or release, standing alone, is not reasonable grounds for a trustee to believe the beneficiary will object. Thus, if the trustee asks a beneficiary to sign a waiver or release and the beneficiary refuses to do so but does not affirmatively object, then the refusal, standing alone, cannot form the basis of the trustee's lawsuit under Section 116.006(d).

Second, Section 116.006(d) confirms that the court may appoint one or more guardians ad litem if under the terms of Trust Code Section 115.014 the court considers this appropriate.

Third, the trustee must advance "costs incident to the judicial determination" from trust principal. These costs include the reasonable attorney's fees and costs of the trustee and of any beneficiary who retains counsel in the proceeding, as well as the guardian ad litem's fees. These fees and costs must be incident to the judicial determination, but they are to be advanced to any beneficiary who retains counsel, not just to a beneficiary who objects to the trustee's proposed action. The advancement of costs makes it possible for all interested parties to obtain representation in the proceeding, but it does not mean that the principal of the trust ultimately will bear these costs. The provision permits the court to award costs and reasonable and necessary attorney's fees as provided in Trust Code Section 114.064. This could result in part or all of the costs being awarded against trust principal or income, against a beneficiary or his or her interest in the trust, or against the trustee in its individual capacity. The provision mentions two specific reasons why the court may choose to award costs against the trustee - if the trustee's action or inaction would have resulted in an abuse of discretion or if the trustee did not have reasonable grounds for believing a beneficiary would object to the trustee's action.

Sec. 116.007. PROVISIONS REGARDING NONCHARITABLE UNITRUSTS. (a) This section does not apply to a charitable remainder unitrust as defined by Section 664(d), Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Section 664), as amended.

(b) In this section:

(1) "Unitrust" means a trust the terms of which require distribution of a unitrust amount.

(2) "Unitrust amount" means a distribution mandated by the terms of a trust in an amount equal to a fixed percentage of not less than three or more than five percent per year of the net fair market value of the trust's assets, valued at least annually. The unitrust amount may be determined by reference to the net fair market value of the trust's assets in one year or more than one year.

(c) Distribution of the unitrust amount is considered a distribution of all of the income of the unitrust and shall not be considered a fundamental departure from applicable state law. A distribution of the unitrust amount reasonably apportions the total return of a unitrust.

(d) Unless the terms of the trust specifically provide otherwise, a distribution of the unitrust amount shall be treated as first being made from the following sources in order of priority:

(1) from net accounting income determined as if the trust were not a unitrust;

(2) from ordinary accounting income not allocable to net accounting income;

(3) from net realized short-term capital gains;

(4) from net realized long-term capital gains; and

(5) from the principal of the trust estate.

[Sections 116.008-116.050 reserved for expansion]

SUBCHAPTER B. DECEDENT'S ESTATE OR TERMINATING INCOME INTEREST

Sec. 116.051. DETERMINATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF NET INCOME. After a decedent dies, in the case of an estate, or after an income interest in a trust ends, the following rules apply:

(1) A fiduciary of an estate or of a terminating income interest shall determine the amount of net income and net principal receipts received from property specifically given to a beneficiary under the rules in Subchapters C, D, and E which apply to trustees and the rules in Subdivision (5). The fiduciary shall distribute the net income and net principal receipts to the beneficiary who is to receive the specific property.

(2) A fiduciary shall determine the remaining net income of a decedent's estate or a terminating income interest under the rules in Subchapters C, D, and E which apply to trustees and by:

(A) including in net income all income from property used to discharge liabilities;

(B) paying from income or principal, in the fiduciary's discretion, fees of attorneys, accountants, and fiduciaries; court costs and other expenses of administration; and interest on death taxes, but the fiduciary may pay those expenses from income of property passing to a trust for which the fiduciary claims an estate tax marital or charitable deduction only to the extent that the payment of those expenses from income will not cause the reduction or loss of the deduction; and

(C) paying from principal all other disbursements made or incurred in connection with the settlement of a decedent's estate or the winding up of a terminating income interest, including debts, funeral expenses, disposition of remains, family allowances, and death taxes and related penalties that are apportioned to the estate or terminating income interest by the will, the terms of the trust, or applicable law.

