Colorado § 15-1.5-107 - General duties of custodial trustee.

§ 15-1.5-107. General duties of custodial trustee.

(1) If appropriate, a custodial trustee shall register or record the instrument vesting title to custodial trust property.

(2) If the beneficiary is not incapacitated, a custodial trustee shall follow the directions of the beneficiary in the management, control, investment, or retention of the custodial trust property. In the absence of effective contrary direction by the beneficiary while not incapacitated, or if the beneficiary is incapacitated, the custodial trustee shall observe the standard of care that would be observed by a prudent person dealing with property of another and shall comply with the provisions of the "Colorado Uniform Prudent Investor Act". However, a custodial trustee, in the custodial trustee's discretion, may retain any custodial trust property received from the transferor.

(3) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, a custodial trustee shall take control of and collect, hold, manage, invest, and reinvest custodial trust property.

(4) A custodial trustee at all times shall keep custodial trust property of which the custodial trustee has control, separate from all other property in a manner sufficient to identify it clearly as custodial trust property of the beneficiary. Custodial trust property, the title to which is subject to recordation, is so identified if an appropriate instrument so identifying the property is recorded, and custodial trust property subject to registration is so identified if it is registered, or held in an account in the name of the custodial trustee, designated in substance: "as custodial trustee for (name of beneficiary) under the "Colorado Uniform Custodial Trust Act"".

(5) A custodial trustee shall keep records of all transactions with respect to custodial trust property, including information necessary for the preparation of tax returns, and shall make the records and information available at reasonable times to the beneficiary or legal representative of the beneficiary.

(6) The exercise of a durable power of attorney for an incapacitated beneficiary is not effective to terminate or direct the administration or distribution of a custodial trust.

Source: L. 99: Entire article added, p. 1215, § 1, effective August 4.

Editor's note: Colorado modified the model act by directing that the custodial trustee shall also comply with the provisions of the "Colorado Uniform Prudent Investor Act".

OFFICIAL COMMENT

Subsection (2) restates and confirms the control by the beneficiary who is not incapacitated. However, the trustee has a reasonable obligation to act when the beneficiary has not directed him. Under sections 15-1.5-109 and 15-1.5-110, when a beneficiary becomes incapacitated, the custodial trust becomes a discretionary trust and the trustee is subject to the control of the statute and not the beneficiary's direction. The custodial trustee is subject to the usual trustee's standard as taken from Section 7-302 of the Uniform Probate Code. The statute also imposes a slightly higher standard on professional fiduciaries acting under the statute. Otherwise, much of this section is taken from Section 12 of UTMA. Whenever recordable assets, such as land, are in the custodial trust, the trustee would be expected to record title to the asset. The section is entitled "general duties" because there are additional specific duties identified in other sections such as Section 15-1.5-109.