reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 24 - Investment; Disposition of Proceeds of Sale

Section 24. If the property is sold in order to place on interest or invest the proceeds, the guardian or conservator shall make the investment according to his best judgment, or in pursuance of any order of the court relative thereto.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 25 - Property of Minors Sold for Investment; Persons Authorized to Sell

Section 25. A sale of the property of a minor for the purpose of investment may be made upon the petition of the guardian or any friend of the minor, and the court may authorize the guardian or another person to sell and convey the property. The provisions of this chapter relative to licenses and sales upon the petitions of guardians shall, except as provided in the following section, apply to licenses and sales under this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 26 - Property of Minors Sold for Investment; Disposition of Proceeds of Sale

Section 26. If the sale is made by a person other than the guardian, the proceeds shall forthwith be paid to the guardian upon his giving to the judge of probate a bond with sufficient sureties conditioned to account for such proceeds. If there is no guardian, the proceeds shall be placed on interest or invested by the person authorized to sell the property, in like manner as is required of a guardian.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 27 - Sales by Guardian of Non-Resident Ward; Transfer of Proceeds to Foreign Executor

Section 27. A guardian or conservator appointed within the commonwealth, whose ward removes from or resides out of the commonwealth, may sell the real estate of his ward and transfer and pay over the whole or any part of the proceeds of such sale to a guardian, conservator, trustee, committee or other official appointed by competent authority in the state or country where the ward resides, upon such terms and in such manner as the probate court may, after notice to all parties interested, decree upon petition filed therefor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 28 - Executor or Administrator; Authority to Mortgage

Section 28. The probate court may, upon petition and after notice to all persons interested, if upon a hearing it appears to be for the benefit of the estate, authorize an executor, administrator with the will annexed or administrator to mortgage any of the real estate for the purpose of paying debts, legacies or charges of administration or for the purpose of paying an existing lien or mortgage on the estate of the deceased; or it may authorize such executor or administrator to make an agreement for the extension or renewal of such existing mortgage.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 29 - Guardian or Conservator; Authority to Mortgage

Section 29. The probate court may, upon petition of a guardian or conservator, if, after notice and a hearing, it appears to be necessary or expedient, authorize him to mortgage any real estate of his ward.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 30 - Petition and Decree for Mortgage; Form

Section 30. A petition under either of the two preceding sections shall set forth a description of the estate to be mortgaged, the amount of money necessary to be raised and the purposes for which it is required; and the decree of the court upon such petition shall fix the amount for which the mortgage may be given and the rate of interest which may be paid thereon, and may order the whole or any part of the money secured by the mortgage to be paid from time to time out of the income of the property mortgaged.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 31 - Leases; Realty of Ward

Section 31. The probate court may, upon the petition of a guardian or conservator setting forth a description of the real estate of his ward which he desires to lease, the reason why it is necessary or expedient to give a written lease thereof, and the length of the term, if, after notice and a hearing, it appears to be necessary or expedient, authorize such guardian or conservator to give a written lease of said real estate, and the decree of the court shall fix the term and the amount for which it may be leased.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 32 - Foreign Executor; License to Sell Realty

Section 32. An executor or administrator appointed in another state or country upon the estate of a person who was not at the time of his death a resident of this commonwealth and upon whose estate administration has not been granted in this commonwealth, duly qualified and acting, may file an authenticated copy of the record of his appointment and of his bond in the probate court for any county where there is real estate of the deceased; and such executor or administrator, after such notice to the commissioner of revenue, creditors and all other persons interested as the court may order, may be licensed to sell said real estate or an undivided interest therein in such manner and upon such notice as the court orders. But such license shall not be granted unless the court finds that six months have expired since the death of the deceased, that the executor or administrator has given a sufficient bond and will be liable to account for the proceeds of the sale in the state or country where he was appointed that the executor or administrator has filed in the probate court a certificate of the commissioner of revenue showing either that the amount of tax under chapter sixty-five C has been paid, that payment thereof has been secured as provided in section ten of said chapter sixty-five C, or that no tax is due, and that no creditor or other person interested will be prejudiced thereby. The net proceeds of such sale, after deducting the expenses thereof and after the payment and satisfaction of all claims against said estate in this commonwealth, may be taken by said foreign executor or administrator out of the commonwealth to be accounted for in the court in which he received his appointment. For dates of death on or after January 1, 1997, said certificate of the commissioner shall not be required.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 33 - Foreign Guardian or Conservator; License to Sell Realty of Ward