(3) A fiduciary shall distribute to a beneficiary who receives a pecuniary amount outright the interest or any other amount provided by the will, the terms of the trust, or applicable law from net income determined under Subdivision (2) or from principal to the extent that net income is insufficient. If a beneficiary is to receive a pecuniary amount outright from a trust after an income interest ends and no interest or other amount is provided for by the terms of the trust or applicable law, the fiduciary shall distribute the interest or other amount to which the beneficiary would be entitled under applicable law if the pecuniary amount were required to be paid under a will. Unless otherwise provided by the will or the terms of the trust, a beneficiary who receives a pecuniary amount, regardless of whether in trust, shall be paid interest on the pecuniary amount at the legal rate of interest as provided by Section 302.002, Finance Code. Interest on the pecuniary amount is payable:

(A) under a will, beginning on the first anniversary of the date of the decedent's death; or

(B) under a trust, beginning on the first anniversary of the date on which an income interest ends.

(4) A fiduciary shall distribute the net income remaining after distributions required by Subdivision (3) in the manner described in Section 116.052 to all other beneficiaries even if the beneficiary holds an unqualified power to withdraw assets from the trust or other presently exercisable general power of appointment over the trust.

(5) A fiduciary may not reduce principal or income receipts from property described in Subdivision (1) because of a payment described in Section 116.201 or 116.202 to the extent that the will, the terms of the trust, or applicable law requires the fiduciary to make the payment from assets other than the property or to the extent that the fiduciary recovers or expects to recover the payment from a third party. The net income and principal receipts from the property are determined by including all of the amounts the fiduciary receives or pays with respect to the property, whether those amounts accrued or became due before, on, or after the date of a decedent's death or an income interest's terminating event, and by making a reasonable provision for amounts that the fiduciary believes the estate or terminating income interest may become obligated to pay after the property is distributed.

(6) A fiduciary, without reduction for taxes, shall pay to a charitable organization that is entitled to receive income under Subdivision (4) any amount allowed as a tax deduction to the estate or trust for income payable to the charitable organization.

Terminating income interests and successive income interests. A trust that provides for a single income beneficiary and an outright distribution of the remainder ends when the income interest ends. A more complex trust may have a number of income interests, either concurrent or successive, and the trust will not necessarily end when one of the income interests ends. For that reason, the Act speaks in terms of income interests ending and beginning rather than trusts ending and beginning. When an income interest in a trust ends, the trustee's powers continue during the winding up period required to complete its administration. A terminating income interest is one that has ended but whose administration is not complete.

If two or more people are given the right to receive specified percentages or fractions of the income from a trust concurrently and one of the concurrent interests ends, e.g., when a beneficiary dies, the beneficiary's income interest ends but the trust does not. Similarly, when a trust with only one income beneficiary ends upon the beneficiary's death, the trust instrument may provide that part or all of the trust assets shall continue in trust for another income beneficiary. While it is common to think and speak of this (and even to characterize it in a trust instrument) as a "new" trust, it is a continuation of the original trust for a remainder beneficiary who has an income interest in the trust assets instead of the right to receive them outright. For purposes of this Act, this is a successive income interest in the same trust. The fact that a trust may or may not end when an income interest ends is not significant for purposes of this Act.

If the assets that are subject to a terminating income interest pass to another trust because the income beneficiary exercises a general power of appointment over the trust assets, the recipient trust would be a new trust; and if they pass to another trust because the beneficiary exercises a nongeneral power of appointment over the trust assets, the recipient trust might be a new trust in some States (see 5A Austin W. Scott & William F. Fratcher, The Law of Trusts § 640, at 483 (4th ed. 1989)); but for purposes of this Act a new trust created in these circumstances is also a successive income interest.

Gift of a pecuniary amount. Section 201(3) and (4) [Texas Trust Code §116.051(3) and (4)] provide different rules for an outright gift of a pecuniary amount and a gift in trust of a pecuniary amount; this is the same approach used in Section 5(b)(2) of the 1962 Act.

