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Perhaps you felt the granite move? On July 26, 2024, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed Senate Bill 435 (2024 Chapter Law 292) into law, and its provisions became effective as of September 24, 2024. While maybe not tectonic, the law made several improvements in New Hampshire’s Trust Code and related statutes, demonstrating once again why the Granite State is at the front of the pack when it comes to beneficial jurisdictions for trust administration.
The New Hampshire Trust Council,1 after receiving input from New Hampshire practitioners and other trust industry professionals over several months, drafted and proposed legislative changes intended to increase flexibility for trust practitioners, remove potential tax treatment uncertainty, clarify certain trustee obligations and otherwise streamline and make New Hampshire’s trust laws more accessible and user friendly. Following legislative sponsorship, thorough vetting, public hearings and debate, the legislation made its way to the Governor’s desk. The role of the New Hampshire Trust Council in this process represents a true strength of New Hampshire as a trust situs. Its activity, outreach, collaboration and thoughtful analysis helps maintain and improve New Hampshire’s progressive trust laws.
Expanded Planning Tools. The newly adopted changes revise the New Hampshire Uniform Principle and Income Act (“NHUPIA”) and now provide not only for unitrust conversions, but also for the creation of an express unitrust. See RSA 564-C:1-106 (revised), 1-107 (newly adopted).In addition to this expansion, changes to the NHUPIA create consistency in the unitrust amount at 3% to 5%, and more certainty concerning federal tax treatment.
Clarity Concerning Trustee and Excluded Fiduciary Duties. Within the New Hampshire Trust Code, the revisions clarify and provide limitations on a trustee’s duty to redress a breach by a co-trustee or a former trustee, former trust advisor or former trust protector. See RSA 564-B:7-703,8-812. The revisions also refine, further delineate and limit the duty of an excluded fiduciary (e.g., a directed fiduciary) to review the actions of other fiduciaries. See RSA 564-B:12-1204. These changes provide acting and successor trustees with more certainty concerning the parameters of their duties, and also facilitate the creation and administration of directed trusts.
Improve Accessibility and Use. Additional changes include a streamlining of provisions by, among other things, repealing RSA 564-A, Certain Provisions Regarding Trusts, and integrating those provisions within the New Hampshire Trust Code. See, e.g., RSA564-B: 8-816-a, 8-817. These changes make the New Hampshire trust statutes easier to use by consolidating like provisions and making related statutory concepts easier to locate.
As these most recent statutory updates demonstrate, New Hampshire is a state always on the move. The legislature, the New Hampshire Trust Council and the trust industry at large will continue to assess and work to improve New Hampshire’s trust statutes. New Hampshire is committed to remaining a leader as a trust situs and elevating the administration of trusts for settlors, beneficiaries and fiduciaries alike.
1 The New Hampshire Trust Counsel is an industry forum that supports and promotes New Hampshire’s trust services sector by, among other things, working to improve the statutory, regulatory, and judicial landscape for trusts and trust companies. Its membership includes trust companies, law firms and other industry leaders who are dedicated to fostering the growth of this important part of the state’s economy. https://nhtrustcouncil.com/. Market Street Trust Company is a member of the New Hampshire Trust Council and participates in its legislative committee.
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