Bill Text: NY A06809 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to testamentary disposition to trustee under, or in accordance with, terms of existing inter vivos trust and the timing of the transfer of assets and signing of the will.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-01-03 - ordered to third reading cal.476 [A06809 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A06809-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          6809
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     March 21, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. STIRPE, WEINSTEIN -- (at request of the Office of
          Court  Administration)  --  read once and referred to the Committee on
          Judiciary
        AN ACT to amend the estates, powers  and  trusts  law,  in  relation  to
          testamentary  disposition  to  trustee  under,  or in accordance with,
          terms of existing inter vivos trust
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. Section 3-3.7 of the estates, powers and trusts law, para-
     2  graph (a) as amended by chapter 139 of the laws of 1997 and such section
     3  as renumbered by chapter 472 of the laws of 1967, is amended to read  as
     4  follows:
     5  § 3-3.7 Testamentary disposition to trustee under, or in accordance with
     6            terms of existing inter vivos trust
     7    (a) A testator [or testatrix] may by will dispose of or appoint all or
     8  any part of [his or her] such testator's estate to a trustee of a trust,
     9  the terms of which are evidenced by a written instrument executed by the
    10  testator  [or  testatrix],  the  testator  [or testatrix] and some other
    11  person, or some other person, including  a  trust  established  for  the
    12  receipt  of the proceeds of an annuity or pure endowment contract, or of
    13  a thrift, savings, pension, retirement, death benefit, stock  bonus,  or
    14  profit-sharing  plan or system or a funded or unfunded life, group life,
    15  industrial life or accident and health  insurance  trust  (although  the
    16  [settlor]  person establishing such trust has reserved any or all rights
    17  of ownership of the insurance contracts), regardless of [the  existence,
    18  size  or character of the corpus of such insurance trust or other trust]
    19  whether any assets have been transferred to the trust prior to the death
    20  of the testator; provided that [such] the trust instrument is identified
    21  in the will and is executed by the person establishing the  trust  prior
    22  to  or contemporaneously with the execution of the will and, unless such
    23  person is the sole trustee, by at least one trustee thereof prior to the
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09736-01-7

        A. 6809                             2
     1  death of the testator, in the manner [provided for in 7-1.17,  prior  to
     2  or  contemporaneously  with  the  execution  of the will, and such trust
     3  instrument is identified in such will] required  by  the  laws  of  this
     4  state  for  the  recording  of a conveyance of real property or, in lieu
     5  thereof, in the presence of two witnesses who shall affix  their  signa-
     6  tures to the trust instrument.
     7    (b) The testamentary disposition or appointment is valid, even though:
     8    (1) The trust instrument is amendable or revocable, or both, provided,
     9  however,  that  the  disposition or appointment shall be given effect in
    10  accordance with the terms of the trust instrument, including  an  amend-
    11  ment  thereto,  as  they appear in writing on the date of the testator's
    12  death and, where the testator so directs, including  amendments  to  the
    13  trust  instrument  after  his or her death, if the instrument evidencing
    14  such amendment is executed  and  acknowledged  in  the  manner  [herein]
    15  provided  for  [executing  and  acknowledging  the  instrument  which it
    16  amends] in paragraph (b) of 7-1.17.
    17    (2) The right is reserved in such trust instrument (A) to exercise any
    18  power over any property transferred to or held in the trust  or  (B)  to
    19  direct  during  the  lifetime  of  the [settlor] person establishing the
    20  trust or any other person, the persons and organizations to whom  or  in
    21  whose behalf the income shall be paid or the principal distributed.
    22    (3) The trust instrument or any amendment thereto was not executed and
    23  attested in accordance with the formalities prescribed by 3-2.1.
    24    (c) The property so disposed of or appointed by will becomes a part of
    25  the  trust  to which it is given, and title thereto vests in the trustee
    26  to be administered and disposed of in accordance with the terms  of  the
    27  trust instrument.
    28    (d)  Any  disposition or appointment to the trustee made by a testator
    29  who died prior to the effective date of this  section,  which  would  be
    30  invalid  under  the applicable law of this state pre-existing the effec-
    31  tive date of this section, shall be construed to create  a  testamentary
    32  trust  under  and  in  accordance with the terms of the trust instrument
    33  which the testator  originally  intended  should  embrace  the  property
    34  disposed  of or appointed, as such terms appear in such trust instrument
    35  at the date of the testator's death.
    36    (e) A revocation or termination of the trust before the death  of  the
    37  testator  shall cause the disposition or appointment to fail, unless the
    38  testator has made an alternative disposition.
    39    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  all
    40  testamentary dispositions to a trustee occurring on or after such effec-
    41  tive date.
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