Article on Trends in Trust Law That Undermine Fiduciary Accountability

Alan Newman recently published an Article entitled, Trust Law in the Twenty-First Century: Challenges to Fiduciary Accountability, 29 Quinnipiac Prob. L.J. 261 (2016). Provided below is a summary of the Article:

This Article analyzes recent legislative trends in trust law that undermine–sometimes intentionally and sometimes inadvertently–fiduciary accountability in the administration of trusts. A primary focus in this analysis is the growing use of third parties, often referred to as “advisers” or “protectors,” who are authorized to exercise control over the trustee’s administration of the trust, and newly enacted statutes addressing their use in many jurisdictions. But fiduciary accountability for trustees has been weakened in recent years by state legislatures in a variety of other ways. Before turning to recent legislation addressing trust advisers and protectors, this Article examines statutes addressing: (i) exculpatory clauses; (ii) the trustee’s duty to account; (iii) the limitations period for a beneficiary to pursue a claim against a trustee for breach; (iv) the trustee’s duty of loyalty; (v) the nature of a beneficiary’s interest in a discretionary trust; and (vi) trust decanting.