Interest on pecuniary amounts. Section 201(3) [Texas Trust Code §116.051(3)] provides that the beneficiary of an outright pecuniary amount is to receive the interest or other amount provided by applicable law if there is no provision in the will or the terms of the trust. [See Texas Bar Comment, below.] Many States have no applicable law that provides for interest or some other amount to be paid on an outright pecuniary gift under an inter vivos trust; this section provides that in such a case the interest or other amount to be paid shall be the same as the interest or other amount required to be paid on testamentary pecuniary gifts. This provision is intended to accord gifts under inter vivos instruments the same treatment as testamentary gifts. The various state authorities that provide for the amount that a beneficiary of an outright pecuniary amount is entitled to receive are collected in Richard B. Covey, Marital Deduction and Credit Shelter Dispositions and the Use of Formula Provisions, App. B (4th ed. 1997).

Administration expenses and interest on death taxes. Under Section 201(2)(B) [Texas Trust Code §116.051(2)(B)] a fiduciary may pay administration expenses and interest on death taxes from either income or principal. An advantage of permitting the fiduciary to choose the source of the payment is that, if the fiduciary's decision is consistent with the decision to deduct these expenses for income tax purposes or estate tax purposes, it eliminates the need to adjust between principal and income that may arise when, for example, an expense that is paid from principal is deducted for income tax purposes or an expense that is paid from income is deducted for estate tax purposes.

The United States Supreme Court has considered the question of whether an estate tax marital deduction or charitable deduction should be reduced when administration expenses are paid from income produced by property passing in trust for a surviving spouse or for charity and deducted for income tax purposes. The Court rejected the IRS position that administration expenses properly paid from income under the terms of the trust or state law must reduce the amount of a marital or charitable transfer, and held that the value of the transferred property is not reduced for estate tax purposes unless the administration expenses are material in light of the income the trust corpus could have been expected to generate. Commissioner v. Estate of Otis C. Hubert, 117 S.Ct. 1124 (1997). The provision in Section 201(2)(B) [Texas Trust Code §116.051(2)(B)] permits a fiduciary to pay and deduct administration expenses from income only to the extent that it will not cause the reduction or loss of an estate tax marital or charitable contributions deduction, which means that the limit on the amount payable from income will be established eventually by Treasury Regulations.

Interest on estate taxes. The IRS agrees that interest on estate and inheritance taxes may be deducted for income tax purposes without having to reduce the estate tax deduction for amounts passing to a charity or surviving spouse, whether the interest is paid from principal or income. Rev. Rul. 93-48, 93-2 C.B. 270. For estates of persons who died before 1998, a fiduciary may not want to deduct for income tax purposes interest on estate tax that is deferred under Section 6166 or 6163 because deducting that interest for estate tax purposes may produce more beneficial results, especially if the estate has little or no income or the income tax bracket is significantly lower than the estate tax bracket. For estates of persons who die after 1997, no estate tax or income tax deduction will be allowed for interest paid on estate tax that is deferred under Section 6166. However, interest on estate tax deferred under Section 6163 will continue to be deductible for both purposes, and interest on estate tax deficiencies will continue to be deductible for estate tax purposes if an election under Section 6166 is not in effect.

Under the 1962 Act, Section 13(c)(5) charges interest on estate and inheritance taxes to principal. The 1931 Act has no provision. Section 501(3) [Texas Trust Code §116.201(3)] of this Act provides that, except to the extent provided in Section 201(2)(B) or (C) [Texas Trust Code §116.051(2)(B) or (C)], all interest must be paid from income.

Section 116.051(2)(B) authorizes the fiduciary to allocate interest on estate taxes to either principal or income. In contrast, former Section 378(B)(a) of the Texas Probate Code required that interest on estate taxes be charged against principal. The Section believes that the flexibility provided for by the Uniform Principal and Income Act approach is advantageous.

