In Defense of Quiet TrustsIn Defense of Quiet Trusts

Donald D. Kozusko, partner, Kozusko Lahey Harris LLP, Washington, D.C.

Despite its scope, the Uniform Trust Code (UTC) has provoked surprisingly little debate since it was first proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. The UTC redraws almost the entire territory of trust law — a body of law that has historically evolved at a pace measured in decades and centuries, not mere years. In its 100-plus sections, the UTC restates and revises many long-standing rules and propounds subtle solutions to puzzling old questions. Yet only a few items in this shiny catalogue have been difficult to sell to the scores of trustees, legislative staffers and advisors in as many as 30 states that have scrutinized it.

Probably ...