Del. Code 12, § 3536 : Decedents' Estates And Fiduciary Relations — Trusts — General Provisions — Rights of creditors and assignees of beneficiary of trust

Current through 2016 Legislative Session, Act 399

(a) Except as expressly provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this section, a creditor of a beneficiary of a trust shall have only such rights against or with respect to such beneficiary's interest in the trust or the property of the trust as shall be expressly granted to such creditor by the terms of the instrument that creates or defines the trust or by the laws of this State. The provisions of this subsection shall be effective regardless of the nature or extent of the beneficiary's interest, whether or not such interest is subject to an exercise of discretion by the trustee or other fiduciary, and shall be effective regardless of any action taken or that might be taken by the beneficiary. Every interest in a trust or in trust property or the income therefrom that shall not be subject to the rights of creditors of such beneficiary as expressly provided in this section shall be exempt from execution, attachment, distress for rent, foreclosure, garnishment and from all other legal or equitable process or remedies instituted by or on behalf of any creditor, including, without limitation, actions at law or in equity against a trustee or beneficiary that seeks a remedy that directly or indirectly affects a beneficiary's interest such as, by way of illustration and not of limitation, an order, whether such order be at the request of a creditor or on the court's own motion or other action, that would:

(1) Compel the trustee or any other fiduciary or any beneficiary to notify the creditor of a distribution made or to be made from the trust;

(2) Compel the trustee or beneficiary to make a distribution from the trust whether or not distributions from the trust are subject to the exercise of discretion by a trustee or other fiduciary;

(3) Prohibit a trustee from making a distribution from the trust to or for the benefit of the beneficiary whether or not distributions from the trust are subject to the exercise of discretion by a trustee or other fiduciary; or

(4) Compel the beneficiary to exercise a power of appointment or power of revocation over the trust.

Every direct or indirect assignment, or act having the effect of an assignment, whether voluntary or involuntary, by a beneficiary of a trust of the beneficiary's interest in the trust or the trust property or the income or other distribution therefrom that is unassignable by the terms of the instrument that creates or defines the trust is void. No beneficiary may waive the application of this subsection (a). For purposes of this subsection (a), the creditors of a beneficiary shall include, but not be limited to, any person that has a claim against the beneficiary, the beneficiary's estate, or the beneficiary's property by reason of any forced heirship, legitime, marital elective share, or similar rights. The provisions of this subsection shall apply to the interest of a trust beneficiary until the actual distribution of trust property to the beneficiary. Regardless of whether a beneficiary has any outstanding creditor, a trustee may make direct payment of any expense on behalf of such beneficiary to the extent permitted by the instrument that creates or defines the trust and may exhaust the income and principal of the trust for the benefit of such beneficiary. A trustee shall not be liable to any creditor of a beneficiary for paying the expenses of a beneficiary.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, a beneficiary entitled to receive all or a part of the income of a trust shall have the right to assign gratuitously in writing, at any time or from time to time, a stated fraction or percentage of the beneficiary's entire remaining income interest in such trust to the State or to any corporation, church, community chest, fund, or foundation authorized as a deduction pursuant to §§ 1107, 1108, and 1109 of Title 30 and such assignment shall be valid and binding on all parties irrespective of any restrictions on assignment contained in the instrument creating or defining the trust; provided, however, that this subsection shall not authorize a beneficiary of such a trust to reduce any part of the beneficiary's income interest which is subject to such restrictions on assignment below 50% of what such interest would be if no assignments were made under this subsection. Any interest assigned under this subsection, together with a corresponding portion of the corpus of the trust, shall be treated as a separate share and thereafter no provision of the trust permitting invasion of corpus for the benefit of the assignor shall be exercisable with respect to such share.

