NC General Statutes

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 32-71 (2026)

Investment; prudent person rule

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(a) In acquiring, investing, reinvesting, exchanging, retaining, selling, and managing property for the benefit of another, a fiduciary shall observe the standard of judgment and care under the circumstances then prevailing, which an ordinarily prudent person of discretion and intelligence, who is a fiduciary of the property of others, would observe as such fiduciary; and if the fiduciary has special skills or is named a fiduciary on the basis of representations of special skills or expertise, he is under a duty to use those skills. This subsection and subsection (b) of this section do not apply to trusts governed by Article 9 of Chapter 36C of the General Statutes.

(b) Within the limitations of the foregoing standard, a fiduciary is authorized to acquire and retain every kind of property and every kind of investment, including specifically, but without in any way limiting the generality of the foregoing, bonds, debentures, and other corporate or governmental obligations; stocks, preferred or common; real estate mortgages; shares in building and loan associations or savings and loan associations; annual premium or single premium life, endowment, or annuity contracts; and securities of any management type investment company or investment trust registered under the Federal Investment Company Act of 1940, as from time to time amended.

(c),(d) Repealed by Session Laws 2007-106, s. 43, effective October 1, 2007. (1870-1, c. 197; Code, s. 1594; 1885, c. 389; 1889, c. 470; Rev., ss. 1792, 1793; 1917, c. 6, s. 9; c. 67, s. 1; c. 152, s. 7; c. 191, s. 1; c. 269, s. 5; C.S., ss. 4018, 4018(a), 4019; Ex. Sess. 1921, c. 63; 1931, c. 257; 1933, c. 549, s. 1; 1935, c. 449; 1937, c. 14; 1943, c. 96; c. 473, ss. 1-3; 1945, c. 713; 1953, c. 620; 1959, c. 364, s. 2; c. 1015, s. 2; 1969, c. 861; 1971, c. 528, s. 34; c. 864, s. 17; 1973, c. 239, s. 1; 1975, cc. 40, 319; 1977, c. 502, s. 2; 1995, c. 153, s. 1; 1999-215, s. 2; 2005-192, s. 1; 2006-259, s. 13(o); 2007-106, s. 43.)

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases, 2002–2017 · leading case: Union ex rel. Maxwell v. Branch Banking & Trust Co., 627 S.E.2d 276 (N.C. Ct. App. 2006).
Union ex rel. Maxwell v. Branch Banking & Trust Co., 627 S.E.2d 276 (N.C. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 6× “N.C. Gen. Stat. § 32-71 (a) (2005) (recodified from N.”
In re Est. of Skinner, 804 S.E.2d 449 (N.C. 2017). · cites it 2× “§ 32-71(a) (2015). While “the terms of the trust, in conjunction with the North Carolina Uniform Trust Code, govern[ ] the duties and powers of a trustee,” id.”
Showcase Realty & Constr. Co. v. City of Fayetteville Bd. of Adjustment, 573 S.E.2d 737 (N.C. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 6× “’ ” In granting a variance, the Board must make findings based on sufficient and competent evidence that comply with each of the requirements of the Code of City of Fayetteville § 32-71(2). The first term found in section 32-71(2) requires that the applicant suffer “practical…”
Heinitsh v. Wachovia Bank, 665 S.E.2d 541 (N.C. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “]" N.C. Gen.Stat. § 32-71 (2007). More specifically, "[a] trustee shall invest and manage trust assets as a prudent investor would, by considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust.”
Heinitsh v. Wachovia Bank, 192 N.C. App. 570 (N.C. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “]” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 32-71 (2007). More specifically, “[a] trustee shall invest and manage trust assets as a prudent investor would, by considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust.”
Heinitsh v. Wachovia Bank, 2007 NCBC 19 (N.C. Bus. Ct. 2007). · cites it 2× “N.C. Gen. Stat. § 32-71 (a). More specifically, “[a] trustee shall invest and manage trust assets as a prudent investor would, by considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust.”
In re Amendment & Restatement of Revocable Living Trust of Alfred J. Berget dated February 15, 2005., No. A13-2295 (Minn. Ct. App. Dec. 8, 2014). “2014); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 32-71 (b) (2013); Ohio Rev.”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 32-71(2): 1 case
Showcase Realty & Constr. Co. v. City of Fayetteville Bd. of Adjustment, 573 S.E.2d 737 (N.C. Ct. App. 2002). “’ ” In granting a variance, the Board must make findings based on sufficient and competent evidence that comply with each of the requirements of the Code of City of Fayetteville § 32-71(2). The first term found in section 32-71(2) requires that the applicant suffer “practical…”
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 32-71(a): 2 cases
In re Est. of Skinner, 804 S.E.2d 449 (N.C. 2017). “§ 32-71(a) (2015). While “the terms of the trust, in conjunction with the North Carolina Uniform Trust Code, govern[ ] the duties and powers of a trustee,” id.”
Showcase Realty & Constr. Co. v. City of Fayetteville Bd. of Adjustment, 573 S.E.2d 737 (N.C. Ct. App. 2002). “’ ” In granting a variance, the Board must make findings based on sufficient and competent evidence that comply with each of the requirements of the Code of City of Fayetteville § 32-71(2). The first term found in section 32-71(2) requires that the applicant suffer “practical…”
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