Sec. 116.052. DISTRIBUTION TO RESIDUARY AND REMAINDER BENEFICIARIES. (a) Each beneficiary described in Section 116.051(4) is entitled to receive a portion of the net income equal to the beneficiary's fractional interest in undistributed principal assets, using values as of the distribution date. If a fiduciary makes more than one distribution of assets to beneficiaries to whom this section applies, each beneficiary, including one who does not receive part of the distribution, is entitled, as of each distribution date, to the net income the fiduciary has received after the date of death or terminating event or earlier distribution date but has not distributed as of the current distribution date.

(b) In determining a beneficiary's share of net income, the following rules apply:

(1) The beneficiary is entitled to receive a portion of the net income equal to the beneficiary's fractional interest in the undistributed principal assets immediately before the distribution date, including assets that later may be sold to meet principal obligations.

(2) The beneficiary's fractional interest in the undistributed principal assets must be calculated without regard to property specifically given to a beneficiary and property required to pay pecuniary amounts not in trust.

(3) The beneficiary's fractional interest in the undistributed principal assets must be calculated on the basis of the aggregate value of those assets as of the distribution date without reducing the value by any unpaid principal obligation.

(4) The distribution date for purposes of this section may be the date as of which the fiduciary calculates the value of the assets if that date is reasonably near the date on which assets are actually distributed.

(c) If a fiduciary does not distribute all of the collected but undistributed net income to each person as of a distribution date, the fiduciary shall maintain appropriate records showing the interest of each beneficiary in that net income.

(d) A fiduciary may apply the rules in this section, to the extent that the fiduciary considers it appropriate, to net gain or loss realized after the date of death or terminating event or earlier distribution date from the disposition of a principal asset if this section applies to the income from the asset.

Section 116.052 is an improvement over existing law because it provides more certainty for the fiduciary than former Section 378(B)(d) and (h) of the Texas Probate Code provided to an executor.

[Sections 116.053-116.100 reserved for expansion]

SUBCHAPTER C. APPORTIONMENT AT BEGINNING AND END OF INCOME INTEREST

Sec. 116.101. WHEN RIGHT TO INCOME BEGINS AND ENDS. (a) An income beneficiary is entitled to net income from the date on which the income interest begins. An income interest begins on the date specified in the terms of the trust or, if no date is specified, on the date an asset becomes subject to a trust or successive income interest.

(b) An asset becomes subject to a trust:

(1) on the date it is transferred to the trust in the case of an asset that is transferred to a trust during the transferor's life;

(2) on the date of a testator's death in the case of an asset that becomes subject to a trust by reason of a will, even if there is an intervening period of administration of the testator's estate; or

(3) on the date of an individual's death in the case of an asset that is transferred to a fiduciary by a third party because of the individual's death.

(c) An asset becomes subject to a successive income interest on the day after the preceding income interest ends, as determined under Subsection (d), even if there is an intervening period of administration to wind up the preceding income interest.

(d) An income interest ends on the day before an income beneficiary dies or another terminating event occurs, or on the last day of a period during which there is no beneficiary to whom a trustee may distribute income.

Section 116.101 is substantially similar to former Section 113.103.

Sec. 116.102. APPORTIONMENT OF RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS WHEN DECEDENT DIES OR INCOME INTEREST BEGINS. (a) A trustee shall allocate an income receipt or disbursement other than one to which Section 116.051(1) applies to principal if its due date occurs before a decedent dies in the case of an estate or before an income interest begins in the case of a trust or successive income interest.

(b) A trustee shall allocate an income receipt or disbursement to income if its due date occurs on or after the date on which a decedent dies or an income interest begins and it is a periodic due date. An income receipt or disbursement must be treated as accruing from day to day if its due date is not periodic or it has no due date. The portion of the receipt or disbursement accruing before the date on which a decedent dies or an income interest begins must be allocated to principal and the balance must be allocated to income.