Section 33. If a person who resides out of the commonwealth is under guardianship or conservatorship in the state or country where he resides and has no guardian or conservator appointed in this commonwealth, the foreign guardian or conservator may file an authenticated copy of his appointment in the probate court for any county where there is real estate of the ward; after which upon petition he may be licensed to sell, mortgage or lease the real estate of the ward in any county, for the purposes, in the manner and upon the terms provided in this chapter for a guardian or conservator appointed in this commonwealth, except as provided in the following section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 34 - Foreign Fiduciary; Bond; Sufficiency; Filing

Section 34. If the court finds that such foreign guardian or conservator has given bond with sufficient surety or sureties, in the state or country where he was appointed, to account for the proceeds of such sale, mortgage or lease, and if an authenticated copy of such bond is filed in said court, no further bond shall be required; otherwise, before such license is granted, he shall give bond payable to the judge of said court and his successors with sufficient surety or sureties and with condition to account for and dispose of said proceeds according to law.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 35 - Foreign Fiduciary; Proceedings; Notice

Section 35. A foreign executor, administrator, guardian or conservator who has been licensed to sell real estate shall, except as otherwise provided, give notice of the time and place of sale, and otherwise proceed as is provided for an executor, administrator, guardian or conservator, appointed in this commonwealth; and the evidence of such notice may be perpetuated in the same manner.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 36 - Tenants by Entirety; Joinder in Sale, Mortgage or Lease of Realty

Section 36. On petition under any provision of this chapter by a guardian or conservator of a ward who is a tenant by the entirety of real estate or by a receiver, appointed under chapter two hundred, of an absentee person who is such a tenant by the entirety, for a license to sell, mortgage or lease such real estate, the probate court may, if the other tenant by the entirety assents in writing, authorize such guardian, conservator or receiver to join with such other tenant by the entirety in the conveyance, mortgage or lease of such real estate upon such terms as it may approve.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 37 - Decree Upon Petition for Leave to Sell Property; Scope

Section 37. The decree of a probate court upon a petition for leave to sell real or personal property shall be sufficient to authorize any action requiring a license by said court by any general or special law. A decree, authority, or order of said court shall contain a description of the real or personal property and the terms of sale.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 202 - Sales, Mortgages and Leases of Real Estate by Executors, Administrators, Guardians and Conservators › Section 38 - Decree; Presumptions; Highest Possible Price

Section 38. After the entry of a decree authorizing or licensing an executor, administrator, guardian, conservator or trustee to sell real estate at a public or private sale, provided: (a) the notice of the petition for license to sell real estate and of the time and place appointed for hearing, the same shall have been given by publication at such times and in such newspapers as the court orders, and (b) there shall have been no appearance entered against such sale prior to the entry of the decree or where such appearance shall have been entered and withdrawn prior to the entry of the decree, notwithstanding the fact that an appeal may have been taken prior to the expiration of the period allowed for an appeal therefrom, it shall be conclusively presumed that the amount of the advantageous offer stated in said petition for license to sell real estate is the highest possible price obtainable for the real estate described in such petition and that the executor, administrator, guardian, conservator, or trustee has fully satisfied his fiduciary duty to obtain the highest possible price for such real estate.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203 - Trusts › Section 1 - Trusts in Realty; Necessity of Writing

Section 1. No trust concerning land, except such as may arise or result by implication of law, shall be created or declared unless by a written instrument signed by the party creating or declaring the trust or by his attorney.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203 - Trusts › Section 2 - Record of Trust; Notice

Section 2. If a trust concerning land is created or declared by such instrument, the recording of the instrument, or of a certificate conforming to the requirements of section 35 of chapter 184, in the registry of deeds or the registration office of the land court, in either case for the county or district where the land lies, shall be equivalent to actual notice to every person claiming under a conveyance, attachment or execution thereafter made or levied.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203 - Trusts › Section 3 - Purchasers Without Notice

