National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws

211 E. Ontario St., Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60611
tel 312-915-0195, fax 312-915-0187

For Immediate Release

ABA APPROVES THREE UNIFORM ACTS
New Act on Trust Law Among Acts Approved

February 22, 2001 - A new uniform state law which provides a comprehensive model for codifying the law on trusts was one of three uniform acts approved by the American Bar Association's House of Delegates at its Midyear Meeting in San Diego, California, February 14-20.

The Uniform Trust Code (UTC), drafted and approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) in 2000, is the first effort to codify the law of trusts in the history of the United States. The UTC contains provisions on the creation of trusts, their day-to-day administration, and their modification and termination. Included are such matters as the procedures for transferring administration to another state, the appointment, resignation, removal and compensation of a trustee, and the duties and management powers of a trustee. The UTC is a default act. With only limited exceptions, the trust's written terms spell out how the trust is to be administered and distributed.

Also approved was a revision to the Uniform Arbitration Act of 1955, currently the law in 49 states. The new Uniform Arbitration Act, approved by NCCUSL in 2000, continues the basic rule of its predecessor that agreements to arbitrate before a dispute arises are permissible. It also addresses issues the 1955 Act did not cover, such as consolidation of separate arbitration proceedings, and arbitrator immunity.

Amendments to the Uniform Rules of Evidence were also approved by the ABA. The primary purpose of the Uniform Rules is to simplify and codify the rules pertaining to what may be introduced in evidence in any civil or criminal trial in a state court of law. The Uniform Rules not only provide uniformity of law between the states, but also unity of law between state and federal courts. The amendments were approved by NCCUSL in 1999.

Each act is available for introduction and adoption by all the states. The ABA is customarily asked to endorse uniform acts promulgated by the NCCUSL.