South Carolina § 62-7-108 - Principal place of administration.

§ 62-7-108. Principal place of administration.

(a) Unless otherwise designated by the terms of a trust, the principal place of administration of a trust is the trustee's usual place of business where the records pertaining to the trust are kept, or at the trustee's residence if he has no such place of business. In the case of cotrustees, the principal place of administration, if not otherwise designated in the trust instrument, is:

(1) the usual place of business of the corporate trustee if there is but one corporate cotrustee, or

(2) the usual place of business or residence of the individual trustee who is a professional fiduciary if there is but one such person and no corporate cotrustee, and otherwise

(3) the usual place of business or residence of any of the cotrustees as agreed upon by them.

(b) Without precluding other means for establishing a sufficient connection with the designated jurisdiction, terms of a trust designating the principal place of administration are valid and controlling if:

(1) a trustee's principal place of business is located in or a trustee is a resident of the designated jurisdiction; or

(2) all or part of the administration occurs in the designated jurisdiction.

(c) A trustee is under a continuing duty to administer the trust at a place appropriate to its purposes, its administration, and the interests of the beneficiaries.

(d) Without precluding the right of the court to order, approve, or disapprove a transfer, the trustee, in furtherance of the duty prescribed by subsection (c), may transfer the trust's principal place of administration to another State or to a jurisdiction outside of the United States.

(e) Unless otherwise designated in the trust, the trustee shall notify the qualified beneficiaries of a proposed transfer of a trust's principal place of administration not less than ninety days before initiating the transfer. The notice of proposed transfer must include:

(1) the name of the jurisdiction to which the principal place of administration is to be transferred;

(2) the address and telephone number at the new location at which the trustee can be contacted;

(3) an explanation of the reasons for the proposed transfer;

(4) the date on which the proposed transfer is anticipated to occur; and

(5) the date, not less than ninety days after the giving of the notice, by which the qualified beneficiary must notify the trustee of an objection to the proposed transfer.

(f) The authority of a trustee under this section to transfer a trust's principal place of administration terminates if a qualified beneficiary notifies the trustee of an objection to the proposed transfer on or before the date specified in the notice.

(g) In connection with a transfer of the trust's principal place of administration, the trustee may transfer some or all of the trust property to a successor trustee designated in the terms of the trust or appointed pursuant to Section 62-7-704.

HISTORY: 2005 Act No. 66, SECTION 1; 2013 Act No. 100, SECTION 2, eff January 1, 2014.

Effect of Amendment

The 2013 amendment in subsection (e) and subsection (e)(5) substituted "ninety days" for "60 days".