Trust Decanting Requirements in District of Columbia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The District permits distribution or modification

D.C. Code § 19-1902 defines decanting as distributing first-trust property to one or more second trusts or modifying the first trust. A modified first trust counts as a second trust. Section 19-1904 keeps the exercise inside fiduciary duties and the first trust's purposes but creates no duty to decant.

Older trusts qualify when the trust has the required District connection

Under §§ 19-1903 and 19-1905, the first trust must be an express irrevocable or consent-revocable trust and have its principal administration in the District or the specified District-law designation. The statute applies to trusts created before, on, or after March 7, 2025. A solely charitable trust is excluded. D.C. Code § 19-1915 honors express decanting limits but not a generic spendthrift or no-amendment clause.

A nonsettlor fiduciary ordinarily needs principal discretion

Section 19-1902(3) reaches a trustee or other nonsettlor fiduciary with power to distribute or direct distribution of principal to current beneficiaries, a court-appointed special fiduciary, or a special-needs fiduciary. Section 19-1913 lets the special-needs branch step down from principal discretion to income discretion and finally to mandatory income or principal authority when no higher power exists.

Expanded, limited, and special-needs powers differ

D.C. Code § 19-1911 uses expanded discretion not limited by an ascertainable or reasonably definite standard. Section 19-1912's limited branch requires all second trusts together to preserve substantially similar beneficial interests. Section 19-1913 permits the disability-benefit route to use expanded treatment for a qualifying special-needs trust. Section 19-1921 confirms that a present need or compelled distribution is unnecessary.

Expanded discretion remains subject to beneficiary limits

The expanded route cannot add people to the corresponding current, presumptive- remainder, or successor tiers or reduce a vested interest. It may retain, omit, create, or modify appointment powers within the stated rules and may use a broader appointee class. The special-needs exception can alter the disabled beneficiary's protected interest while preserving substantially similar interests for other beneficiaries.

Second trusts may cross borders and change duration

Sections 19-1911 and 19-1912 permit a second trust under another jurisdiction's law and permit a partial exercise. Section 19-1920 allows a different duration, but attributable property remains subject to the first trust's maximum- perpetuity, accumulation, and alienation-suspension rules.

The Code carries detailed charitable, tax, and fiduciary safeguards

Sections 19-1913 through 19-1919 protect special-needs and charitable interests, specified compensation and removal powers, aggregate fiduciary liability, and marital, charitable, gift, S-corporation, GST, retirement, grantor, and stated tax benefits. The Attorney General receives qualified-beneficiary rights for a determinable charitable interest.

Notice is mandatory, but consent ordinarily is not

D.C. Code § 19-1907 requires a record notice at least 60 days before exercise to the living or existing settlor, qualified beneficiaries, current appointment and removal-right holders, first- and second-trust fiduciaries, and sometimes the Attorney General. The notice gives the manner and date and includes the first and all second instruments. All recipients may waive the period in signed records. Representation under § 19-1908 works for notice and waiver, but a settlor cannot represent a beneficiary.

A signed record exercises the power; courts and saving remain available

Section 19-1910 requires the fiduciary's signed record to identify the trusts and property allocated to each second trust and retained in the first. It states no acknowledgment, notarization, or public filing. Section 19-1909 makes court instructions, approval, special-fiduciary appointment, review, and relief available without making approval universal. Reasonable-care notice and § 19-1922's void/deemed-included saving rules prevent some defects from defeating the exercise; § 19-1906 separately protects reasonable reliance.

What trips people up

• The 60-day notice is not a consent request, and waiver or expiration does not eliminate the right to seek statutory court review.
• The limited branch requires substantially similar aggregate interests, not identical words in each second trust.
• A signed record is required, but the Code does not add a notary acknowledgment.

Common questions

May the fiduciary act without a present distribution need?

Yes. Section 19-1921 says a present discretionary distribution need not have been made or compelled.

Can a second trust last longer?

Yes, but § 19-1920 carries forward any maximum-perpetuity, accumulation, or alienation-suspension rules applicable to the first-trust property.

Is court approval mandatory?

No. Section 19-1907 permits compliant exercise without consent or court approval, while § 19-1909 preserves optional instructions, approval, review, and special-fiduciary relief.

Statutes and sources

• D.C. Code §§ 19-1901 to -1929 — the complete Uniform Trust Decanting Code. D.C. Law Library (accessed 2026-09-19).