2013 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 62 - South Carolina Probate Code
ARTICLE 7 - SOUTH CAROLINA TRUST CODE
SECTION 62-7-813. Duty to inform and report.

(a) Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide otherwise, while a trust is revocable the trustee's duties under this section are owed exclusively to the settlor.

(b) Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide otherwise, a trustee who accepts a trusteeship or undertakes the administration of an irrevocable trust created on or after the effective date of this article, or of a revocable trust which becomes irrevocable whether by the death of the settlor or by the terms of the trust on or after the effective date of this article, shall:

(1) within ninety days after the trustee accepts a trusteeship or undertakes administration of an irrevocable trust or a revocable trust that has become irrevocable whether by the death of the settlor or by the terms of the trust, notify the qualified beneficiaries, as defined in Section 62-7-103(12), of:

(A) the existence of the trust;

(B) the identity of the settlor or settlors;

(C) the trustee's name, address and telephone number;

(D) the right to request in writing a copy of the trust instrument; and

(E) the right to request in writing a copy of any trustee's report described in (c)(1) below;

(2) throughout the administration of the trust, keep the distributees and the permissible distributees, as defined in Section 62-7-103(21) and (25), reasonably informed about the administration of the trust and of the material facts necessary for them to protect their interests, provided that the attorney-client privilege between the trustee and the trustee's attorney is not violated;

(3) upon the reasonable written request of a beneficiary, other than a qualified beneficiary, unless unreasonable under the circumstances, provide to the beneficiary a copy of the trust instrument redacted to include only those provisions of the trust that are relevant to the beneficiary's interest in the trust, as the trustee determines and, unless unreasonable under the circumstances, respond to a beneficiary's written request for information related to the administration of the trust;

(4) notify the distributees and permissible distributees in advance of any change in the method or rate of the trustee's compensation; and

(5) notwithstanding any of the above, not be required to notify any beneficiary in advance of transactions relating to the trust property.

(c) Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide otherwise, a trustee who accepts a trusteeship or undertakes the administration of an irrevocable trust created on or after the effective date of this article, or of a revocable trust which becomes irrevocable on or after the effective date of this article, shall:

(1) have a continuing duty to:

(A) keep the distributees and permissible distributees, or other qualified beneficiaries who request information in writing, reasonably informed as to the administration of the trust; and

(B) send annually, and upon the termination of the trust, a written report of the trust property which may be in any format which provides the distributees and permissible distributees, or other qualified beneficiaries who have requested in writing, with information necessary to protect their interests. The report may include a copy of the fiduciary income tax return, or copies of bank or brokerage statements, or an informal list of assets and if feasible, the market values of those assets, the liabilities, the receipts and the disbursements, including the source and amount of the trustee's compensation;

(2) upon resignation of the trustee and unless a cotrustee remains in office, send a written report as described in (c)(1) to the distributees and permissible distributees; and in the case of the death or incapacity of a trustee, the report may be sent by the trustee's personal representative, conservator or guardian.

(d) To the extent that there is no conflict of interest, the trustee's duties to inform and report under subsections (b) and (c) are deemed satisfied if the information and report are given to the beneficiary's representative as described in Sections 62-7-302 through 62-7-305.

(e) Any distributee or permissible distributee may waive the right to a trustee's report and other information described under this section and, with respect to future reports and other information, withdraw a waiver previously given.

HISTORY: 2005 Act No. 66, Section 1; 2013 Act No. 100, Section 2, eff January 1, 2014.