O.C.G.A. § 53-12-241 (2019)

Annotations

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Trustee’s powers did not entitle trustee to ignore purpose of trust or commit waste. - Trial court erred in concluding that a widow’s considerable powers of control over two trusts entitled her to summary judgment on two of the children’s/beneficiaries’ claims against the trust created for the purpose of supporting them during their lifetimes; she was required to diligently and in good faith ascertain whether they required support, and her powers over the assets did not entitle her to commit waste. Peterson v. Peterson, 303 Ga. 211, 811 S.E.2d 309 (2018). Breach of trust properly found. - Trial court correctly ruled that a trustee breached the trustee’s duty to faithfully administer a marital trust, and the trustee’s alleged reliance on professional advice would not shield the trustee from potential liability for such breach of trust be-

cause under the plain language of the will, the trustee overreached the narrowly-tailored power to encroach upon the principal of the trust only for purposes related to the widow’s welfare, not for a gift to a university. Hasty v. Castleberry, 293 Ga. 727, 749 S.E.2d 676 (2013). Jury question as to whether duty breached. - Jury question was presented as to whether two trustees of their children’s trusts acted against the interests of the beneficiaries (their children) in bad faith by amending a partnership agreement to concentrate all voting power in themselves to the exclusion of the beneficiaries, who otherwise would have become partners when they turned 45. Likewise, the trustees as partners owed duties to the trusts as partners in the partnership. Rollins v. Rollins, 338 Ga. App. 308, 790 S.E.2d 157 (2016).