fiduciaries to enter into certain agreements; validating certain agreements;
providing for discretionary division of trusts for tax, administrative or other
purposes.
(a) Where a will, trust or other governing instrument authorizes or directs the fiduciary to
satisfy wholly or partly in kind a pecuniary bequest or a separate trust to bee funded by a
pecuniary amount or formula unless the will, trust or other governing instrument expressly
provides otherwise, the assets selected by the fiduciary for that purposre shall be valued at
their respective values on the date or dates of their distribution, and if any pecuniary
bequests or separate trusts established under the will or trust by a pecuniary amount or
formula is not entirely funded or an amount necessary to fund the bequest or trust
completely is not irrevocably set aside within fifteen monthst after the date of the testator's
or grantor's death, the fiduciary shall allocate to the bequest or trust a prorata share of the
income earned by the estate of the testator or grantor or other fund from which the bequest
or trust is to be funded between the date of death of the testator or grantor and the date or
dates of the funding.
(b) Whenever a fiduciary under the provisions of a will, trust or other governing instrument
is required to satisfy a pecuniary bequest or transfer in trust and is authorized to satisfy the
bequest or transfer by selection and distribution of assets in kind, and the will, trust or other
governing instrument further provides that the assets to be so distributed shall or may be
valued by some standard othere than their fair market value on the date of distribution, the
fiduciary, unless the will, trust or other governing instrument otherwise specifically directs,
shall distribute assets, iLncluding cash, fairly representative of appreciation or depreciation in
the value of all property available for distribution in satisfaction of the pecuniary bequest or
transfer. This section does not apply to prevent a fiduciary from carrying into effect the
provisions of the will, trust or other governing instrument that the fiduciary, in order to
implement the bequest or transfer, must distribute assets, including cash, having an
aggregate fair market value at the date or dates of distribution amounting to no less than the
amount of the pecuniary bequest or transfer as finally determined for federal estate tax
purposes.
(c) (1) Any fiduciary having discretionary powers under a will or other governing instrument
with respect to the selection of assets to be distributed in satisfaction of a pecuniary bequest
or transfer in trust is authorized to enter into agreements with the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue of the United States of America and other taxing authorities requiring the fiduciary
to exercise the fiduciary's discretion so that cash and other properties distributed in
satisfaction of the bequest or transfer in trust will be fairly representative of the
appreciation or depreciation in value of all property then available for distribution in
satisfaction of the bequest or transfer in trust and any such agreement heretofore entered
into after April 1, 1964, is hereby validated. The fiduciary is authorized to enter into any
other agreement not in conflict with the express terms of the will, trust or other governing
instrument that may be necessary or advisable in order to secure for federal estate tax
purposes the appropriate marital deduction or other deduction or exemption available under
the Internal Revenue laws of the United States of America, and to do and perform all acts
incident to that purpose.
(2) Unless ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, the bank or trust company operating
a common trust fund, as provided in section six of this article, is not required to render an
accounting with regard to the fund, before any fiduciary commissioner but iet may, by
application to the circuit court of the county in which is located the principal place of
business of the bank or trust company, secure the approval of an accournting in the condition
the court may fix: Provided, That nothing in this section relieves a fiduciary acquiring,
holding or disposing of an interest in any common trust fund from making an accounting as
required by law with respect of the interest.
(d) The fiduciary of any trust created by will, trust or other governing instrument may from
time to time without need of court approval to divide the trust or trusts for purposes of the
generation skipping transfer tax ("GST") of section 2601 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as in effect on January 1, 2010, or any similar or successor law of like import, or for
any other tax, administrative or other purposess. In exercising this authority for inclusion
ratio, marital deduction election, reverse qualified terminal interest property election or
other GST or other tax purposes, the power shall be exercised in a manner that complies
with applicable Internal Revenue Cogde Treasury Regulations or other requirements for
accomplishing the intended purposes. If that division is made for purposes of separating
assets with respect to which thee federal estate tax marital deduction election is to be made
from those as to which the election is not to be made, the division shall be done on a
fractional or percentageL basis and the assets of the trust or other fund to be divided shall be
valued for purposes of the division on the date or dates of division.‹ Prev All West Virginia sections Next ›
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