2018 Maryland Code
Estates and Trusts
Title 14 - Trusts
Subtitle 4 - Maryland Discretionary Trust Act
§ 14-403. Eligibility to create trust; trustees; trustee succession
(a) Eligibility to create trusts. -- Any person having the right to transfer property to another person may create a trust as a transferor under this subtitle.
(b) Trustees -- Rights and powers of transferor. -- The transferor may:
(1) As declarant serve as trustee;
(2) Designate a trustee;
(3) Designate how the trustee will be chosen;
(4) Designate successor trustees in the order in which they will serve; and
(5) Designate how successor trustees will be chosen.
(c) Trustees -- Duties. -- The trustee shall hold, manage, expend, and transfer trust property as provided in this subtitle.
(d) Trustees -- Successor trustees. -- The successor trustee shall assume the responsibilities of the trustee when the trustee is no longer willing or able to serve.
(e) Number of beneficiaries and trustees. -- A trust may have only one beneficiary but more than one trustee.
(f) Trustees -- Liability; declination; resignation. -- A trustee:
(1) Is not personally liable to a third person:
(i) On a contract properly entered into in a fiduciary capacity unless the trustee fails to reveal that capacity or to identify the trust in the contract; or
(ii) For an obligation arising from control of trust property or for a tort committed in the course of the administration of the trust, unless the trustee is personally at fault;
(2) May decline to serve as trustee before accepting trust property by notifying in writing the person who designated the trustee, or that person's legal representative; and
(3) May resign as trustee by notifying the successor trustee in writing, transferring all trust property to the successor trustee, providing the successor trustee with a complete accounting of trust property, and confirming that the successor trustee has accepted the trust property.
(g) Procedure for trustee succession. -- The next willing successor trustee in line shall accept the records and trust property and become trustee as soon as practicable after:
(1) The resignation of the trustee;
(2) The declination of the trustee;
(3) The death of the trustee; or
(4) The removal of the trustee.
(h) Absence of successor trustee. -- If the trustee is unable or unwilling to serve and no successor trustee will serve, the following persons in the order listed may petition the court to designate a successor trustee:
(1) The transferor or the legal representative of the transferor;
(2) The trustee;
(3) The beneficiary or the beneficiary's legal representative;
(4) The guardian of the person of the beneficiary;
(5) An adult member of the beneficiary's family or that family member's legal representative; or
(6) A person interested in the trust property or a person interested in the welfare of the beneficiary, either of whom the court determines to have a legitimate interest.
(i) Change of trustee, successor trustees by transferor. -- Unless renounced by the transferor, the transferor may at any time remove or change the designation of the trustee and successor trustees.