Section 3. No trust concerning land, whether implied by law or created or declared by the parties, shall defeat the title of a purchaser for a valuable consideration without notice of the trust, or prevent a creditor who has no notice of the trust from attaching the land or from taking it on execution as if no such trust existed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203 - Trusts › Section 3a - Trusts for Benefit of Employees; Rule Against Perpetuities

Section 3A. A trust created by an employer as part of a stock bonus, pension, disability, death benefit or profit sharing plan for the benefit of some or all of his employees, to which contributions are made by the employer or employees, or both, for the purpose of distributing to the employees the earnings or the principal, or both earnings and principal, of the fund held in trust, may continue in perpetuity or for such time as may be necessary to accomplish the purpose for which it is created, and shall not be invalid as violating any rule of law against perpetuities or suspension of the power of alienation of the title to property.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203 - Trusts › Section 4 - Testamentary Trustee; Appointment

Section 4. If a testator has omitted in his will to appoint a trustee in this commonwealth and such appointment is necessary to carry into effect the provisions of the will, the probate court may, after notice to all persons interested, appoint a trustee who shall have the same powers, rights and duties and the same title to the estate as if originally appointed by the testator.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203 - Trusts › Section 4a - Definitions Applicable to This Section and Sec. 4b

Section 4A. The following words as used in this section and section four B shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the following meanings:—
''Customer''—any resident of this commonwealth, who engages in trust business with, or enters into discussions or correspondence creating a trust business relationship with a fiduciary, or where such relationship arises from a revision or amendment of an existing trust relationship involving any material change in matters subject to disclosure under this section and section four B except in such cases where the resulting fiduciary functions are to be performed without compensation.
''Trust business''—any activity conducted by an executor of a will or codicil, an administrator with the will annexed, an administrator of the estate of any person, a guardian, a conservator, or a trustee under a will or instrument creating a trust for the care and management of property, while he is acting in such a fiduciary capacity.
''Fiduciary''—as used in this section refers to any corporation, bank, trust company or individual who charges compensation for its or his services while acting in any of the capacities set forth in the paragraph defining ''Trust Business'', and whose gross annual compensation from all such fiduciary services is in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars for each of the three next immediate preceding taxable years.
''Trust company''—any trust company incorporated in the commonwealth and any corporation or association which acts as a corporate fiduciary or trustee within the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203 - Trusts › Section 40 - Trusts for the Benefit of Creditors; Validity of Certain Acts of Trustees; Insolvency Proceedings

Section 40. If a debtor residing in the commonwealth has made an assignment to a trustee for the benefit of his creditors, the acts of the trustee thereunder in protecting and caring for the property and converting it into money, if done in good faith and with reasonable judgment and discretion, shall, subject to the following section, be valid notwithstanding subsequent proceedings in insolvency by or against the debtor, and the assignee in insolvency shall, if such assignment is avoided by him, recover the net amount of money received for, or the price of, the property sold and converted by such trustee instead of the property itself.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203 - Trusts › Section 41 - Trusts for the Benefit of Creditors; Validity of Certain Acts of Trustees; Requirements; Fees; Statement of Trustee

Section 41. The preceding section shall not apply to the acts of such trustee unless the assignment conveys all the property and estate of the debtor wherever situated, either within or without the commonwealth, not exempt from attachment by the laws thereof, and provides for its distribution in substantial conformity with chapter two hundred and sixteen; nor unless a majority in number and value of the creditors, whose claims are neither secured nor preferred by said chapter, have assented in writing to the assignment; nor unless the trustee, before proceeding to act and immediately on the acceptance of his trust, gives written notice by mail or otherwise to all known creditors of the debtor of such assignment and his acceptance thereof, and deposits with the clerk of the city or town where the principal business of the debtor is carried on a copy of such assignment, which shall be filed and indexed by said clerk upon receiving the fee provided by clause (1) of section thirty-four of chapter two hundred and sixty-two.
The provisions of section forty shall not apply to the acts of such trustee unless the assignment provides, in cases where the assets or liabilities exceed five thousand dollars, that the trustee shall furnish to all assenting creditors and to all other creditors having claims in excess of three hundred dollars, at least fifteen days before distribution of any assets, a statement in writing indicating, the total assets of the trust, the total liabilities of the trust, and administrative costs, trustee's fees, legal fees, and other miscellaneous expenses.
Such statement shall also contain an affidavit of the debtor that the total assets shown therein constitutes all his property and estate wherever situated, either within or without the commonwealth, which is not exempt from attachment.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203 - Trusts › Section 42 - Trusts for the Benefit of Creditors; Termination of Trust

