Wisconsin Legislature: 92,174

701.1010 Limitation on personal liability of trustee. (1) Except as otherwise provided in the contract, a trustee is not personally liable on a contract properly entered into in the trustee's fiduciary capacity in the course of administering the trust if the trustee in the contract disclosed the fiduciary capacity.

(2) A trustee is personally liable for torts committed in the course of administering a trust, or for obligations arising from ownership or control of trust property, including liability for violation of environmental law, only if the trustee is personally at fault.

92,171 Section 171. 701.1011 of the statutes is created to read:

701.1011 Interest as general partner. (1) Unless personal liability is imposed in the contract, a trustee who holds an interest as a general partner in a general or limited partnership is not personally liable on a contract entered into by the partnership after the trust's acquisition of the interest if the fiduciary capacity was disclosed in the contract.

(2) A trustee who holds an interest as a general partner is not personally liable for torts committed by the partnership or for obligations arising from ownership or control of the interest unless the trustee is personally at fault.

(3) If the trustee of a revocable trust holds an interest as a general partner, the settlor is personally liable for contracts and other obligations of the partnership as if the settlor were a general partner.

92,172 Section 172. 701.1012 of the statutes is created to read:

701.1012 Protection of person dealing with trustee. (1) A person other than a beneficiary who in good faith assists a trustee, or who in good faith and for value deals with a trustee, without knowledge that the trustee is exceeding or improperly exercising the trustee's powers is protected from liability as if the trustee properly exercised the power.

(2) A person other than a beneficiary who in good faith deals with a trustee is not required to inquire into the extent of the trustee's powers or the propriety of their exercise.

(3) A person who in good faith delivers assets to a trustee does not need to ensure their proper application.

(4) A person other than a beneficiary who in good faith assists a former trustee, or who in good faith and for value deals with a former trustee, without knowledge that the trusteeship has terminated is protected from liability as if the former trustee were still a trustee.

(5) Comparable protective provisions of other laws relating to commercial transactions or transfer of securities by fiduciaries prevail over the protection provided by this section.

92,173 Section 173. 701.1013 of the statutes is created to read:

701.1013 Certification of trust. (1) Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust containing the following information:

(a) That the trust exists and the date on which the trust instrument was executed.

(b) The identity of the settlor.

(d) The powers of the trustee.

(e) The revocability or irrevocability of the trust and the identity of any person holding a power to revoke the trust.

(f) The authority of a cotrustee to sign or otherwise authenticate and whether all cotrustees or less than all cotrustees are required to sign or otherwise authenticate in order to exercise powers of the trustee.

(g) The manner in which title to trust property may be taken.

(2) A certification of trust may be signed or otherwise authenticated by any trustee.

(3) A trustee shall include in a certification of trust that the trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner that would cause the representations contained in the certification of trust to be incorrect.

(4) A certification of trust does not need to contain the dispositive terms of a trust.

(5) A recipient of a certification of trust may require the trustee to furnish copies of those excerpts from the original trust instrument and later amendments that designate the trustee and confer upon the trustee the power to act in the pending transaction.

(6) A person who acts in reliance upon a certification of trust without knowledge that the representations contained therein are incorrect is not liable to any person for so acting and may assume without inquiry the existence of the facts contained in the certification. Knowledge of the terms of the trust may not be inferred solely from the fact that a copy of all or part of the trust instrument is held by the person relying upon the certification.

(7) A person who in good faith enters into a transaction in reliance upon a certification of trust may enforce the transaction against the trust property as if the representations contained in the certification were correct.

(8) A person making a demand for copies of the trust instrument or excerpts from the trust instrument, other than those excerpts described in sub. (5), in addition to a certification of trust is liable for costs, expenses, reasonable attorney fees and damages if the court determines that the person did not act in good faith in demanding the copies.

(9) This section does not limit the right of a person to obtain a copy of the trust instrument in a judicial proceeding concerning the trust.

92,174 Section 174. 701.105 (title), (1), (2) and (3) of the statutes are renumbered 701.1201 (title), (1), (2) and (3), and 701.1201 (1), (2) and (3), as renumbered, are amended to read:

701.1201 (1) (a) In the administration of any trust which that is a private foundation, as defined in section 509 of the internal revenue code Internal Revenue Code, a charitable trust, as defined described in section 4947 (a) (1) of the internal revenue code Internal Revenue Code, or a split-interest trust as defined described in section 4947 (a) (2) of the internal revenue code Internal Revenue Code, all of the following acts shall be prohibited:

1. Engaging in any act of self-dealing, as defined in section 4941 (d) of the internal revenue code, which Internal Revenue Code, that would give rise to any liability for the tax imposed by section 4941 (a) of the internal revenue code Internal Revenue Code.

