AB 1855 Summary

• Enacts the Uniform Trust Decanting Act, allowing authorized fiduciaries to distribute property from irrevocable trusts to new trusts or modify trust terms without beneficiary consent or court approval, subject to exceptions and fiduciary duties.

• Requires fiduciaries to provide 60-day advance notice to qualified beneficiaries, settlors, powerholders, other fiduciaries, and the Attorney General (for charitable trusts) before exercising decanting power, with option to waive the notice period.

• Prohibits decanting from reducing vested beneficiary interests, diminishing charitable interests, or adding new beneficiaries outside the original trust's beneficiary class, with limited exceptions for powers of appointment.

• Restricts decanting to preserve tax benefits including marital deductions, charitable deductions, generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions, and S-corporation shareholder status established in the original trust.

• Does not apply to trusts held solely for charitable purposes and allows trust instruments to restrict or prohibit decanting; provides court authority to approve, modify, or enjoin proposed decanting exercises.