The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2024 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 14A : Trusts
Chapter 001 : General Provisions and Definitions
(Cite as: 14A V.S.A. § 103)-
§ 103. Definitions
In this title:
(1) “Action,” with respect to an act of a trustee, includes a failure to act.
(2) “Ascertainable standard” means a standard relating to an individual’s health, education, support, or maintenance within the meaning of Section 2041(b)(1)(A) or 2514(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as in effect on the effective date of this title.
(3) “Beneficiary” means a person that:
(A) has a present or future beneficial interest in a trust, vested or contingent; or
(B) in a capacity other than that of trustee, holds a power of appointment over trust property.
(4) “Charitable trust” means a trust, or portion of a trust, created for a charitable purpose described in subsection 405(a) of this title.
(5) “Conservator” shall have the same meaning as “Guardian of the property” under subdivision 7(A)(ii) of this section.
(6) “Environmental law” means a federal, state, or local law, rule, regulation, or ordinance relating to protection of the environment.
(7)(A) “Guardian.”
(i) “Guardian of the person” means a person appointed by the Probate Division of the Superior Court to make decisions regarding the support, care, education, health, and welfare of a minor or adult individual.
(ii) “Guardian of the property” means a person appointed by the Probate Division of the Superior Court to administer the estate of a minor or adult individual.
(B) Neither term includes a guardian ad litem.
(8) “Interests of the beneficiaries” means the beneficial interests provided in the terms of the trust.
(9) “Jurisdiction,” with respect to a geographic area, includes a state or country.
(10) “Person” means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, or government; governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity.
(11) “Power of withdrawal” means a presently exercisable general power of appointment other than a power:
(A) exercisable by a trustee and limited by an ascertainable standard; or
(B) exercisable by another person only upon consent of the trustee or a person holding an adverse interest.
(12) “Property” means anything that may be the subject of ownership, whether real or personal, legal or equitable, or any interest therein.
(13)(A) “Qualified beneficiary” means a beneficiary who, on the date the beneficiary’s qualification is determined, is:
(i) a “first tier” beneficiary as a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal;
(ii) a “second tier” beneficiary who would be a first tier beneficiary of trust income or principal if the interests of the distributees described in subdivision (A)(i) of this subdivision (13) terminated on that date without causing the trust to terminate; or
(iii) a “final beneficiary” who would be a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal if the trust terminated on that date.
(B) Notwithstanding subdivisions (A)(ii) and (iii) of this subdivision (13), a second tier beneficiary or a final beneficiary shall not be a “qualified beneficiary” if the beneficiary’s interest in the trust:
(i) is created by the exercise of a power of appointment and the exercise of the power of appointment is not irrevocable; or
(ii) may be eliminated by an amendment to the trust.
(14) “Revocable,” as applied to a trust, means revocable by the settlor without the consent of the trustee or a person holding an adverse interest.
(15) “Settlor” means a person, including a testator, who creates, or contributes property to, a trust. If more than one person creates or contributes property to a trust, each person is a settlor of the portion of the trust property attributable to that person’s contribution except to the extent another person has the power to revoke or withdraw that portion.
(16) “Spendthrift provision” means a term of a trust which restrains both voluntary and involuntary transfer of a beneficiary’s interest.
(17) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The term includes a Native American tribe or band recognized by federal law or formally acknowledged by a state.
(18) “Terms of a trust” means the manifestation of the settlor’s intent regarding a trust’s provisions as expressed in the trust instrument or as may be established by other evidence that would be admissible in a judicial proceeding.
(19) “Trust instrument” means an instrument executed by the settlor that contains terms of the trust, including any amendments to the instrument.
(20) “Trustee” includes an original, additional, and successor trustee, and a cotrustee. (Added 2009, No. 20, § 1; amended 2009, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 236, eff. Feb. 1, 2011.)