2. Retaining any excess business holdings, as defined in section 4943 (c) of the internal revenue code, which Internal Revenue Code, that would give rise to any liability for the tax imposed by section 4943 (a) of the internal revenue code Internal Revenue Code.

3. Making any investments which that would jeopardize the carrying out of any of the exempt purposes of the trust, within the meaning of section 4944 of the internal revenue code Internal Revenue Code, so as to give rise to any liability for the tax imposed by section 4944 (a) of the internal revenue code Internal Revenue Code.

4. Making any taxable expenditures, as defined in section 4945 (d) of the internal revenue code, which Internal Revenue Code, that would give rise to any liability for the tax imposed by section 4945 (a) of the internal revenue code Internal Revenue Code.

(b) This subsection shall does not apply either to those split-interest trusts or to amounts thereof which that are not subject to the prohibitions applicable to private foundations by reason of the provisions of section 4947 of the internal revenue code Internal Revenue Code.

(2) In the administration of any trust which that is a private foundation, as defined in section 509 of the internal revenue code Internal Revenue Code, or which that is a charitable trust, as defined described in section 4947 (a) (1) of the internal revenue code Internal Revenue Code, there shall be distributed, for the purposes specified in the trust instrument, for each taxable year, amounts at least sufficient to avoid liability for the tax imposed by section 4942 (a) of the internal revenue code Internal Revenue Code.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) shall do not apply to any trust to the extent that a court of competent jurisdiction shall determine determines that such the application would be contrary to the terms of the instrument governing such trust and that the same may not properly be changed to conform to such subsections.

92,175 Section 175. 701.105 (4) of the statutes is repealed.

92,176 Section 176. 701.11 of the statutes is repealed.

92,177 Section 177. Subchapter XI (title) of chapter 701 [precedes 701.1101] of the statutes is created to read:

chapter 701

subchapter xi

uniform principal and income act

92,178 Section 178. 701.1101 of the statutes is created to read:

701.1101 Short title and scope. This subchapter may be cited as the Wisconsin Uniform Principal and Income Act. Subject to s. 701.1206 (2), this subchapter applies to a trust described in s. 701.0102 and an estate that is administered in this state.

92,179 Section 179. 701.1102 (intro.) of the statutes is created to read:

701.1102 Definitions. (intro.) In this subchapter:

92,180 Section 180. 701.1102 (1g) of the statutes is created to read:

701.1102 (1g) "Asset" has the meaning given for property under s. 701.0103 (20).

92,181 Section 181. 701.1106 (6) of the statutes is created to read:

701.1106 (6) Sections 701.0410 to 701.0418 do not apply to a conversion of a trust to a unitrust under this section.

92,182 Section 182. 701.1123 (1) of the statutes is created to read:

701.1123 (1) In this section:

(a) "Marital deduction trust" means a trust for which an election to qualify for a marital deduction under section 2056 (b) (7), 2056A (a) (3), or 2523 (f) of the Internal Revenue Code has been made or a trust that qualified for the marital deduction under other provisions of section 2056 or 2523 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(b) "Payment" means an amount of money or property received by a trustee that is any of the following:

1. Part of a series, or eligible to be part of a series, of distributions payable over a fixed number of years or during the life of one or more individuals because of services rendered or property transferred to the payer in exchange for the future distributions.

2. Distributed from a plan, regardless of the reason for the distribution.

(c) "Plan" means a contractual, custodial, trust, or other arrangement that provides for distributions to a trust. "Plan" includes a private or commercial annuity, an individual retirement account, a Roth individual retirement account, a qualified retirement plan such as a pension, profit-sharing, stock-bonus, or stock-ownership plan, or any nonqualified deferred compensation plan.

(e) "Separate account" means an account established or maintained under a plan under which income, gains, and losses, whether or not realized, from assets allocated to the account, are credited to or charged against the account without regard to other income, gains, or losses of the plan.

92,183 Section 183. 701.1123 (4) of the statutes is created to read:

701.1123 (4) (a) Notwithstanding sub. (3), a trustee of a marital deduction trust shall determine plan income for an accounting period as if the plan were a trust subject to this subchapter. If the trustee of a marital deduction trust cannot determine the plan income, the plan income is 4 percent of the total present value of the trust's income in the plan on the first day of the accounting period, based on reasonable actuarial assumptions as determined by the trustee of the marital deduction trust.

