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Uniform trust laws in the United States

Four Uniform Law Commission trust law resources each have their own document listings and access instructions.

What the Uniform Law Commission does

The Uniform Law Commission supplies legislative texts to states. Its work focuses on state statutory law.[1]

ULC abbreviates Uniform Law Commission. National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws is another name for the same body.[1][2]

The four uniform acts

Four trust-related uniform acts come from the Uniform Law Commission: the Uniform Trust Code, the Uniform Directed Trust Act, the Uniform Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities, and the Uniform Powers of Appointment Act.

The Uniform Trust Code resource

The Uniform Trust Code is a model act that covers how trusts are created and administered and sets out trustee duties; states may adopt it in whole or in part.

The Uniform Directed Trust Act resource

For trusts in which a person other than the trustee holds a power to direct certain trust matters, the model act is the Uniform Directed Trust Act.

The perpetuities and appointment resources

The Uniform Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities is a model act on how long property interests may remain contingent, and the Uniform Powers of Appointment Act is a model act on how a power of appointment is created and how it is exercised or released.

Related reading

Governing law and recognition are covered in The Hague Trusts Convention explained. U.S. trust classification is covered in The court and control tests for foreign trusts and in How the IRS classifies trusts for U.S. tax purposes. Trust roles are introduced in Trust parties and roles.

Questions and answers

What does ULC mean in these resources?

ULC is the short form of the Uniform Law Commission.[1]

What subjects do the four uniform acts address?

They address trust creation and administration (Uniform Trust Code), directed trusts (Uniform Directed Trust Act), perpetuities (Uniform Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities) and powers of appointment (Uniform Powers of Appointment Act).[1][2][3][4]

Sources and data notes
  1. Uniform Law Commission, Uniform Trust Code. https://www.uniformlaws.org/viewdocument/final-act-132?CommunityKey=193ff839-7955-4846-8f3c-ce74ac23938d. Retrieved .
  2. Uniform Law Commission, Uniform Directed Trust Act. https://www.uniformlaws.org/viewdocument/final-act-50?CommunityKey=ca4d8a5a-55d7-4c43-b494-5f8858885dd8. Retrieved .
  3. Uniform Law Commission, Uniform Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities. https://www.uniformlaws.org/viewdocument/final-act-124?CommunityKey=addf3263-af92-4421-a83c-2ef7bc9a1b94. Retrieved .
  4. Uniform Law Commission, Uniform Powers of Appointment Act. https://www.uniformlaws.org/viewdocument/final-act-100?CommunityKey=70faefab-5c3d-4146-a51b-9b0a5b1f490d&tab=librarydocuments. Retrieved .

Dates in this block record when each source was read for this page.