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chapter-557a•Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 557A — Uniform Principal and Income Act
chapter-557aHaw. Rev. Stat. ch. 557ACodeJan 1, 2000
Division 3. Property; Family — Title 30. 30a
Hawaii Revised Statutes as published by the Hawaii State Legislature (files updated 1/5/2026 7:15 PM).
This chapter may be cited as the Uniform Principal and Income Act.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Accounting period" means a calendar year unless another twelve-month period is selected by a fiduciary. The term includes a portion of a calendar year or other twelve-month period that begins when an income interest begins or ends when an income interest ends.
"Beneficiary" includes, in the case of a decedent's estate, an heir and devisee and, in the case of a trust, an income beneficiary and a remainder beneficiary.
"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.
"Income" means money or property a fiduciary receives as the current return from a principal asset. The term includes a portion of the receipts from a sale, exchange, or liquidation of a principal asset, to the extent provided in article 4.
"Income beneficiary" means a person to whom a trust's net income is or may be payable.
"Income interest" means an income beneficiary's right to receive all or part of the net income, whether the terms of the trust require it to be distributed or authorize it to be distributed in the trustee's discretion.
"Mandatory income interest" means an income beneficiary's right to receive net income that the terms of the trust require the fiduciary to distribute.
"Net income" means the total receipts allocated to income during an accounting period minus the disbursements made from income during the period. Receipts and disbursements include items transferred to or from income during the period under this chapter.
"Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, or any other legal or commercial entity. The term does not include a government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality.
"Principal" means property held in trust for distribution to a remainder beneficiary when the trust terminates.
"Remainder beneficiary" means a person, including another trust, entitled to receive principal when an income interest ends.
"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.
"Trustee" includes an original, additional, or successor trustee, whether or not appointed or confirmed by a court.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) In allocating receipts and disbursements to or between principal and income, and in any matter within the scope of articles 2 and 3, 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, and no inference that the fiduciary has improperly exercised the discretion arises from the fact that the fiduciary has made an alteration contrary to the provisions of 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.
(b) In exercising the power to adjust granted by section 557A-104(a) or a discretionary power of administration regarding a matter within the scope of this chapter, whether granted by the terms of a trust, a will, or this chapter, a fiduciary shall 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 exercise of discretion in accordance with this chapter is presumed to be fair and reasonable to all of the beneficiaries.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) Subject to subsection (b), a trustee may adjust between principal and income to the extent the trustee considers necessary if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The trustee invests and manages trust assets as a prudent investor;
(2) 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
(3) The trustee determines, after applying the rules in section 557A-103(a), and considering any power the trustee may have under the trust to invade principal or accumulate income, either of the following conditions exist:
(A) The trustee is unable to administer a trust or estate impartially based on what is fair and reasonable to all beneficiaries if no clear intention to favor one or more beneficiaries is manifested in the will or trust; or
(B) In the case of a will or trust that clearly manifests an intent to favor one or more beneficiaries, the trustee is unable to favor such beneficiaries without diminishing the rights of other beneficiaries.
(b) In deciding whether and to what extent to exercise the power conferred by subsection (a), a trustee shall consider all of the 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 surviving 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's 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; provided that a trustee may transfer income to principal only upon a court order (unless the trustee is holding institutional funds as defined in section 517E-2 exclusively for the benefit of a community foundation and section 517E-4 applies);
(5) If possessing or exercising the power to make an adjustment may cause 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 have the power to make an adjustment; or
(7) If the trustee is a beneficiary of the trust.
(d) If subsection (c)(5), (6), or (7) applies to a trustee and there is more than one trustee, a co-trustee to whom the provision does not apply may make the adjustment, unless the exercise of the power by the remaining trustee or trustees is clearly 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) through (6) 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 are not contrary to 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).
(g) Nothing in this section or in this chapter is intended to create or imply a duty to make an adjustment, and the trustee is not liable for not considering whether to make an adjustment or for choosing not to make an adjustment.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1; am L 2018, c 18, §43]
(a) A trustee may give a notice of proposed action regarding a matter governed by the chapter as provided in this section. For the purpose of this section, a proposed action includes a course of action and a decision not to take action.
