The bill SB 435 proposes amendments to the New Hampshire Trust Code to streamline the unitrust statute, clarify the duties of trustees and fiduciaries, and address environmental concerns related to trust property. It redefines "net income" for unitrusts by removing the specific percentage range for determining net income and consolidates the statute into one title. The bill introduces a new section, RSA 564-C:1-107, which outlines the creation and operation of a "total return unitrust," setting the unitrust amount to a fixed percentage between 3 and 5 percent of the trust's fair market value. It also amends existing sections to clarify the duties of trustees in addressing breaches of trust and specifies that an excluded fiduciary has no duty to monitor or advise unless explicitly required. Insertions and deletions in the bill update legal language and remove redundancies.

Additionally, SB 435 imposes new duties on excluded fiduciaries to take reasonable steps to address serious breaches of trust and specifies that the New Hampshire Trust Code applies to express trusts, including special needs trusts, but not to certain other arrangements. It restricts trustees who are beneficiaries from making discretionary distributions that could benefit themselves, except under specific circumstances, and empowers fiduciaries to manage environmental issues on trust property. The bill also allows fiduciaries to charge the cost of environmental actions against the trust and protects them from individual liability for actions taken with governmental approval or for managing environmental issues prudently. Lastly, the bill updates references from RSA 564-A to RSA 564-B, affecting the jurisdiction of courts over trusts, and repeals RSA 564-A. The effective date of the act is 60 days after its passage, with an approval date of July 26, 2024, and an effective date of September 24, 2024.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 564-C:1-102, 564-C:1-106, 564-C:1, 564-B:8-812, 564-B:12-1204, 564-B:7-703, 564-B:1-103, 564-B:2-203, 564-B:8-815, 564-B:10-1013, 564-B:8-816, 564:9, 563-B:3, 547:3, 498:1
As Amended by the Senate: 564-C:1-102, 564-C:1-106, 564-C:1, 564-B:8-812, 564-B:12-1204, 564-B:7-703, 564-B:1-103, 564-B:2-203, 564-B:8-815, 564-B:10-1013, 564-B:8-816, 564:9, 563-B:3, 547:3, 498:1
As Amended by the House: 564-C:1-102, 564-C:1-106, 564-C:1, 564-B:8-812, 564-B:12-1204, 564-B:7-703, 564-B:1-102, 564-B:2-203, 564-B:8-815, 564-B:10-1013, 564-B:8-816, 564:9, 563-B:3, 547:3, 498:1
Version adopted by both bodies: 564-C:1-102, 564-C:1-106, 564-C:1, 564-B:8-812, 564-B:12-1204, 564-B:7-703, 564-B:1-102, 564-B:2-203, 564-B:8-815, 564-B:10-1013, 564-B:8-816, 564:9, 563-B:3, 547:3, 498:1
CHAPTERED FINAL VERSION: 564-C:1-102, 564-C:1-106, 564-C:1, 564-B:8-812, 564-B:12-1204, 564-B:7-703, 564-B:1-102, 564-B:2-203, 564-B:8-815, 564-B:10-1013, 564-B:8-816, 564:9, 563-B:3, 547:3, 498:1