Section 42. If, upon petition or otherwise, the probate court for the county where letters testamentary or of administration have been granted on the estate of a deceased person finds that such person in his lifetime made a conveyance of real estate in the commonwealth in trust for the benefit of his creditors, and the trustee certifies that all the debts secured by such conveyance and due to persons other than himself have been paid or otherwise adjusted to the satisfaction of the creditors so far as known and that he desires to settle his trust account and to terminate the trust, the court shall appoint a time and place for hearing all persons interested in such trust, of which notice shall be given by publication in a newspaper published in the county, or otherwise, as the court orders. Upon such hearing the court may terminate the trust so far as the creditors and persons claiming under them are concerned, may discharge such real estate from the trust, may settle the trust account, and make any further order as to the disposition, distribution or partition of the remaining trust estate, consistent with the provisions of the original instrument creating the trust. This section shall not apply to any case where the instrument creating the trust does not bear date more than six years previous to the time appointed for the hearing; nor shall it affect the operation of the insolvent laws of the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203a - Uniform Common Trust Fund Act › Section 1 - Establishment and Administration of Common Trust Fund

Section 1. Any individual, corporation or association qualified to act as fiduciary in this state may establish common trust funds for the purpose of furnishing investments to itself as fiduciary or to itself and others, as co-fiduciaries; and may, as such fiduciary or co-fiduciary, invest funds which it lawfully holds for investment in interests in such common trust funds, if such investment is not prohibited by the instrument, judgment, decree or order creating such fiduciary relationship. Each such common trust fund shall be administered in accordance with a written declaration of trust which shall have been filed in the registry of probate in the county in which such individual, corporation or association resides or has his or its principal place of business, and such written declaration may provide that premiums paid on the purchase of interest bearing securities need not be amortized.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203a - Uniform Common Trust Fund Act › Section 1a - Investments by National Banking Association or Foreign Corporation Acting as Fiduciary

Section 1A. Any national banking association or foreign corporation either alone or in conjunction with one or more other persons acting with it in a fiduciary capacity having qualified as fiduciary in this state pursuant to the provisions of section forty-three of chapter one hundred and sixty-seven, may invest any funds held by it as such fiduciary in any common trust fund which it maintains according to the laws of the state where its principal place of business is located, provided the instrument, judgment, decree or order creating such fiduciary relationship, does not specifically or otherwise prohibit such investment.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203a - Uniform Common Trust Fund Act › Section 2 - Fiduciary Consent

Section 2. If the individual, corporation or association maintaining a common trust fund holds property as a fiduciary together with a co-fiduciary or co-fiduciaries, investment of such property in participations in a common trust fund may be made only with the written consent of such co-fiduciary or co-fiduciaries and shall be withdrawn upon the written request of any such co-fiduciary.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203a - Uniform Common Trust Fund Act › Section 3 - Account of the Administration of Common Trust Fund; Preparation and Audit; Proceeding for Allowance of Account

Section 3. An account of the administration of each common trust fund shall be prepared annually and shall be audited by an independent certified public accountant and a copy of the account and the audit report shall be made available to any interested party upon written request, free of charge. A fiduciary may file an application for allowance of any such account, but shall not be required to file such application unless ordered by said probate court on motion of any interested party to such account or on motion of the court. A proceeding for the allowance of an account brought pursuant to this chapter in the probate and family court department of the trial court may be initiated by filing a petition and giving notice as provided under sections 1–401 and 1–403 of chapter 190B and section 1–404 of said chapter 190B shall apply to such proceeding. The allowance of any such account shall be conclusive as to all matters shown therein upon all persons then or thereafter interested in the funds invested in said common trust fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203a - Uniform Common Trust Fund Act › Section 4 - Construction