(b) The trustee shall mail notice of the proposed action to all adult beneficiaries who are receiving, or are entitled to receive, income under this trust or to receive a distribution of principal if the trust were terminated at the time the notice is given.
(c) Notice of proposed action need not be given to any person who consents in writing to the proposed action. The consent may be executed at any time before or after the proposed action is taken.
(d) The notice of proposed action shall state that it is given pursuant to this section and shall state all of the following:
(1) The name and mailing address of the trustee;
(2) The name and telephone number of a person who may be contacted for additional information;
(3) A description of the action proposed to be taken and an explanation of the reasons for the action;
(4) The time within which objections to the proposed action can be made, which shall be at least thirty days from the mailing of the notice of proposed action; and
(5) The date on or after which the proposed action may be taken or is effective.
(e) A beneficiary may object to the proposed action by mailing a written objection to the trustee at the address stated in the notice of proposed action within the time period specified in the notice of proposed action.
(f) A trustee is not liable to a beneficiary for an action regarding a matter governed by this chapter if the trustee does not receive a written objection to the proposed action from the beneficiary within the applicable period and the other requirements of this section are satisfied. If no beneficiary entitled to notice objects under this section, the trustee is not liable to any current or future beneficiary with respect to the proposed action.
(g) If the trustee receives a written objection within the applicable period, either the trustee or a beneficiary may petition the court to have the proposed action taken as proposed, taken with modifications, or denied. In the proceeding, a beneficiary objecting to the proposed action has the burden of proving that the trustee's proposed action constitutes an abuse of discretion. A beneficiary who has not objected is not estopped from opposing the proposed action in the proceeding. If the trustee decides not to implement the proposed action, the trustee shall notify the beneficiaries of the decision not to take the action and the reasons for the decision, and the trustee's decision not to implement the proposed action does not itself give rise to liability to any current or future beneficiary. A beneficiary may petition the court to have the action taken, and has the burden of proving that not taking the action is an abuse of discretion.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
In a proceeding with respect to a trustee's exercise or nonexercise of the power to make an adjustment under section 557A-104, the sole remedy shall be to direct, deny, or revise an adjustment between principal and income.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
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 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 articles 3 through 5 that apply to trustees and the rules in paragraph (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 articles 3 through 5 that 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; provided that 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 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 other amount, provided by the will, the terms of the trust, or applicable law, from net income determined under paragraph (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.
(4) A fiduciary shall distribute the net income remaining after distributions required by paragraph (3) in the manner described in section 557A-202 to all other beneficiaries, including a beneficiary who receives a pecuniary amount in trust, 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 paragraph (1) because of a payment described in section 557A-501 or 557A-502 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 property's net income and principal receipts 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.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) Each beneficiary described in section 557A-201(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 shall 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 shall 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; and
(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) The rules in this section apply 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.
(d) If a fiduciary does not distribute all of the collected but undistributed net income or gain to each person as of a distribution date, the fiduciary shall maintain appropriate records showing the interest of each beneficiary in that net income or gain.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(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 on the date:
(1) It is transferred to the trust in the case of an asset that is transferred to a trust during the transferor's life;
(2) 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) 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. For purposes of this chapter, an income interest also ends on the last day of a period during which there is no beneficiary to whom a trustee may distribute income.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) An income receipt or disbursement other than one to which section 557A-201(1) applies shall be allocated 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) An income receipt or disbursement shall be allocated 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 shall 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 shall be allocated to principal and the balance shall be allocated to income.
