72-40-102. Definitions. In this part, the following definitions apply:

Ask a will, trust or estate question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified estate & trust lawyers.
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Montana Code 72-40-102

  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.

(1)”Breach of trust” includes a violation by a trust director or trustee of a duty imposed on that director or trustee by the terms of the trust, this part, or law of this state other than this part pertaining to trusts.

(2)”Directed trust” means a trust for which the terms of the trust grant a power of direction.

(3)”Directed trustee” means a trustee that is subject to a trust director’s power of direction.

(4)”Person” has the meaning in 72-38-103.

(5)”Power of direction” means a power over a trust granted to a person by the terms of the trust to the extent the power is exercisable while the person is not serving as a trustee. The term includes a power over the investment, management, or distribution of trust property or other matters of trust administration. The term excludes the powers described in 72-40-105(2).

(6)”Settlor” has the meaning in 72-38-103.

(7)”State” has the meaning in 72-38-103.

(8)”Terms of a trust” means:

(a)except as otherwise provided in subsection (8)(b), the manifestation of the settlor’s intent regarding a trust’s provision as:

(i)expressed in the trust instrument; or

(ii)established by other evidence that would be admissible in a judicial proceeding; or

(b)the trust’s provisions as established, determined, or amended by:

(i)a trustee or trust director in accordance with applicable law;

(ii)court order; or

(iii)a nonjudicial settlement agreement under 72-38-111.

(9)”Trust director” means a person that is granted a power of direction by the terms of a trust to the extent the power is exercisable while the person is not serving as a trustee. The person is a trust director whether or not the terms of the trust refer to the person as a trust director and whether or not the person is a beneficiary or settlor of the trust.

(10)”Trustee” has the meaning in 72-38-103.