(c) Except as provided in subchapter VI of this Chapter 35 of this title, if the trustor is also a beneficiary of a trust, a provision that restrains the voluntary or involuntary transfer of the trustor's beneficial interest shall not prevent such trustor's creditors from satisfying their respective claims from the trustor's interest in the trust to the extent that such interest is attributable to the trustor's contributions to the trust; provided, however, that the trustor shall not be considered a beneficiary for purposes of this section merely because the trustor may be named as an additional trust beneficiary or is a proper object of the exercise of a power of appointment over trust property held by someone other than the trustor. A trustor's creditors may satisfy their respective claims from the trustor's interest in the trust to the extent provided in the preceding sentence except where the trustor has not retained any beneficial interest in the trust other than either or both (1) a beneficial interest that is contingent upon surviving the trustor's spouse such as, but not limited to, an interest in an inter vivos marital deduction trust in which the interest of the trustor's spouse is treated as qualified terminable interest property under § 2523(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [ 26 U.S.C. §2523(f) ], as amended, an interest in an inter vivos marital deduction trust that is treated as a general power of appointment trust for which a marital deduction would be allowed under § 2523(a) and (e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [ 26 U.S.C. §2523(a) and (e) ], as amended, and an interest in an inter vivos trust commonly known as a "credit shelter trust" that used all or a portion of the trustor's unified credit under § 2505 of the Internal Revenue Code [ 26 U.S.C. §2505 ], as amended, and (2) a right to receive discretionary distributions to reimburse the trustor's income tax liability attributable to the trust. Further, a beneficiary of a trust shall not be considered a trustor of the trust merely because of a lapse, waiver, or release of the beneficiary's right to withdraw all or a part of the trust property.

(d) For purposes of subsection (a) of this section, a creditor shall have no right against the interest of a beneficiary of a trust or against the beneficiary or trustee of the trust with respect to such interest unless:

(1) The beneficiary has a power to appoint all or part of the trust property to the beneficiary, the beneficiary's estate, the beneficiary's creditors, or the creditors of the beneficiary's estate by will or other instrument such that the appointment would take effect only upon the beneficiary's death and the beneficiary actually exercises such power in favor of the beneficiary, the beneficiary's creditors, the beneficiary's estate, or the creditors of the beneficiary's estate but then only to the extent of such exercise.

(2) The beneficiary has a power to appoint all or part of the trust property to the beneficiary, the beneficiary's creditors, the beneficiary's estate, or the creditors of the beneficiary's estate during the beneficiary's lifetime and the beneficiary actually exercises such power in favor of the beneficiary, the beneficiary's creditors, the beneficiary's estate, or the creditors of the beneficiary's estate but then only to the extent of such exercise.

(3) The beneficiary has the power to revoke the trust in whole or in part during the beneficiary's lifetime and, upon such revocation, the trust or the part thereof so revoked would be possessed by the beneficiary. This paragraph shall have no application to any part of the trust that may not be so revoked by the beneficiary.

(e) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, a beneficiary of a charitable-remainder unitrust or charitable-remainder annuity trust as such terms are defined in § 664 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ( 26 U.S.C. § 664 ) and any successor provision thereto, shall have the right, at any time and from time to time, by written instrument delivered to trustee, to release such beneficiary's retained interest in such a trust, in whole or in part, to a charitable organization that has or charitable organizations that have a succeeding beneficial interest in such trust. Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, a beneficiary may also disclaim an interest in a trust pursuant to Chapter 6 of this title.

Del. C. § 3536

Amended by Laws 2013, ch. 352,s 4, eff. 8/1/2014.

Amended by Laws 2013, ch. 172,s 3, eff. 8/6/2013.

Code 1915, § 3907(b); 38 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; Code 1935, § 4415; 12 Del. C. 1953, § 3536; 52 Del. Laws, c. 199, § 1; 70 Del Laws, c. 186, § 1; 73 Del. Laws, c. 71, § 1; 74 Del. Laws, c. 81, § 4; 75 Del. Laws, c. 97, § 6; 75 Del. Laws, c. 301, § 7; 76 Del. Laws, c. 90, §§ 4, 5; 76 Del. Laws, c. 254, § 9; 77 Del. Laws, c. 98, §§ 15, 16; 77 Del. Laws, c. 330, § 12.;