(c) An item of income or an obligation is due on the date on which the payor is required to make a payment. If there is no stated payment date, there is no due date for the purposes of this chapter. Distributions to shareholders or other owners from an entity to which section 557A-401 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 shall be paid at regular intervals under a lease or an obligation to pay interest or if an entity customarily makes distributions at regular intervals.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) As used 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 pursuant to 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 pursuant to the terms of the trust, unless the beneficiary has an unqualified power to revoke more than five per cent 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 shall 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.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) As used in this section, "entity" means a corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, regulated investment company, real estate investment trust, common trust fund, and any other organization in which a trustee has an interest other than a trust or estate to which section 557A-402 applies or a business or activity to which section 557A-403 applies, or an asset-backed security to which section 557A-415 applies.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, money received by a trustee from an entity shall be allocated to income.
(c) Receipts from an entity that shall be allocated to principal include:
(1) Property other than money;
(2) Money received in one distribution or a series of related distributions in exchange for part or all of a trust's interest in the entity;
(3) Money received in total or partial liquidation of the entity; and
(4) Money received from an entity that is a regulated investment company or a real estate investment trust if the money distributed is a capital gain dividend for federal income tax purposes.
(d) Money is received in partial liquidation:
(1) To the extent that the entity, at or near the time of a distribution, indicates that it is a distribution in partial liquidation; or
(2) If the total amount of money or property received in a distribution or series of related distributions is greater than twenty per cent of the entity's gross assets, as shown by the entity's year-end financial statements immediately preceding the initial receipt.
(e) Money shall not be received in partial liquidation, nor shall it be taken into account under subsection (d)(2), to the extent that it does not exceed the amount of income tax that a trustee or beneficiary is required to pay on taxable income of the entity that distributes the money.
(f) A trustee may rely upon a statement made by an entity about the source or character of a distribution if the statement is made at or near the time of distribution by the entity's board of directors or other person or group of persons authorized to exercise powers to pay money or transfer property comparable to those of a corporation's board of directors.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
Subject to the terms of a recipient trust, an amount received as a distribution of income from a trust or an estate in which the trust has an interest other than a purchased interest shall be allocated to income. An amount received as a distribution of principal from such a trust or estate shall be allocated to principal. If a trustee purchases an interest in a trust that is an investment entity, or a decedent or donor transfers an interest in such a trust to a trustee, section 557A-401 or 557A-415 shall apply to a receipt from the trust.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) If a trustee who conducts a business or other activity determines that it is in the best interest of all the beneficiaries to account separately for the business or activity instead of accounting for it as part of the trust's general accounting records, the trustee may maintain separate accounting records for its transactions, whether or not its assets are segregated from other trust assets.
(b) A trustee who accounts separately for a business or other activity may determine the extent to which its net cash receipts shall be retained for working capital, the acquisition or replacement of fixed assets, or other reasonably foreseeable needs of the business or activity, and the extent to which the remaining net cash receipts are accounted for as principal or income in the trust's general accounting records. If a trustee sells assets of the business or other activity, other than in the ordinary course of the business or activity, the trustee shall account for the net amount received as principal in the trust's general accounting records to the extent the trustee determines that the amount received is no longer required in the conduct of the business.
(c) Activities for which the trustee may maintain separate accounting records include:
(1) Retail, manufacturing, service, and other traditional business activities;
(2) Farming;
(3) Raising and selling livestock and other animals;
(4) Management of rental properties;
(5) Extraction of minerals and other natural resources;
(6) Timber operations; and
(7) Activities to which section 557A-415 applies.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
The following shall be allocated to principal:
(1) To the extent not allocated to income under this chapter, assets received from a:
(A) Transferor during the transferor's lifetime;
(B) Decedent's estate;
(C) Trust with a terminating income interest; or
(D) Payor pursuant to a contract naming the trust or its trustee as beneficiary;
(2) Money or other property received from the sale, exchange, liquidation, or change in form of a principal asset, including realized profit, subject to this article;
(3) Amounts recovered from third parties to reimburse the trust because of disbursements described in section 557A-502(a)(7) or for other reasons to the extent not based on the loss of income;
(4) Proceeds of property taken by eminent domain, but a separate award made for the loss of income with respect to an accounting period during which a current income beneficiary had a mandatory income interest shall be classified as income;
(5) Net income received in an accounting period during which there is no beneficiary to whom a trustee may or shall distribute income; and
(6) Other receipts as provided in part III.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
To the extent that a trustee accounts for receipts from rental property pursuant to this section, an amount received as rent of real or personal property, including an amount received for cancellation or renewal of a lease, shall be allocated to income. An amount received as a refundable deposit, including a security deposit or a deposit that is to be applied as rent for future periods, shall be added to principal and held subject to the terms of the lease and shall not be available for distribution to a beneficiary until the trustee's contractual obligations have been satisfied with respect to that amount.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) An amount received as interest, whether determined at a fixed, variable, or floating rate, on an obligation to pay money to the trustee, including an amount received as consideration for prepaying principal, shall be allocated to income without any provision for amortization of premium.