Section 4. This chapter shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203a - Uniform Common Trust Fund Act › Section 6 - Severability

Section 6. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203b - Uniform Custodial Trust Act › Section 1 - Definitions

Section 1. This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the Massachusetts Uniform Custodial Trust Act.
As used in this chapter the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
''Adult'', an individual who is at least eighteen years of age.
''Beneficiary'', an individual for whom property has been transferred to or held under a declaration of trust by a custodial trustee for the individual's use and benefit under this chapter.
''Conservator'', a person appointed or qualified by a court to manage the estate of an individual or a person legally authorized to perform substantially the same functions.
''Court'', the probate and family court.
''Custodial trust property'', an interest in property transferred to or held under a declaration of trust by a custodial trustee under this chapter and the income from and proceeds of such interest.
''Custodial trustee'', a person designated as trustee of a custodial trust under this chapter or a substitute or successor to the person so designated.
''Guardian'', a person appointed or qualified by a court as a guardian of an individual, including a limited guardian, but not a person who is only a guardian ad litem.
''Incapacitated'', lacking the ability to manage property and business affairs effectively by reason of mental illness, mental deficiency, physical illness or disability, chronic use of drugs, chronic intoxication, confinement, detention by a foreign power, disappearance, minority, or other disabling cause.
''Legal representative'', a personal representative or conservator.
''Member of the beneficiary's family'', a beneficiary's spouse, descendant, stepchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, or aunt, whether of the whole or half blood or by adoption.
''Person'', an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, joint venture, association, or any other legal or commercial entity.
''Personal representative'', an executor, administrator, or special administrator of a decedent's estate, a person legally authorized to perform substantially the same functions, or a successor to any of them.
''State'', a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
''Transferor'', a person who creates a custodial trust by transfer or declaration.
''Trust company'', a financial institution, corporation, or other legal entity, authorized to exercise general trust powers.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203b - Uniform Custodial Trust Act › Section 2 - Creation; Termination; Augmentation of Trust Property; Designation of Successor Trustee

Section 2. (a) A person may create a custodial trust of property by a written transfer of the property to another person, evidenced by registration or by other instrument of transfer, executed in any lawful manner, naming as beneficiary, an individual who may be the transferor, in which the transferee is designated, in substance, as custodial trustee under this chapter.
(b) A person may create a custodial trust of property by a written declaration, evidenced by registration of the property or by other instrument of declaration executed in any lawful manner, describing the property and naming as beneficiary an individual other than the declarant, in which the declarant as titleholder is designated, in substance, as custodial trustee under this chapter. A registration or other declaration of trust for the sole benefit of the declarant shall not constitute a custodial trust under this chapter.
(c) Title to custodial trust property shall be in the custodial trustee and the beneficial interest shall be in the beneficiary.
(d) Except as provided in subsection (e), a transferor may not terminate a custodial trust.
(e) The beneficiary, if not incapacitated, or the conservator of an incapacitated beneficiary, may terminate a custodial trust by delivering to the custodial trustee a writing signed by the beneficiary or conservator declaring the termination. If not previously terminated, the custodial trust shall terminate on the death of the beneficiary.
(f) Any person may augment existing custodial trust property by the addition of other property pursuant to this chapter.
(g) The transferor may designate, or authorize the designation of, a successor custodial trustee in the trust instrument.
(h) This chapter shall not displace or restrict other means of creating trusts. A trust whose terms do not conform to this chapter may be enforceable according to its terms under other law.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203b - Uniform Custodial Trust Act › Section 3 - Designation as Substitute or Successor Custodial Trustees

