TITLE 15

UNIFORM PROBATE CODE

CHAPTER 8

TRUST AND ESTATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION ACT

PART 1.

PURPOSE, POWERS OF COURTS AND DEFINITIONS

15-8-103.  Definitions. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1)  "Matter" includes any issue, question or dispute involving:

(a)  The determination of any class of creditors, devisees, legatees, heirs, next of kin, or other persons interested in an estate, trust, nonprobate asset, or with respect to any other asset or property interest passing at death;

(b)  The direction of a personal representative or trustee to do or to abstain from doing any act in a fiduciary capacity;

(c)  The determination of any question arising in the administration of an estate or trust, or with respect to any nonprobate asset, or with respect to any other asset or property interest passing at death, that may include, without limitation, questions relating to:

(i)   The construction of wills, trusts, devolution agreements, and other writings;

(ii)  A change of personal representative or trustee;

(iii) A change of the situs of a trust;

(iv)  An accounting from a personal representative or trustee; or

(v)   The determination of fees for a personal representative or trustee;

(d)  The grant to a personal representative or trustee of any necessary or desirable power not otherwise granted in the governing instrument or given by law;

(e)  The amendment, reformation, or conformation of a will or a trust instrument to comply with statutes and regulations of the United States internal revenue service in order to more efficiently allocate exemptions or to achieve qualification for deductions, elections, and other tax requirements including, but not limited to, the qualification of any gift thereunder for the benefit of a surviving spouse who is not a citizen of the United States for the estate tax marital deduction permitted by federal law, including the addition of mandatory governing instrument requirements for a qualified domestic trust under section 2056A of the Internal Revenue Code, the qualification of any gift thereunder as a qualified conservation easement as permitted by federal law, or the qualification of any gift for the charitable estate tax deduction permitted by federal law, including the addition of mandatory governing instrument requirements for a charitable remainder trust; and

(f)  With respect to any nonprobate asset, or with respect to any other asset or property interest passing at death, including actual joint tenancy property, property subject to a devolution agreement, or assets subject to a pay on death or transfer on death designation:

(i)   The ascertaining of any class of creditors or others for purposes of section 15-6-107, Idaho Code;

(ii)  The ordering of a custodian of any of the decedent’s records relating to a nonprobate asset to do or abstain from doing any particular act with respect to those records;

(iii) The determination of any question arising in the administration of a nonprobate asset under section 15-6-107, Idaho Code;

(iv)  The determination of any questions relating to the abatement, rights of creditors, or other matter relating to the administration, settlement, or final disposition of a nonprobate asset under title 15, Idaho Code; and

(v)   The resolution of any matter referencing this chapter, including a determination of any questions relating to the ownership or distribution of an individual retirement account on the death of the spouse of the account holder as contemplated by section 11-604A(6), Idaho Code;

(g)  The resolution of any other matter that could affect the nonprobate asset.

(2)  "Nonprobate assets" means assets that are covered by chapter 6, title 15, Idaho Code.

(3)  "Party" or "parties" means each of the following persons who has an interest in the subject of the particular proceeding and whose name and address are known to, or are reasonably ascertainable by, the petitioner:

(a)  The trustor if living;

(b)  The trustee;

(c)  The personal representative;

(d)  An heir;

(e)  A beneficiary, including devisees, legatees, and trust beneficiaries;

(f)  The surviving spouse of a decedent with respect to his or her interest in the decedent’s property;

(g)  A guardian ad litem;

(h)  A creditor;

(i)  Any other person who has an interest in the subject of the particular proceeding;

(j)  The attorney general if required under section 67-1401(5), Idaho Code;

(k)  Any duly appointed and acting legal representative of a party such as a guardian, conservator, special representative, or attorney in fact;

(l)  Where applicable, the virtual representative of any person described in this subsection (3), the giving of notice to whom would meet notice requirements as provided in section 15-8-204, Idaho Code; and

(m)  The owner or the personal representative of the estate of the deceased owner of the nonprobate asset that is the subject of the particular proceeding, if the subject of the particular proceeding relates to the beneficiary’s liability to a decedent’s estate or creditors under section 15-6-107, Idaho Code.

(4)  "Persons interested in the estate or trust" means the trustor, if living, all persons beneficially interested in the estate or trust, persons holding powers over the trust or estate assets, the attorney general in the case of any charitable trust where the attorney general would be a necessary party to judicial proceedings concerning the trust, and any personal representative or trustee of the estate or trust.

(5)  "Representative" and other similar terms refer to a person who virtually represents another person under section 15-8-205, Idaho Code.

(6)  "Trustee" means any acting and qualified trustee of the trust.

History:

[15-8-103, added 2005, ch. 122, sec. 1, p. 398; am. 2007, ch. 341, sec. 1, p. 1000.]