(b) An amount received from the sale, redemption, or other disposition of an obligation to pay money to the trustee more than one year after it is purchased or acquired by the trustee, including an obligation whose purchase price or value when it is acquired is less than its value at maturity, shall be allocated to principal. If the obligation matures within one year after it is purchased or acquired by the trustee, an amount received in excess of its purchase price or its value when acquired by the trust shall be allocated to income.
(c) This section shall not apply to obligations to which sections 557A-409 through 557A-412, 557A-414, and 557A-415 apply.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), proceeds from a life insurance policy or other contract whose beneficiary is the trust or its trustee, including a contract that insures the trust or its trustee against loss for the damage or destruction of, or loss of title to, a principal asset shall be allocated to principal. The trustee shall allocate dividends on an insurance policy to income if the premiums on the policy are paid from income, and to principal if the premiums are paid from principal. This section shall not apply to a contract to which section 557A-409 applies.
(b) Insurance proceeds shall be allocated to income if they are from a policy that insures the trustee against the loss of occupancy or other use by an income beneficiary, the loss of income, or, subject to section 557A-403, the loss of profits from a business.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
If a trustee determines that an allocation between principal and income required by sections 557A-409 through 557A-412 or section [557A-415] is insubstantial, the trustee may allocate the entire amount to principal if one of the circumstances described in section 557A-104(c) does not apply to such an allocation. This power may be exercised by a co-trustee in the circumstances described in section 557A-104(d), and it may be released for the reasons and in the manner described in section 557A-104(e). An allocation shall be presumed to be insubstantial if:
(1) The amount of the allocation would increase or decrease an accounting period's net income, as determined before the allocation, by less than ten per cent; or
(2) The value of the asset producing the receipt for which the allocation would be made is less than ten per cent of the total value of the trust's assets at the beginning of the accounting period.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) This section shall apply to payments that a trustee may receive over a fixed number of years or during the life of one or more individuals because of services rendered or property transferred to the payor in exchange for future payments. The payments include those made in money or property from the payor's general assets or from a separate fund created by the payor, including a private or commercial annuity, an individual retirement account, and a pension, profit sharing, stock bonus, or stock ownership plan. This section shall not apply to payments to which section 557A-410 applies.
(b) To the extent that a payment is characterized as interest or a dividend or a payment made in lieu of interest or a dividend, it shall be allocated to income. The balance of the payment and any other payment received in the same accounting period that is not characterized as interest, a dividend, or an equivalent payment, shall be allocated to principal.
(c) If no part of a payment is characterized as interest, a dividend, or an equivalent payment, and all or part of the payment is required to be made, a trustee shall allocate to income ten per cent of the part that is required to be made during the accounting period and the balance to principal. If no part of a payment is required to be made or the payment received is the entire amount to which the trustee is entitled, the entire payment shall be allocated to principal.
For purposes of this subsection, a payment shall not be "required to be made" to the extent that it is made because the trustee exercises a right of withdrawal.
