CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
IC 30-4
ARTICLE 4. TRUST CODE
IC 30-4-1
Chapter 1. General Provisions
IC 30-4-1-1
Definition of "trust"; relationships excluded from this article;transferability of employee benefit trust
Sec. 1. (a) A trust is a fiduciary relationship between a personwho, as trustee, holds title to property and another person for whom,as beneficiary, the title is held.
(b) Subject to IC 30-4-2-8, the same person may be both thetrustee and a beneficiary.
(c) The rules of law contained in this article do not apply to:
(1) trusts created by operation of law;
(2) business trusts (as defined in IC 23-5-1);
(3) security instruments and creditor arrangements;
(4) voting trusts;
(5) religious, educational, and cultural institutions, created inother than trust form, except with respect to the application ofIC 30-4-5-18 through IC 30-4-5-23 as those sections relate tothe maintenance of federal income tax exemption privileges towhich an institution is entitled;
(6) corporations and other entities governed by IC 23-17, exceptwith respect to IC 30-4-5-18 through IC 30-4-5-23 as thosesections relate to the maintenance of federal income taxexemption privileges to which a corporation or other entity isentitled;
(7) except as provided in this article for trusts for a benevolentpublic purpose and as provided in the Indiana uniform prudentinvestor act (IC 30-4-3.5):
(A) prepaid funeral plans;
(B) trusts for the care and upkeep of cemeteries; and
(C) agreements to furnish funeral services; and
(8) trusts created or authorized by statute other than this article.
(d) IC 30-4-3-2(a) applies to an employee benefit trust that meetsthe requirements set forth in IC 30-4-3-2(c). However, no otherprovision of this article applies to an employee benefit trust.
(Formerly: Acts 1971, P.L.416, SEC.2; Acts 1972, P.L.11, SEC.12.)As amended by P.L.287-1987, SEC.1; P.L.41-2000, SEC.1;P.L.61-2008, SEC.12.
IC 30-4-1-1.5
IC 30-2-4 and IC 30-2-5 not repealed
Sec. 1.5. This article does not repeal:
(1) IC 30-2-4 (the Uniform Fiduciaries Act); or
(2) IC 30-2-5 (the Uniform Act for the Simplification ofFiduciary Security Transfers).
As added by P.L.1-1989, SEC.60.
IC 30-4-1-2
Other definitions
Sec. 2. As used in this article:
(1) "Adult" means any person eighteen (18) years of age orolder.
(2) "Affiliate" means a parent, descendant, spouse, spouse of adescendant, brother, sister, spouse of a brother or sister,employee, director, officer, partner, joint venturer, a corporationsubject to common control with the trustee, a shareholder, orcorporation who controls the trustee or a corporation controlledby the trustee other than as a fiduciary, an attorney, or an agent.
(3) "Beneficiary" has the meaning set forth in IC 30-2-14-2.
(4) "Breach of trust" means a violation by the trustee of anyduty which is owed to the settlor or beneficiary.
(5) "Charitable trust" means a trust in which all thebeneficiaries are the general public or organizations, includingtrusts, corporations, and associations, and that is organized andoperated wholly for religious, charitable, scientific, publicsafety testing, literary, or educational purposes. The term doesnot include charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts,pooled income funds, or any other form of split-interestcharitable trust that has at least one (1) noncharitablebeneficiary.
(6) "Court" means a court having jurisdiction over trust matters.
(7) "Income", except as otherwise stated in a trust agreement,has the meaning set forth in IC 30-2-14-4.
(8) "Income beneficiary" has the meaning set forth inIC 30-2-14-5.
(9) "Inventory value" means the cost of property to the settloror the trustee at the time of acquisition or the market value ofthe property at the time it is delivered to the trustee, or the valueof the property as finally determined for purposes of an estateor inheritance tax.
(10) "Minor" means any person under the age of eighteen (18)years.
(11) "Person" has the meaning set forth in IC 30-2-14-9.
(12) "Personal representative" means an executor oradministrator of a decedent's or absentee's estate, guardian ofthe person or estate, guardian ad litem or other court appointedrepresentative, next friend, parent or custodian of a minor,attorney in fact, or custodian of an incapacitated person (asdefined in IC 29-3-1-7.5).
(13) "Principal" has the meaning set forth in IC 30-2-14-10.
(14) "Qualified beneficiary" means:
(A) a beneficiary who, on the date the beneficiary'squalification is determined:
(i) is a distributee or permissible distributee of trustincome or principal;
(ii) would be a distributee or permissible distributee oftrust income or principal if the interest of the distributee
described in item (i) terminated on that date;
(iii) would be a distributee or permissible distributee oftrust income or principal if the trust terminated on thatdate;
(iv) has sent the trustee a request for notice;
(v) is a charitable organization expressly designated toreceive distributions under the terms of a charitable trust;
(vi) is a person appointed to enforce a trust for the care ofan animal under IC 30-4-2-18; or
(vii) is a person appointed to enforce a trust for anoncharitable purpose under IC 30-4-2-19; or
(B) the attorney general, if the trust is a charitable trusthaving its principal place of administration in Indiana.
(15) "Remainderman" means a beneficiary entitled to principal,including income which has been accumulated and added to theprincipal.
(16) "Settlor" means a person who establishes a trust includingthe testator of a will under which a trust is created.
(17) "Trust estate" means the trust property and the incomederived from its use.
