2021 Colorado Code
Title 15 - Probate, Trusts, and Fiduciaries
Article 16 - Trust Administration
Part 9 - Colorado Uniform Trust Decanting Act
§ 15-16-921. Need to Distribute Not Required
An authorized fiduciary may exercise the decanting power regardless of whether under the first trust's discretionary distribution standard the fiduciary would have made or could have been compelled to make a discretionary distribution of principal at the time of the exercise.
History. Source: L. 2016: Entire part added,(SB 16-085), ch. 228, p. 888, § 1, effective August 10.
COMMENT
Although the decanting power under Sections 15-16-911 and 15-16-912 is premised on the authorized fiduciary's power to distribute principal of the first trust to one or more current beneficiaries, the authorized fiduciary may exercise the decanting power even if the authorized fiduciary would not have made a distribution of principal to a current beneficiary under the distribution standard of the first trust. For example, assume a trust permits the trustee to distribute income and principal to S for S's support and health care, considering S's other resources, and that given S's other resources the trustee would not currently make a distribution to S. The trustee may still exercise the decanting power under Section 15-16-912 .
Section 15-16-921 , however, does not authorize an exercise of the decanting power under Sections 15-16-911 and 15-16-912 if the authorized fiduciary does not currently have a power to distribute principal. For example, if a trust permits income to be distributed to A, but does not permit principal distributions until A is age 25 or has a child, and A is age 21 and has no child, the trustee may not decant the trust under Section 15-16-911 or Section 15-16-912 .
