Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A beneficiary who on the date qualification is determined is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal. The category also reaches those who would become distributees or permissible distributees if the interests of current distributees ended on that date without terminating the trust or if the trust itself terminated on that date.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
2
Discretionary Trust Notices
Martin transferred securities to Apex Bank as trustee with discretion to distribute income and principal to his spouse Lena for life and remainder to adult children Diego and Carla. Apex plans early termination and must identify recipients of statutory notices. Lena qualifies because she is a current permissible distributee. Diego and Carla also qualify because they would receive the principal if Lena's interest ended today without ending the trust. Their minor grandchildren do not qualify because they would receive nothing under either termination assumption while Diego and Carla remain alive.
Trustee Removal Petition
Davis petitioned to remove a Missouri bank as trustee and transfer assets to a Delaware trust company. The petition named only Davis and his two children as parties. The court held that remote remainder beneficiaries need not be joined because only qualified beneficiaries must consent. Davis and the children were the permissible distributees who would receive the property if the trust terminated on the petition date, satisfying the qualified-beneficiary requirement.
Put it into practice
Test Yourself
9
Practice Questions5
· 8 primary sources
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Uniform Acts
Casebooks
Hornbooks
Course Outlines
Study Supplements
In re Betty G. Weldon Revocable Trust231 S.W.3d 158 (Mo.App.W.D.2007)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
4
Which beneficiaries receive trustee reports and notices under the Uniform Trust Code?+
A trustee must send annual reports and other required notices to qualified beneficiaries. The statute limits this duty to current distributees or permissible distributees, those who would step into their shoes if their interests ended today without terminating the trust, and those who would take if the trust terminated today.
Supporting sources
Do remote contingent remainder beneficiaries qualify as qualified beneficiaries?+
No. Only those who would actually receive distributions under the three statutory scenarios on the determination date qualify. Grandchildren or charities that would take only after multiple deaths or other contingencies do not qualify when living permissible distributees remain.
Supporting sources
Can a person become a qualified beneficiary through discretionary language that names a class?+
Yes. A current junior analyst fell within a class of permissible distributees when the trust authorized distributions to any junior analyst the trustee found promising. That status made the analyst a qualified beneficiary even though the interest was discretionary and contingent on trustee judgment.
Supporting sources
Must a trustee obtain consent from all possible future takers to modify or terminate a trust?+
No. The Uniform Trust Code requires consent only from qualified beneficiaries. Remote remainder beneficiaries who would not receive property if the trust terminated today are excluded from the consent requirement.
Supporting sources
Trusts and Estates Trusts and Future InterestsTrusts · Protective trustsUBEFoundational