(18) "Trust for a benevolent public purpose" means a charitabletrust (as defined in subdivision (5)), a split-interest trust (asdefined in Section 4947 of the Internal Revenue Code), aperpetual care fund or an endowment care fund establishedunder IC 23-14-48-2, a prepaid funeral plan or funeral trustestablished under IC 30-2-9, a funeral trust established underIC 30-2-10, a trust or an escrow account created from paymentsof funeral, burial services, or merchandise in advance of needdescribed in IC 30-2-13, and any other form of split-interestcharitable trust that has both charitable and noncharitablebeneficiaries, including but not limited to charitable remaindertrusts, charitable lead trusts, and charitable pooled incomefunds.
(19) "Trust property" means property either placed in trust orpurchased or otherwise acquired by the trustee for the trustregardless of whether the trust property is titled in the name ofthe trustee or the name of the trust.
(20) "Trustee" has the meaning set forth in IC 30-2-14-13.
(Formerly: Acts 1971, P.L.416, SEC.2; Acts 1973, P.L.293, SEC.5.)As amended by P.L.33-1989, SEC.94; P.L.138-1994, SEC.1;P.L.41-2000, SEC.2; P.L.84-2002, SEC.3; P.L.238-2005, SEC.19;P.L.61-2008, SEC.13.
IC 30-4-1-3
Application and interpretation of rules of law and terms of trust
Sec. 3. (Application and Interpretation of the Rules of Law andthe Terms of the Trust)
The rules of law contained in this article shall be interpreted andapplied to the terms of the trust so as to implement the intent of thesettlor and the purposes of the trust. If the rules of law and the terms
of the trust conflict, the terms of the trust shall control unless therules of law clearly prohibit or restrict the article which the terms ofthe trust purport to authorize.
(Formerly: Acts 1971, P.L.416, SEC.2.)
IC 30-4-1-4
Application of this article with respect to pre-existing trusts
Sec. 4. (Application of the Article with Respect to Pre-ExistingTrusts)
Except as provided elsewhere in this article, the rules of lawcontained in this article shall apply to all trusts created prior toSeptember 2, 1971 unless to do so would:
(1) adversely affect a right given to any beneficiary;
(2) give a right to any beneficiary which he was not intended tohave when the trust was created;
(3) impose a duty or liability on any person which was notintended to be imposed when the trust was created; or
(4) relieve any person from any duty or liability imposed by theterms of the trust or under prior law.
(Formerly: Acts 1971, P.L.416, SEC.2.) As amended by Acts 1982,P.L.171, SEC.117.
IC 30-4-1-5
Construction of pronouns
Sec. 5. (Construction of Pronouns)
A pronoun used in this article may be construed, unless thecontext requires otherwise, without regard to gender or whether theperson or thing to which it refers is animate or inanimate.
(Formerly: Acts 1971, P.L.416, SEC.2.)
IC 30-4-1-6
Construction of singular number
Sec. 6. (Construction of Singular Number)
Any word appearing in the singular number in this article may beconstrued as plural, unless the context requires otherwise.
(Formerly: Acts 1971, P.L.416, SEC.2.)
IC 30-4-1-7
Trust Code Study Commission report
Sec. 7. The report of the Trust Code Study Commission madeaccording to IC 2-5-11 (repealed) may be consulted by the courts todetermine the reasons, purpose and policies of this article, and maybe used as a guide to its construction and application.
(Formerly: Acts 1971, P.L.416, SEC.2.) As amended by P.L.1-2009,SEC.153.
IC 30-4-1-8
Effect of requirement of exercising power of appointment byreference
Sec. 8. If a trust creating a power of appointment expressly
requires that the power be exercised by a reference, an expressreference, or a specific reference to the power or its source, it ispresumed that the settlor's intention, in requiring that the granteeexercise the power by making reference to the particular power or tothe creating instrument, was to prevent an inadvertent exercise of thepower.
As added by P.L.252-2001, SEC.30.
IC 30-4-1-9
Specific indication of power of appointment required
Sec. 9. A trust shall not operate as to the exercise of a power ofappointment, which the settlor may have with respect to any real orpersonal property, unless by its terms the trust specifically indicatesthat the settlor intended to exercise the power.
As added by P.L.252-2001, SEC.31.
IC 30-4-1-10
Distribution under laws of intestate succession when manner notspecified
Sec. 10. If a distribution in favor of "descendants", "issue", or"heirs of the body" does not specify the manner in which the propertyis to be distributed among the class members, the property isdistributed among the class members who are living when thedistribution is to take effect in possession or enjoyment, in suchshares they would receive, under the applicable law of intestatesuccession, as if the designated ancestor had then died intestate,unmarried, and owning the subject matter of the distribution.
As added by P.L.252-2001, SEC.32.
IC 30-4-1-11
Choice of law
Sec. 11. The meaning and legal effect of a distribution under atrust shall be determined by the law of the state selected by thesettlor in the trust, unless the application of that law is contrary to thepublic policy of this state.
As added by P.L.252-2001, SEC.33.
IC 30-4-1-12
Persons born out of wedlock
Sec. 12. In construing a trust making a distribution to a persondescribed by relationship to the settlor or to another person, a personborn out of wedlock shall be considered the child of the person'smother. If the right of a person born out of wedlock to inherit fromthe person's father is established under IC 29-1-2-7, the person shallalso be considered a child of the person's father.
As added by P.L.252-2001, SEC.34.
IC 30-4-1-13
Applicability of constructive trust provisions
Sec. 13. IC 29-1-2-12.1 applies to a trust.As added by P.L.238-2005, SEC.20.