Alabama § 19-3B-414 - Modification or Termination of Uneconomic Trust.

§ 19-3B-414. Modification or Termination of Uneconomic Trust.

(a) Subject to subsection (e), after notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the trustee of a trust consisting of trust property having a total value less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) may terminate the trust if the trustee concludes that the value of the trust property is insufficient to justify the cost of administration.

(b) The court may modify or terminate a trust or remove the trustee and appoint a different trustee if the court determines that the value of the trust property is insufficient to justify the cost of administration.

(c) Upon termination of a trust under this section, the trustee shall distribute the trust property in a manner consistent with the purposes of the trust.

(d) This section does not apply to an easement for conservation or preservation.

(e)(1) The dollar amount provided in subsection (a) shall apply to any trust consisting of trust property during the 2023 calendar year.

(2)a. Beginning January 1, 2024, the dollar amount described in subsection (a) shall be increased or decreased if the Consumer Price Index (C.P.I.) for the calendar year immediately preceding the year of value determination exceeds or is less than the reference base index.

b. The amount of any increase or decrease shall be computed by multiplying each dollar amount by the percentage by which the C.P.I. for the calendar year immediately preceding the value determination exceeds or is less than the reference base index.

c. If any increase or decrease produced by the computation is not a multiple of one hundred dollars ($100), the increase or decrease shall either be rounded down if there is an increase, or rounded up if there is a decrease, to the next multiple of one hundred dollars ($100).

d. If the C.P.I. for the 2022 calendar year is changed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the reference base index shall be revised using the rebasing factor reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or other comparable data if a rebasing factor is not reported.

e. On or before February 1, 2024, and on or before February 1 of each succeeding calendar year thereafter, the State Treasurer shall publish a cumulative list, beginning with the dollar amounts effective for value determination of a trust consisting of trust property for the 2023 calendar year, of the dollar amount as increased or decreased under this section.

f. As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

1. CONSUMER PRICE INDEX or C.P.I. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or, if the index is discontinued, an equivalent index reported by a federal authority. If no such index is reported, the term means the substitute index chosen by the State Treasurer.

2. REFERENCE BASE INDEX. The C.P.I. for the 2022 calendar year.