(c) An item of income or an obligation is due on the date the payer is required to make a payment. If a payment date is not stated, there is no due date for the purposes of this chapter. Distributions to shareholders or other owners from an entity to which Section 116.151 applies are deemed to be due on the date fixed by the entity for determining who is entitled to receive the distribution or, if no date is fixed, on the declaration date for the distribution. A due date is periodic for receipts or disbursements that must be paid at regular intervals under a lease or an obligation to pay interest or if an entity customarily makes distributions at regular intervals.

Having several different rules that apply to similar transactions is confusing. In order to simplify administration, Section 302 [Texas Trust Code §116.102] applies the same rule to inter vivos trusts (revocable and irrevocable), testamentary trusts, and assets that become subject to an inter vivos trust by a testamentary bequest.

Periodic payments. Under Section 302 [Texas Trust Code §116.102], a periodic payment is principal if it is due but unpaid before a decedent dies or before an asset becomes subject to a trust, but the next payment is allocated entirely to income and is not apportioned. Thus, periodic receipts such as rents, dividends, interest, and annuities, and disbursements such as the interest portion of a mortgage payment, are not apportioned. This is the original common law rule. Edwin A. Howes, Jr., The American Law Relating to Income and Principal 70 (1905). In trusts in which a surviving spouse is dependent upon a regular flow of cash from the decedent's securities portfolio, this rule will help to maintain payments to the spouse at the same level as before the settlor's death. Under the 1962 Act, the pre-death portion of the first periodic payment due after death is apportioned to principal in the case of a testamentary trust or securities bequeathed by will to an inter vivos trust.

Nonperiodic payments. Under the second sentence of Section 302(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.102(b)], interest on an obligation that does not provide a due date for the interest payment, such as interest on an income tax refund, would be apportioned to principal to the extent it accrues before a person dies or an income interest begins unless the obligation is specifically given to a devisee or remainder beneficiary, in which case all of the accrued interest passes under Section 201(1) [Texas Trust Code §116.051(1)] to the person who receives the obligation. The same rule applies to interest on an obligation that has a due date but does not provide for periodic payments. If there is no stated interest on the obligation, such as a zero coupon bond, and the proceeds from the obligation are received more than one year after it is purchased or acquired by the trustee, the entire amount received is principal under Section 406 [Texas Trust Code §116.163].

Sec. 116.103. APPORTIONMENT WHEN INCOME INTEREST ENDS. (a) In this section, "undistributed income" means net income received before the date on which an income interest ends. The term does not include an item of income or expense that is due or accrued or net income that has been added or is required to be added to principal under the terms of the trust.

(b) When a mandatory income interest ends, the trustee shall pay to a mandatory income beneficiary who survives that date, or the estate of a deceased mandatory income beneficiary whose death causes the interest to end, the beneficiary's share of the undistributed income that is not disposed of under the terms of the trust unless the beneficiary has an unqualified power to revoke more than five percent of the trust immediately before the income interest ends. In the latter case, the undistributed income from the portion of the trust that may be revoked must be added to principal.

(c) When a trustee's obligation to pay a fixed annuity or a fixed fraction of the value of the trust's assets ends, the trustee shall prorate the final payment if and to the extent required by applicable law to accomplish a purpose of the trust or its settlor relating to income, gift, estate, or other tax requirements.

Accrued periodic payments. Under the prior Acts, an income beneficiary or his estate is entitled to receive a portion of any payments, other than dividends, that are due or that have accrued when the income interest terminates. The last sentence of subsection (a) changes that rule by providing that such items are not included in undistributed income. The items affected include periodic payments of interest, rent, and dividends, as well as items of income that accrue over a longer period of time; the rule also applies to expenses that are due or accrued.

Example - accrued periodic payments. The rules in Section 302 and Section 303 [Texas Trust Code §§116.102 and 116.103] work in the following manner: Assume that a periodic payment of rent that is due on July 20 has not been paid when an income interest ends on July 30; the successive income interest begins on July 31, and the rent payment that was due on July 20 is paid on August 3. Under Section 302(a) [Texas Trust Code §116.102(a)], the July 20 payment is added to the principal of the successive income interest when received. Under Section 302(b) [Texas Trust Code §116.102(b)], the entire periodic payment of rent that is due on August