GA Code § 53-12-243 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 53 - Wills, Trusts, and Administration of Estates|Chapter 12 - Trusts|Article 13 - Trustees' Duties and Powers|Part 1 - Duties of Trustee|§ 53-12-243. Duty to Provide Reports and Accounts

  On reasonable request by any qualified beneficiary, the trustee shall provide the qualified beneficiary with a report of information, to the extent relevant to that beneficiary's interest, about the assets, liabilities, receipts, and disbursements of the trust, the acts of the trustee, and the particulars relating to the administration of such trust, including the trust provisions that describe or affect such beneficiary's interest.     A trustee shall account at least annually, at the termination of the trust, and upon a change of trustees to each beneficiary of an irrevocable trust to whom income is required or authorized in the trustee's discretion to be distributed currently, and to any person who may revoke the trust. At the termination of the trust, the trustee shall also account to each remainder beneficiary. Upon a change of trustees, the trustee shall also account to the successor trustee.   An accounting furnished to a beneficiary pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall contain a statement of receipts and disbursements of principal and income that have occurred during the last complete fiscal year of the trust or since the last accounting to that beneficiary and a statement of the assets and liabilities of the trust as of the end of the accounting period.     A trustee shall not be required to report information or account to a beneficiary who has waived in writing the right to a report or accounting and has not withdrawn that waiver.   Subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section and the common law duty of the trustee to keep the beneficiaries of the trust reasonably informed of the trust and its administration shall not apply to the extent that the provisions of the trust provide otherwise or the settlor of the trust directs otherwise in a writing delivered to the trustee.   Nothing in this Code section shall affect the power of a court to require or excuse an accounting.     (Code 1981, §53-12-243, enacted by Ga. L. 2010, p. 579, § 1/SB 131; Ga. L. 2018, p. 262, § 19/HB 121; Ga. L. 2020, p. 377, § 1-83/HB 865.)    The 2020 amendment,  effective January 1, 2021, deleted "qualified" preceding the first instance of "beneficiary" in paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) and subsection (c); deleted the former last sentence in paragraph (b)(1), which read: "In full satisfaction of this obligation, the trustee may deliver the accounting to the guardian or conservator of any qualified beneficiary who is not sui juris."; and, in subsection (d), inserted "and the common law duty of the trustee to keep the beneficiaries of the trust reasonably informed of the trust and its administration", and substituted "provisions" for "terms".   Law reviews.   - For article, "The Scope of Permissible Investments by Fiduciaries Under Georgia Law," see 19 Ga. St. B.J. 6 (1982). For annual survey on wills, trusts, guardianships, and fiduciary administration, see 66 Mercer L. Rev. 231 (2014). For article on the 2018 amendment of this Code section, see 35 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 219 (2018).   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Editor's notes.   - In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, decisions under former Code 1933, § 108-112, and former O.C.G.A. § 53-13-51 are included in the annotations for this Code section.   Trust holding title to utility property.    - Statutory provisions imposing a general duty to exercise ordinary care in the preservation and protection of trust property in the possession of the trustee, and former O.C.G.A. § 51-1-19, imposing general liability upon a compensated trustee for the trustee's negligence, were inapplicable since the underlying purpose of the trust to hold title to certain utility property was neither to transfer to the uncompensated trustee immediate possession of the utility corporation's property nor to impose any immediate duty on the trustee to undertake the operation and maintenance of the corporation's water system. Smith v. Hawks, 182 Ga. App. 379, 355 S.E.2d 669 (1987) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 53-13-51).   Standing to bring suit.    - In a class action brought by a beneficiary of a trust holding a participating unit in the common trust fund of a bank, alleging that the bank made imprudent investments which resulted in losses, the class members, i.e., beneficiaries of other participating trusts, had standing, having possibly suffered injury. The bank, which had an adverse interest in the litigation, was not required to bring suit against itself. Meyer v. Citizens & S. Nat'l Bank, 106 F.R.D. 356 (M.D. Ga. 1985) (decided under former O.C.G.A. § 53-13-51).    Trustees vested jointly and severally with power to preserve trust. Smith v. Francis, 221 Ga. 260, 144 S.E.2d 439 (1965) (decided under former Code 1933, § 108-112).    While recognizing the general rule that the unified action of all the trustees is required to dispose of trust property, under Georgia law, each trustee has the duty and is clothed with the authority necessary to protect the corpus of the trust. Smith v. Francis, 221 Ga. 260, 144 S.E.2d 439 (1965) (decided under former Code 1933, § 108-112).   Failure to order accounting.    - Appellate court erred by reversing a trial court and ordering that the trustees provide the beneficiaries of a family trust the accounting sought because the appellate court failed to give any consideration to the trial court's discretion to require or excuse an accounting. Rollins v. Rollins, 294 Ga. 711, 755 S.E.2d 727 (2014).   Suit against trustee governed by six year limitations period, not two year.    - Because the letter to a trustee from the trustee's accountants was simply a form of general correspondence that did not contain the type of detailed information contemplated by the Georgia General Assembly for the letter to qualify as a report, the letter was not a report for purposes of the Trust Code, O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307; therefore, a beneficiary's cause of action against the trustee was not subject to the two-year statute of limitations but, rather, the six-year statute of limitations applied. Hasty v. Castleberry, 293 Ga. 727, 749 S.E.2d 676 (2013).   Account statement insufficient report to shorten statute of limitations.    - Trust's account statement reflecting a sale of the principal asset of the trust was not a "report" because there was insufficient disclosure of the nature of the transaction to trigger the running of the shortened two-year limitation period under O.C.G.A. § 53-12-307(a). Smith v. SunTrust Bank, 325 Ga. App. 531, 754 S.E.2d 117 (2014).    Cited in Mobley v. Phinizy, 42 Ga. App. 33, 155 S.E. 73 (1930); Fine v. Saul, 183 Ga. 309, 188 S.E. 439 (1936); Clayton v. First Nat'l Bank, 237 Ga. 604, 229 S.E.2d 346 (1976); Fox v. First Nat'l Bank, 145 Ga. App. 1, 243 S.E.2d 291 (1978).   RESEARCH REFERENCES   Am. Jur. 2d.   - 76 Am. Jur. 2d, Trusts, § 331 et seq.   24 Am. Jur. Pleading and Practice Forms, § 248 et seq.   C.J.S.   - 90 C.J.S., Trusts, § 258.   ALR.    - Care required of trustee or guardian with respect to retaining securities coming into his hands as assets of the estate, 77 A.L.R. 505; 112 A.L.R. 355.    Provisions of will or other trust instrument exempting trustee from or limiting his liability, 83 A.L.R. 616; 158 A.L.R. 276.    Right or duty of trustee to withhold income as a reserve against future charges, anticipated loss, or reduction of future income or other emergencies, 125 A.L.R. 629.    Control of discretion of trustee as to turning over entire principal of fund to beneficiary, 143 A.L.R. 467.    Duty of trustee or other fiduciary in respect of existing life insurance policy, 150 A.L.R. 840.    Discretion given trustee respecting payment, application, or distribution of income or corpus as conditioning the gift itself, or as governing merely the time or method of permitting enjoyment, 172 A.L.R. 455.   Power of guardian representing unborn future interest holders to consent to invasion of trust corpus, 49 A.L.R.2d 1095.   Duty of trustees of charitable trust to furnish information and records to attorney general relating to trust administration, 86 A.L.R.2d 1375.   Validity and construction of trust provision authorizing trustee to purchase trust property, 39 A.L.R.3d 836.   Liability of executor, administrator, trustee, or his counsel, for interest, penalty, or extra taxes assessed against estate because of tax law violations, 47 A.L.R.3d 507.   Liability of testamentary trustee for failure to assert claim against executor of testator's estate for mistake resulting in overpayment of taxes, 68 A.L.R.3d 1265.   Absence of market therefor as justifying trustee's retention of unauthorized or nonlegal securities received from creator of trust, 88 A.L.R.3d 894.   Payment or distribution under invalid instruction as breach of trustee's duty, 6 A.L.R.4th 1196.