Title 18
Fiduciaries

Chapter 9.2
Qualified Dispositions in Trust

§ 18-9.2-4. Avoidance of qualified dispositions.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the general laws, no action of any kind, including, without limitation, an action to enforce a judgment entered by a court or other body having adjudicative authority, shall be brought at law or in equity for an attachment or other provisional remedy against property that is the subject of a qualified disposition or for avoidance of a qualified disposition, unless the action is brought pursuant to the provisions of § 6-16-7.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 6-16-9, a creditor may not bring an action under subsection (a) of this section if:

(1) The creditor’s claim against the transferor arose before the qualified disposition was made, unless the action is brought within four (4) years after the qualified disposition is made or, if later, within one year after the qualified disposition was or could reasonably have been discovered by the creditor; or

(2) The creditor’s claim against the transferor arose subsequent to the qualified disposition, unless the action is brought within four (4) years after the qualified disposition is made.

In any action described in subsection (a) of this section, the burden to prove the matter by clear and convincing evidence shall be upon the creditor.

(c) For purposes of this chapter, a qualified disposition that is made by means of a disposition by a transferor who is a trustee shall be deemed to have been made as of the time the property that is the subject of the qualified disposition was originally transferred to the transferor (or any predecessor trustee) making the qualified disposition in a form that meets the requirements of subdivisions 18-9.2-2(10)(ii) and (iii). If a trustee of an existing trust proposes to make a qualified disposition pursuant to the provisions of this subsection (c) of this section but the trust would not conform to the requirements of subparagraph 18-9.2-2(10)(ii)(B) as a result of the original transferor’s nonconforming powers of appointment, then, upon the trustee’s delivery to the qualified trustee of an irrevocable written election to have this subsection apply to the trust, the nonconforming powers of appointment shall be deemed modified to the extent necessary to conform with subparagraph 18-9.2-2(10)(ii)(B). For purposes of this chapter, the irrevocable written election shall include a description of the original transferor’s powers of appointment as modified together with the original transferor’s written consent thereto, but no such consent of the original transferor shall be considered a disposition within the meaning of subsection 18-9.2-2(4).

(d) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a creditor, including a creditor whose claim arose before or after a qualified disposition, or any other person shall have only such rights with respect to a qualified disposition as are provided in this section and §§ 18-9.2-5 and 18-9.2-6, and no such creditor nor any other person shall have any claim or cause of action against the trustee, or advisor described in subdivision 18-9.2-2(9)(iii), of a trust that is the subject of a qualified disposition, or against any person involved in the counseling, drafting, preparation, execution or funding of a trust that is the subject of a qualified disposition.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no action of any kind, including, without limitation, an action to enforce a judgment by a court or other body having adjudicative authority, shall be brought at law or in equity against the trustee, or advisor described in subdivision 18-9.2-2(9)(iii), of a trust that is the subject of the qualified disposition, or against any person involved in the counseling, drafting, preparation, execution or funding of a trust that is the subject of a qualified disposition, if, as of the date such action is brought, an action by a creditor with respect to such qualified disposition would be barred under this section.

(f) In circumstances where more than one qualified disposition is made by means of the same trust instrument, then:

(1) The making of a subsequent qualified disposition shall be disregarded in determining whether a creditor’s claim with respect to a prior qualified disposition is extinguished as provided in subsection (b) of this section; and

(2) Any distribution to a beneficiary shall be deemed to have been made from the latest such qualified disposition.

(g) If, in any action brought against a trustee of a trust that is the result of a qualified disposition, a court takes any action whereby such court declines to apply the law of this state in determining the validity, construction or administration of such trust, or the effect of a spendthrift provision thereof, such trustee shall immediately upon such court’s action and without the further order of any court, cease in all respects to be a trustee of such trust and a successor trustee shall thereupon succeed as trustee in accordance with the terms of the trust instrument or, if the trust instrument does not provide for a successor trustee and the trust would otherwise be without a trustee, the Superior Court, upon the application of any beneficiary of such trust, shall appoint a successor trustee upon such terms and conditions as it determines to be consistent with the purposes of such trust and this statute. Upon such trustee’s ceasing to be trustee, such trustee shall have no power or authority other than to convey the trust property to the successor trustee named in the trust instrument or appointment by the Superior Court in accordance with this subsection.