The Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (UPC) will be effective for estates on January 2, 2012; it became effective for guardianship on July 1, 2009. This landmark piece of legislation is something the BBA has worked on and supported for over 20 years. Not only does the UPC improve what was a deplorable situation concerning the appointment and conduct of guardians, but it will simplify the probate process for families and our courts while expediting the process for administering estates. The UPC facilitates the appointments of executors and also provides options for choosing informal or formal procedures to open and close probate matters. All in all, lawyers and the courts are pleased with it.
The Probate and Family Court has been educating its staff on the new law and working diligently to promulgate new forms that will be used when the rest of the UPC is rolled out in January. To supplement their efforts, the BBA will offer a continuing legal education seminar introducing the new estate rules in November to help practitioners navigate the changes.
Now what? The Legislature needs to pass two more bills quickly. The first, S704, contains technical corrections to the UPC. These corrective changes address issues that came to light during the initial implementation and take into account things like missed cross references, typos and other oversights. The second bill, the Massachusetts Uniform Trust Code (MUTC), is a companion piece to the UPC. Since the MUTC repeals most of Article VII of the UPC and replaces it with more current language, it would be advantageous to have all the statutory trust law provisions in the same place in the new MUTC and take effect as scheduled on January 2, 2012.
Like the UPC, the MUTC is a substantial bill that has been well-vetted. It was produced by the Uniform Laws Commission after a five-year drafting period. Then in 2005, an ad hoc committee of lawyers, including members of the BBA, was convened to review the bill in detail. They debated each section of the MUTC and, as a result, what we have is a statute that will simplify and make the trusts laws in Massachusetts more accessible.
Here are just a few reasons that the MUTC should be passed:
- The laws concerning trust will be uniform, comprehensive and easy to find.
- It will make the administration of trusts more uniform among the states.
- It will reduce uncertainty and costly and needless litigation.
- It provides guidance and protection for trustees who, by the terms of the trust, are to take direction from a non trustee.
- It simplifies judicial proceeding regarding non judicial settlement agreements and modification and termination of trusts.
January is less than five months away and, realistically, we are looking at a legislative schedule that at best might enact the bills by late September – not a lot of time to conduct the education and training necessary for a smooth implementation next January. Whatever can be done to facilitate the prompt passage of the MUTC legislation should be done. Adopting the MUTC will move Massachusetts into the 21st century in trust law.
-Kathleen Joyce
Government Relations Director
BostonBar Association