Section 3. (a) A person having the right to designate the recipient of property payable or transferable upon a future event may create a custodial trust upon the occurrence of the future event by designating in writing the recipient, followed in substance by: ''as custodial trustee for ___ (name of beneficiary) under the Massachusetts Uniform Custodial Trust Act.''
(b) Persons may be designated as substitute or successor custodial trustees to whom the property shall be paid or transferred in the order named if the first designated custodial trustee is unable or unwilling to serve.
(c) A designation under this section may be made in a will, a trust, a deed, a multiple-party account, an insurance policy, an instrument exercising a power of appointment, or a writing designating a beneficiary of contractual rights. Otherwise, to be effective, the designation shall be registered with or delivered to the fiduciary, payor, issuer, or obligor of the future right.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203b - Uniform Custodial Trust Act › Section 4 - Custodial Trustee's Acceptance

Section 4. (a) Obligations of a custodial trustee, including the obligation to follow directions of the beneficiary, shall arise under this chapter upon the custodial trustee's acceptance, express or implied, of the custodial trust property.
(b) The custodial trustee's acceptance may be evidenced by a writing stating in substance:
CUSTODIAL TRUSTEE'S RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE
I, ___ (name of custodial trustee) acknowledge receipt of the custodial trust property described below or in the attached instrument and accept the custodial trust as custodial trustee for ___ (name of beneficiary) under the Massachusetts Uniform Custodial Trust Act. I undertake to administer and distribute the custodial trust property pursuant to the Massachusetts Uniform Custodial Trust Act. My obligations as custodial trustee are subject to the directions of the beneficiary unless the beneficiary is designated as, is, or becomes incapacitated. The custodial trust property consists of ___
Dated ______________________________________
____________________________________________
(Signature of Custodial Trustee)
(c) Upon accepting custodial trust property, a person designated as custodial trustee under this chapter shall be subject to personal jurisdiction of the court with respect to any matter relating to the custodial trust.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203b - Uniform Custodial Trust Act › Section 5 - Transfer of Trust Property for Use and Benefit of Incapacitated Individual

Section 5. (a) Unless otherwise directed by an instrument designating a custodial trustee pursuant to section three, a person, including a fiduciary other than a custodial trustee, who holds property of, or owes a debt to, an incapacitated individual not having a conservator may make a transfer to an adult member of the beneficiary's family or to a trust company as custodial trustee for the use and benefit of the incapacitated individual. If the value of the property or the debt exceeds twenty thousand dollars, the transfer shall not be effective unless authorized by the court.
(b) A written acknowledgement of delivery, signed by a custodial trustee, is a sufficient receipt and discharge for property transferred to the custodial trustee pursuant to this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203b - Uniform Custodial Trust Act › Section 6 - Multiple Beneficiaries; Right of Survivorship

Section 6. (a) Beneficial interests in a custodial trust created for multiple beneficiaries shall be deemed to be separate custodial trusts of equal undivided interests for each beneficiary. Except in a transfer or declaration for use and benefit of husband and wife, for whom survivorship is presumed, a right of survivorship shall not exist unless the instrument creating the custodial trust specifically provides for such rights of survivorship such rights required by law.
(b) Custodial trust property held under this chapter by the same custodial trustee for the use and benefit of the same beneficiary may be administered as a single custodial trust.
(c) A custodial trustee of custodial trust property held for more than one beneficiary shall separately account to each beneficiary pursuant to sections seven and fifteen for the administration of the custodial trust.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203b - Uniform Custodial Trust Act › Section 7 - Vesting Title; Management of Trust Property; Duties

Section 7. (a) If appropriate, a custodial trustee shall register or record the instrument vesting title to custodial trust property.
(b) If the beneficiary is not incapacitated, a custodial trustee shall follow the directions of the beneficiary in the management, control, investment, or retention of the custodial trust property. In the absence of effective contrary direction by the beneficiary while not incapacitated, the custodial trustee shall observe the standard of care that would be observed by a prudent person dealing with property of another and not limited by any other law restricting investments by fiduciaries; provided, however, that a custodial trustee, in the custodial trustee's discretion, may retain any custodial trust property received from the transferor. If a custodial trustee has a special skill or expertise or is named custodial trustee on the basis of representation of a special skill or expertise, the custodial trustee shall use such skill or expertise.
(c) Subject to subsection (b), a custodial trustee shall take control of and collect, hold, manage, invest, and reinvest custodial trust property.
(d) A custodial trustee at all times shall keep custodial trust property of which the custodial trustee has control, separate from all other property in a manner sufficient to identify it clearly as custodial trust property of the beneficiary. Custodial trust property, the title to which is subject to recordation, is so identified if an appropriate instrument so identifying the property is recorded, and custodial trust property subject to registration is so identified if it is registered, or held in an account in the name of the custodial trustee, designated in substance: ''as custodial trustee for ___ (name of beneficiary) under the Massachusetts Uniform Custodial Trust Act.''
(e) A custodial trustee shall keep records of all transactions with respect to custodial trust property, including information necessary for the preparation of tax returns, and shall make the records and information available at reasonable times to the beneficiary or legal representative of the beneficiary.
(f) The exercise of a durable power of attorney for an incapacitated beneficiary shall not be effective to terminate or direct the administration or distribution of a custodial trust.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203b - Uniform Custodial Trust Act › Section 8 - Trustee's Rights and Powers Over Trust Property

