Annual Trust Accounting Requirements in North Dakota

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The default duty follows the trust property and power structure

N.D.C.C. § 59-16-13(2)(f) requires reports for irrevocable trust property that is not subject to a withdrawal power or a power to change the qualified beneficiary. The annual and termination report goes automatically to distributees and permissible distributees. Another qualified beneficiary receives it on request.

Section 59-16-13(1) redirects the subsection (2) duties while a trust is revocable or affected property is subject to one of those powers. The duties then run exclusively to the settlor, withdrawal-power holder, or beneficiary-change-power holder, with a separate exception when a qualified beneficiary needs information for Title 50 benefits eligibility.

The North Dakota Uniform Trust Code's scope provision, N.D.C.C. § 59-09-02, reaches express charitable and noncharitable trusts, testamentary and inter vivos trusts, and specified statute- or judgment-created trusts. It lists specialized exclusions such as professional client accounts, escrows, depository accounts, UTMA accounts, voting trusts, security trusts, and resulting or constructive trusts.

Annual, termination, vacancy, and demand triggers are distinct

The recurring report is due “at least annually,” not merely once per calendar year. The same subdivision independently requires a report at trust termination.

When a trusteeship becomes vacant, the former trustee must send a report to the qualified beneficiaries unless a cotrustee remains in office. A personal representative, conservator, or guardian may send the report for a deceased or incapacitated trustee. The separate request route belongs to qualified beneficiaries who are not already distributees or permissible distributees.

The August 1, 2007 exceptions in § 59-16-13(2)(h) name only the acceptance and irrevocability notices in subdivisions (c) and (d). They do not state a legacy exception for the report in subdivision (f).

North Dakota gives the report a concise financial checklist

The report must cover trust property, liabilities, receipts, and disbursements. It must identify the source and amount of trustee compensation and list trust assets, with each asset's market value if feasible.

Section 59-16-13 does not prescribe starting carrying values, principal-versus-income allocation columns, agent schedules, related-party schedules, a final distribution plan, a trustee signature, an oath, or notarization as universal report contents. Those items may be useful or required by a trust or another procedure, but they are not part of this statute's minimum list.

Delivery focuses on likely receipt

N.D.C.C. § 59-09-09 requires a method reasonably suitable under the circumstances and likely to result in receipt. It lists first-class mail, personal delivery, delivery to the last-known residence or business, and a properly directed electronic message. It excuses delivery when the person's identity or location is unknown and not reasonably ascertainable.

The statute does not make certified mail, an adult nonparty server, a proof-of-service declaration, or routine court filing conditions of an ordinary trustee report. Notice to a representative can bind the represented person under N.D.C.C. § 59-11-01 unless the represented person timely objects to the representation.

The duty and the report's legal effect can be modified in different ways

Under N.D.C.C. § 59-09-05, trust terms generally prevail unless a rule appears in the mandatory list. That list does not preserve § 59-16-13's report duty, so the annual, termination, and vacancy rules are defaults subject to the trust terms.

A beneficiary may waive reports or other information and later withdraw the waiver for future reports and information. Section 59-09-09 separately allows the person entitled to a notice or document to waive it. Interested persons also may use a nonjudicial settlement agreement to approve a trustee's report or accounting under N.D.C.C. § 59-09-11, subject to that section's limits.

A report can shorten the claim period, but only with adequate disclosure and notice

N.D.C.C. § 59-18-05 creates a one-year period only when the report adequately discloses the existence of a potential breach claim and the report or an accompanying notice informs the beneficiary of the time allowed to sue. Adequate disclosure means enough information for the beneficiary or representative to know of the potential claim or know to inquire into it.

If that route does not apply, the five-year period runs from the first of the trustee's removal, resignation, or death; termination of the beneficiary's interest; or termination of the trust. This is a deadline to commence a breach proceeding, not a deadline merely to send an informal objection.

N.D.C.C. § 59-18-09 separately protects a trustee when a beneficiary gives informed consent, release, or ratification. The protection does not apply when trustee misconduct induced it or the beneficiary lacked capacity or knowledge of rights or material facts.

Courts have report-specific and breach remedies

N.D.C.C. § 59-18-01 permits a court to compel trustee duties or an account, enjoin or redress a breach, appoint a special fiduciary, suspend or remove the trustee, reduce or deny compensation, address property, or grant other appropriate relief. Under N.D.C.C. § 59-18-02, breach damages are the greater of restoration or the trustee's profit from the breach.

What trips people up

• Current recipients and remote beneficiaries are different. Automatic reports go to distributees and permissible distributees; another qualified beneficiary must request one, and a remote contingent interest not reasonably expected to vest is excluded from the qualified-beneficiary definition in § 59-09-03.
• “If feasible” modifies market values. It does not make the asset list itself optional.
• A report does not automatically start the one-year clock. It needs adequate claim disclosure and the statutory time-limit notice.
• A trust-term change and a beneficiary waiver are separate. One changes the default duty through § 59-09-05; the other belongs to the beneficiary under § 59-16-13(2)(g).

Common questions

Must a North Dakota trustee report to every qualified beneficiary every year?

No. Distributees and permissible distributees receive the annual and termination reports automatically. Other qualified beneficiaries receive a report when they request it.

Is a market value required for every asset?

Only if feasible. The report still lists the assets even when a particular market value is not feasible.

Does a vacancy report disappear if another trustee remains?

Yes. The former trustee's vacancy report is required unless a cotrustee remains in office.

Can the report be sent electronically?

Yes, when the electronic message is properly directed and the method is reasonably suitable and likely to result in receipt under § 59-09-09.

Statutes and sources

• N.D.C.C. §§ 59-09-02, -03, -05, -09, and -11; 59-11-01 — scope, recipient definitions, trust-term control, delivery, waiver, nonjudicial approval, and representation. North Dakota Legislative Council (current official chapter PDF accessed 2026-08-10).
• N.D.C.C. § 59-16-13 — power overlays, recipients, annual, termination, vacancy, and request triggers, contents, values, waiver, and the limited legacy exceptions. North Dakota Legislative Council (current official chapter PDF accessed 2026-08-10).
• N.D.C.C. §§ 59-18-01, -02, -05, and -09 — remedies, damages, one-year and five-year periods, adequate disclosure, consent, release, and ratification. North Dakota Legislative Council (current official chapter PDF accessed 2026-08-10).