2019 Tennessee Code
Title 35 - Fiduciaries and Trust Estates
Chapter 15 - Tennessee Uniform Trust Code
Part 5 - Creditor's Claims — Mandatory, Support and Discretionary Interests — Effect of Spendthrift Provision
§ 35-15-504. Discretionary interests -- Effect thereof.

Universal Citation:
TN Code § 35-15-504 (2019)
Learn more This media-neutral citation is based on the American Association of Law Libraries Universal Citation Guide and is not necessarily the official citation.
  • (a) A discretionary interest is neither a property interest nor an enforceable right; it is a mere expectancy.

  • (b) Relative to a discretionary interest, whether or not a trust contains a spendthrift provision:

    • (1) No creditor or assignee shall force or otherwise reach a distribution with regard to a discretionary interest;

    • (2) No creditor or assignee shall require a trustee, cotrustee or other fiduciary to exercise the trustee's, cotrustee's or other fiduciary's discretion to make a distribution with regard to a discretionary interest;

    • (3) Regardless of whether a beneficiary has any outstanding creditors or assignees, a trustee, cotrustee or other fiduciary of a discretionary interest may directly pay any expense on behalf of such beneficiary and may exhaust the income and principal of the trust for the benefit of such beneficiary;

    • (4) No trustee, cotrustee or other fiduciary is liable to any creditor or assignee for paying the expenses of a beneficiary of a discretionary interest;

    • (5)

      • (A) Regardless of whether a beneficiary holding a discretionary interest is also a trustee, cotrustee or other fiduciary, subdivisions (b)(1)-(4) remain applicable if:

        • (i) The beneficiary-fiduciary does not have the discretion to make or participate in making distributions to such beneficiary-fiduciary;

        • (ii) The beneficiary-fiduciary's discretion to make or participate in making distributions to such beneficiary-fiduciary is limited by an ascertainable standard; or

        • (iii) The beneficiary-fiduciary's discretion to make or participate in making distributions to such beneficiary-fiduciary is exercisable only with the consent of a cotrustee or another person holding an adverse interest.

      • (B) A creditor or assignee may compel or otherwise reach a distribution only to the extent the creditor or assignee may compel or otherwise reach a distribution if the beneficiary was not acting as a trustee, cotrustee or other fiduciary.

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