(d) If, to obtain an estate tax marital deduction for a trust, a trustee shall allocate more of a payment to income than provided for by this section, the trustee shall allocate to income the additional amount necessary to obtain the marital deduction.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) As used in this section, "liquidating asset" means an asset whose value will diminish or terminate because the asset is expected to produce receipts for a period of limited duration. The term includes leaseholds, patents, trademarks, copyrights, royalty rights, and rights to receive payments during a period of more than one year under an arrangement that does not provide for the payment of interest on the unpaid balance. The term does not include deferred compensation that is subject to section 557A-409, natural resources that are subject to section 557A-411, timber that is subject to section 557A-412, an activity that is subject to section 557A-414, an asset subject to section 557A-415, or any asset for which the trustee establishes a reserve for depreciation under section 557A-503.
(b) A trustee shall allocate to income ten per cent of the receipts from a liquidating asset and the balance to principal.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) Receipts from an interest in minerals or other natural resources shall be allocated as follows:
(1) If received as nominal delay rental or nominal annual rent on a lease, a receipt shall be allocated to income.
(2) If received from a production payment, a receipt shall be allocated to income if and to the extent that the agreement creating the production payment provides a factor for interest or its equivalent. The balance shall be allocated to principal.
(3) If an amount received as a royalty, bonus, or delay rental is more than nominal, ninety per cent shall be allocated to principal and the balance to income.
(4) If an amount is received from a working interest or any other interest not provided for in paragraph (1), (2), or (3), ninety per cent of the net amount received shall be allocated to principal and the balance to income.
(b) An amount received on account of an interest in water that is renewable shall be allocated to income. If the water is not renewable, ninety per cent of the amount shall be allocated to principal and the balance to income.
(c) This chapter applies without regard to whether a decedent or donor was extracting minerals, water, or other natural resources before the interest became subject to the trust.
(d) If a trust owns an interest in minerals, water, or other natural resources on July 1, 2000, the trustee may allocate receipts from the interest as provided in this section or in the manner used by the trustee before July 1, 2000. If the trust acquires an interest in minerals, water, or other natural resources after July 1, 2000, the trustee shall allocate receipts from the interest as provided in this section.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) A trustee may account for net receipts from the sale of timber and related products under subsection (b), unless the trustee determines that net receipts are insubstantial and allocates the net receipts to principal under section 557A-408. If a trust owns more than one block of timberland, the trustee may use different methods to account for net receipts from different blocks.
(b) If a trustee does not account under section 557A-408 for net receipts from the sale of timber and related products or allocate the net receipts to principal because they are insubstantial, the trustee shall allocate the net receipts:
(1) To income to the extent that the amount of timber removed from the land does not exceed the rate of growth of the block as a whole during the accounting periods in which a beneficiary has a mandatory income interest;
(2) To principal to the extent that the amount of timber removed from the land exceeds the block's rate of growth or the net receipts are from the sale of standing timber;
(3) To or between income and principal if the net receipts are from the lease of timberland or from a contract to cut timber from land owned by a trust, by determining the amount of timber removed from the land under the lease or contract and applying the rules in paragraphs (1) and (2); or
(4) To principal to the extent that advance payments, bonuses, and other payments are not allocated pursuant to paragraph (1), (2), or (3).
(c) In determining the net receipts from the sale of timber, a trustee shall deduct and transfer to principal a reasonable amount for depletion.
(d) This chapter applies regardless of whether a decedent or transferor was harvesting timber from the property before it became subject to the trust.
(e) If a trust owns an interest in timberland on July 1, 2000, the trustee may allocate net receipts from the sale of timber and related products as provided in this section or in the manner used by the trustee before July 1, 2000. If the trust acquires an interest in timberland after July 1, 2000, the trustee shall allocate net receipts from the sale of timber and related products as provided in this section.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) If a marital deduction is allowed for all or part of a trust whose assets consist substantially of property that does not provide the surviving spouse with sufficient income from or use of the trust assets, and if the amounts that the trustee transfers from principal to income under section 557A-104 and distributes to the spouse from principal pursuant to the terms of the trust are insufficient to provide the spouse with the beneficial enjoyment required to obtain the marital deduction, the spouse may require the trustee to make property productive of income, convert property within a reasonable time, or exercise the power conferred by section 557A-104(a). The trustee may decide which action or combination of actions to take.