(b) Notwithstanding subs. (2) and (3), a trustee of a marital deduction trust shall allocate a payment from a plan to income to the extent of the plan income and distribute that amount to the surviving spouse. The trustee of the marital deduction trust shall allocate the balance of the payment to principal. Upon the request of the surviving spouse, the trustee of a marital deduction trust shall allocate principal to income to the extent the plan income exceeds payments made from the plan to the trust during the accounting period.

(c) Upon the request of the surviving spouse of the settlor, a trustee of a marital deduction trust shall demand that a person administering a plan distribute the plan income to the trust.

92,184 Section 184. 701.1126 (title) of the statutes is created to read:

701.1126 (title) Timber.

92,185 Section 185. 701.1134 (3) (c) and (d) and (4) of the statutes are created to read:

701.1134 (3) (c) Proportionately from principal and income to the extent that receipts from the entity are allocated to both income and principal.

(d) From principal to the extent that the tax exceeds the total receipts from the entity.

(4) After applying subs. (1) to (3), the trustee shall adjust income or principal receipts to the extent that the trust's taxes are reduced because the trust receives a deduction for payments made to a beneficiary.

92,186 Section 186. 701.115 of the statutes is repealed.

92,187 Section 187. 701.12 of the statutes is repealed.

92,188 Section 188. Subchapter XII (title) of chapter 701 [precedes 701.1201] of the statutes is created to read:

chapter 701

subchapter Xii

Miscellaneous Provisions

92,189 Section 189. 701.1202 of the statutes is created to read:

701.1202 Electronic records and signatures. The provisions of this chapter governing the legal effect, validity, or enforceability of electronic records or signatures, and of contracts formed or performed with the use of such records or signatures conform to the requirements of section 102 of the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 USC 7002, and supersede, modify, and limit the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 USC 7001 to 7031.

92,190 Section 190. 701.1203 of the statutes is created to read:

701.1203 Uniformity of application and construction. This chapter shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this chapter among states enacting it.

92,191 Section 191. 701.1205 (3) of the statutes is created to read:

701.1205 (3) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), this chapter applies to a judicial proceeding concerning a trust commenced before, on, or after the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date].

(b) If a court finds that application of a particular provision of this chapter to a judicial proceeding commenced before the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], will substantially interfere with the effective conduct of the judicial proceedings or prejudice the rights of the parties, the particular provision of this chapter does not apply to that judicial proceeding and the court shall apply ch. 701, 2011 stats., as the court finds to be necessary to prevent interference with the effective conduct of the judicial proceeding and to avoid prejudicing the rights of the parties.

92,192 Section 192. 701.13 of the statutes is repealed.

92,193 Section 193. 701.14 (title) and (1) of the statutes are repealed.

92,194 Section 194. 701.14 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 701.0205 and amended to read:

701.0205 Notice. If notice of a judicial proceeding involving a trust proceeding to a an interested person interested in the trust, to the person's representative or guardian ad litem as provided in s. 701.15, or to other persons, is required by law or deemed necessary by the court, the court shall order such notice to be given as prescribed in s. 879.05 except that service by publication shall may not be required unless ordered by the court. The court may order both personal service and service by publication on designated persons. Proof of service shall be made as provided in s. 879.07. Persons interested in the trust Interested persons, on behalf of themselves, or their representatives or guardians ad litem as provided in s. 701.15, on behalf of themselves the representative or guardian ad litem and those whom they represent the interested person the representative or guardian ad litem represents, may in writing waive service of notice and consent to the hearing of any matter without notice. Waiver of notice or an appearance by any interested person interested in the trust or the interested person's representative or guardian ad litem as provided in s. 701.15 is equivalent to timely service of notice.

92,195 Section 195. 701.14 (3) of the statutes is renumbered 701.0206 and amended to read:

701.0206 Attorney for person in military service. At the time of filing a petition for a trust judicial proceeding, involving a trust, the petitioner shall file an affidavit shall be filed setting forth the name of any interested person interested in the proceeding who is actively engaged in the military service of the United States. Whenever it appears by the affidavit or otherwise that any person in the active military service of the United States is an interested in any trust proceeding person and is not represented by an attorney, or by an attorney-in-fact who is duly authorized to act on the interested person's behalf in the matter, the court shall appoint an attorney to represent the interested person and protect the person's interest.