§ 31-47. Testamentary additions to trusts. - North Carolina Statutes

Article 8.

Testamentary Additions toTrusts.

§ 31‑47.  Testamentaryadditions to trusts.

(a)        A will may validlydevise property to:

(1)        The trustee of atrust established before the testator's death by the testator, by the testatorand some other person, or by some other person, including a trust authorized byG.S. 36C‑4‑401.1; or

(2)        The trustee of atrust to be established at the testator's death, if the trust is identified inthe testator's will and its terms are set forth in a written instrument executedbefore or concurrently with the execution of the testator's will, regardless ofthe existence, size, or character of the corpus of the trust during thetestator's lifetime.

The devise is not invalid becausethe trust is amendable or revocable, or because the trust instrument or anyamendment thereto was not executed in the manner required for wills, or becausethe trust was amended after the execution of the testator's will or after thetestator's death. A revocable trust to which property is first transferredunder subdivision (2) of this subsection is an inter vivos trust and not atestamentary trust and, as of the date of the execution of the trustinstrument, is subject to Article 6 of Chapter 36C of the General Statutes.

(b)        Unless thetestator's will provides otherwise, property devised to the trustee of a trustdescribed in subsection (a) of this section is not held under a testamentarytrust of the testator, but it becomes a part of the trust to which it isdevised, and shall be administered and disposed of in accordance with theprovisions of the governing instrument setting forth the terms of the trust,including any amendments thereto made before or after the testator's death.

(c)        Unless thetestator's will provides otherwise, a revocation or termination of the trustbefore the testator's death causes the devise to lapse.

(d)        A devise to a trustshall be construed as a devise to the trustee of that trust.

(e)        For purposes ofthis section, "devise," when used as a noun, means a testamentarydisposition of real or personal property and, when used as a verb, means todispose of real or personal property by will.

(f)         Nothing in thissection alters, amends, or in any manner affects the application of thedoctrine of acts of independent significance. (1955, c. 388; 1957, c. 783, s. 1; 1975, c. 161; 2007‑184,s. 1.)