(b) In all other cases, proceeds from the sale or other disposition of an asset are principal without regard to the amount of income the asset produces during any accounting period.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) As used in this section, "derivative" means a contract or financial instrument or a combination of contracts and financial instruments that gives a trust the right or obligation to participate in some or all changes in the price of a tangible or intangible asset or group of assets, or changes in a rate, an index of prices or rates, or other market indicator for an asset or a group of assets.
(b) To the extent that a trustee does not account under section 557A-403 for transactions in derivatives, receipts from and disbursement made in connection with those transactions shall be allocated to principal.
(c) If a trustee grants an option to buy property from the trust, whether or not the trust owns the property when the option is granted, grants an option that permits another person to sell property to the trust, or acquires an option to buy property for the trust or an option to sell an asset owned by the trust, and the trustee or other owner of the asset is required to deliver the asset if the option is exercised, an amount received for granting the option shall be allocated to principal, and an amount paid to acquire the option shall be paid from principal. A gain or loss realized upon the exercise of an option, including an option granted to a settlor of the trust for services rendered, shall be allocated to principal.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) As used in this section, "asset-backed security" means an asset whose value is based upon the right it gives the owner to receive distributions from the proceeds of financial assets that provide collateral for the security. The term includes an asset that gives the owner the right to receive only the interest or other current return from the collateral financial assets or only the proceeds from the capital investment in the collateral financial assets. It does not include an asset to which section 557A-401 or 557A-409 applies.
(b) If a trust receives a payment from the interest or other current return and the capital investment of the collateral financial assets, the trustee shall allocate to income the portion of a payment that the payor identifies as being from the interest or other current return, and shall allocate the balance of the payment to principal.
(c) If a trust receives one or more payments in exchange for the trust's entire interest in an asset-backed security in one accounting period, the trustee shall allocate the payments to principal. If a payment is one of a series of payments that will result in the liquidation of the trust's interest in the security over more than one accounting period, the trustee shall allocate ten per cent of the payment to income and the balance to principal.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
Unless otherwise governed by statutory fees or unless the instrument provides for it, [a] trustee shall make the following disbursements from income to the extent that they are not disbursements to which section 557A-201(2)(B) or (C) applies:
(1) One-half of the regular compensation of the trustee and of any person providing investment advisory or custodial services to the trustee;
(2) One-half of all expenses for accountings, judicial proceedings, or other matters that involve both the income and remainder interests;
(3) All of the other ordinary expenses incurred in connection with the administration, management, or preservation of trust property and the distribution of income, including interest, ordinary repairs, regularly recurring taxes assessed against principal, and expenses of a proceeding or other matter that concerns primarily the income interest; and
(4) Recurring premiums on insurance covering the loss of a principal asset or the loss of income from or use of the asset.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) Unless otherwise governed by statutory fees or unless the instrument provides for it, a trustee shall make the following disbursements from principal:
(1) The remaining one-half of the disbursements described in section 557A-501(1) and (2);
(2) All of the trustee's compensation calculated on principal as an acceptance, distribution, or termination fee, and disbursements made to prepare property for sale;
(3) Payments on the principal of a trust debt;
(4) Expenses of a proceeding that concerns primarily principal, including a proceeding to construe the trust or to protect the trust or its property;
(5) Insurance premiums paid on a policy not described in section 557A-501(4) of which the trust is the owner and beneficiary;
(6) Estate, inheritance, and other transfer taxes, including penalties, apportioned to the trust; and
(7) Disbursements related to environmental matters, including reclamation, assessing environmental conditions, remedying and removing environmental contamination, monitoring remedial activities and the release of substances, preventing future releases of substances, collecting amounts from persons liable or potentially liable for the costs of those activities, penalties imposed under environmental laws, rules, or regulations and other payments made to comply with those laws, rules, or regulations, statutory or common law claims by third parties, and defending claims based on environmental matters.
