iThe Wisconsin legislature adopted the Wisconsin Trust Code ("WTC"), the provisions of which take effect on July 1, 2014. The WTC significantly modifies Wisconsin law regarding both existing and new Trusts. Many of the provisions of the WTC are default provisions that may be overridden in a Trust Agreement. Some of the most significant changes to Wisconsin law under the WTC include:
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Statutory provisions regarding Trust Protectors and Directed Trustees;
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Additional options for modification of irrevocable Trusts, including decanting;
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Expansion of the concept of virtual representation;
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Revision of the requirement for Trustees of testamentary Trusts to provide annual accountings to a court; and
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Modification of the responsibility of a Trustee of a life insurance Trust regarding monitoring the viability of the life insurance policy held by the Trust.
In addition, the WTC expands the notice requirements to Trust beneficiaries. Like many other provisions in the WTC, a majority of the notice provisions may be overridden by the terms of a Trust Agreement. All existing Trust Agreements drafted by Godfrey & Kahn grant the Trustee discretion to provide accountings to Trust beneficiaries under the presumption that the Grantor(s) prefer that the Trustee maintain this discretion rather than mandate that the accountings be disclosed in all instances. You may wish to confirm your intentions regarding the notice requirements in an Amendment to your Trust Agreement.