Section 8. (a) A custodial trustee, acting in a fiduciary capacity, shall have all the rights and powers over custodial trust property which an unmarried adult owner has over individually owned property, but a custodial trustee may exercise such rights and powers in a fiduciary capacity only.
(b) This section shall not relieve a custodial trustee from liability for a violation of section seven.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203b - Uniform Custodial Trust Act › Section 9 - Payments to Beneficiaries

Section 9. (a) A custodial trustee shall pay to the beneficiary or expend for the beneficiary's use and benefit so much or all of the custodial trust property as the beneficiary while not incapacitated may direct from time to time.
(b) If the beneficiary is incapacitated, the custodial trustee shall expend so much or all of the custodial trust property as the custodial trustee considers advisable for the use and benefit of the beneficiary and individuals who were supported by the beneficiary when the beneficiary became incapacitated, or who are legally entitled to support by the beneficiary. Expenditures may be made in the manner, when, and to the extent that the custodial trustee determines suitable and proper, without court order and without regard to other support, income, or property of the beneficiary.
(c) A custodial trustee may establish checking, savings, or other similar accounts of reasonable amounts under which either the custodial trustee or the beneficiary may withdraw funds from, or draw checks against, the accounts. Funds withdrawn from, or checks written against, the account by the beneficiary are distributions of custodial trust property by the custodial trustee to the beneficiary.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part II - Real and Personal Property and Domestic Relations › Title II - Descent and Distribution, Wills, Estates of Deceased Persons and Absentees, Guardianship, Conservatorship and Trusts › Chapter 203b - Uniform Custodial Trust Act › Section 10 - Administration of Trust for Incapacitated Beneficiary; Determination of Incapacity

Section 10. (a) The custodial trustee shall administer the custodial trust as for an incapacitated beneficiary if (i) the custodial trust was created under section five, (ii) the transferor has so directed in the instrument creating the custodial trust, or (iii) the custodial trustee has determined that the beneficiary is incapacitated.
(b) A custodial trustee may determine that the beneficiary is incapacitated in reliance upon (i) previous direction or authority given by the beneficiary while not incapacitated, including direction or authority pursuant to a durable power of attorney, (ii) the certificate of the beneficiary's physician, or (iii) other persuasive evidence.
(c) If a custodial trustee for an incapacitated beneficiary reasonably concludes that the beneficiary's incapacity has ceased, or that circumstances concerning the beneficiary's ability to manage property and business affairs have changed since the creation of a custodial trust directing administration as for an incapacitated beneficiary, the custodial trustee may administer the trust as for a beneficiary who is not incapacitated.
(d) On petition of the beneficiary, the custodial trustee, or other person interested in the custodial trust property or the welfare of the beneficiary, the court shall determine whether the beneficiary is incapacitated.
(e) Absent determination of incapacity of the beneficiary under subsection (b) or (d), a custodial trustee who has reason to believe that the beneficiary is incapacitated shall administer the custodial trust in accordance with the provisions of this chapter applicable to an incapacitated beneficiary.
(f) Incapacity of a beneficiary shall not terminate (i) the custodial trust, (ii) any designation of a successor custodial trustee, (iii) rights or powers of the custodial trustee, or (iv) any immunities of third persons acting or instructions of the custodial trustee.