(b) If a principal asset is encumbered with an obligation that requires income from that asset to be paid directly to the creditor, the trustee shall transfer from principal to income an amount equal to the income paid to the creditor in reduction of the obligation's principal balance.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) As used in this section, "depreciation" means a reduction in value of a fixed asset having a useful life of more than one year, due to wear, tear, decay, corrosion, or gradual obsolescence.
(b) A trustee may transfer to principal a reasonable amount of the net cash receipts from a principal asset that is subject to depreciation, but a transfer may not be made for depreciation:
(1) Of that portion of real property used or available for use by a beneficiary as a residence or of tangible personal property held or made available for the personal use or enjoyment of a beneficiary;
(2) During the administration of a decedent's estate; or
(3) Under this section if the trustee is accounting under section 557A-403 for the business or activity in which the asset is used.
(c) An amount transferred to principal need not be held as a separate fund.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) If a trustee makes or expects to make a principal disbursement described in this section, the trustee may transfer an appropriate amount from income to principal in one or more accounting periods to reimburse principal or to provide a reserve for future principal disbursements.
(b) Principal disbursements to which subsection (a) applies include the following, but only to the extent that the trustee has not been and does not expect to be reimbursed by a third party:
(1) An amount chargeable to income but paid from principal because it is unusually large, including extraordinary repairs;
(2) A capital improvement to a principal asset, whether in the form of changes to an existing asset or the construction of a new asset, including special assessments;
(3) Disbursements made to prepare property for rental, including tenant allowances, leasehold improvements, and broker's commissions;
(4) Periodic payments on an obligation secured by a principal asset to the extent that the amount transferred from income to principal for depreciation is less than the periodic payments; and
(5) Disbursements described in section 557A-502(a)(7).
(c) If the asset whose ownership gives rise to the disbursements becomes subject to a successive income interest after an income interest ends, a trustee may continue to transfer amounts from income to principal as provided in subsection (a).
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) A tax required to be paid by a trustee based on receipts allocated to income shall be paid from income.
(b) A tax required to be paid by a trustee based on receipts allocated to principal shall be paid from principal, even if the tax is called an income tax by the taxing authority.
(c) A tax required to be paid by a trustee on the trust's share of an entity's taxable income shall be paid proportionately from:
(1) Income to the extent that receipts from the entity are allocated to income; and
(2) Principal to the extent that:
(A) Receipts from the entity are allocated to principal; and
(B) The trust's share of the entity's taxable income exceeds the total receipts in paragraphs (1) and (2)(A).
(d) For purposes of this section, receipts allocated to principal or income shall be reduced by the amount distributed to a beneficiary from principal or income for which the trust receives a deduction in calculating the tax.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
(a) A fiduciary may make adjustments between principal and income to offset the shifting of economic interests or tax benefits between income beneficiaries and remainder beneficiaries that arise from:
(1) Elections and decisions, other than those described in subsection (b), that the fiduciary makes from time to time regarding tax matters;
(2) An income tax or any other tax that is imposed upon the fiduciary or a beneficiary as a result of a transaction involving or a distribution from the estate or trust; or
(3) The ownership by an estate or trust of an interest in an entity whose taxable income, whether or not distributed, is includable in the taxable income of the estate, trust, or a beneficiary.
(b) If the amount of an estate tax marital deduction or charitable contributions deduction is reduced because a fiduciary deducts an amount that is paid from principal for income tax purposes instead of deducting it for estate tax purposes, and as a result, estate taxes paid from principal are increased and income taxes paid by an estate, trust, or beneficiary are decreased, each estate, trust, or beneficiary that benefits from the decrease in income tax shall reimburse the principal from which the increase in estate tax is paid. The total reimbursement shall equal the increase in the estate tax to the extent that the principal used to pay the increase would have qualified for a marital deduction or charitable contributions deduction but for the payment. The proportionate share of the reimbursement for each estate, trust, or beneficiary whose income taxes are reduced shall be the same as its proportionate share of the total decrease in income tax. An estate or trust shall reimburse principal from income.
[L 2000, c 191, pt of §1]
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