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Kansas Uniform Trust Code

Kansas was the first state to enact the Uniform Trust Code, a new uniform law which provides a comprehensive model for codifying the law on trusts. The legislation was signed into law by Gov. Bill Graves and became effective in Kansas on January 1, 2003. The code was drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

Kansas Uniform Trust Code

• 2007 SB 58
• 2006 HB 2607
• 2004 H.B. 2556
• 2002 S.B. 297
• Proposed Uniform Trust Code with Comments and Kansas Comments

Trusts are used to transfer property to beneficiaries without probate and, in some cases, to reduce adverse tax consequences. The use of trusts, both in family estate planning and commercial transactions, has increased in recent years. This has resulted in a corresponding rise in the number of day-to-day questions involving trusts and the recognition that trust law in many states is quite thin.

The code is a default statute and contains basic default rules that govern voluntary trusts. The code contains provisions on the creation of trusts, representation, day-to-day administration, and their modification and termination. With only limited exceptions, anyone who creates a trust may spell out how the trust is to be administered and distributed. The exceptions include the requirements for creating a trust, the duty of a trustee to act in good faith, and the requirement that a trust and its terms be for the benefit of its beneficiaries.