Tennessee § 35-15-809 - Control and protection of trust property.

§ 35-15-809. Control and protection of trust property.

A trustee shall take reasonable steps to take control of and protect the trust property. Acts 2004, ch. 537, § 67. Grant of summary judgment in favor of the bank in the decedent's daughter's action against it was appropriate because the bank's duty to assert control over the assets in question did not surface until a reasonable time after receiving trust assets. Wood v. Lowery, 238 S.W.3d 747, 2007 Tenn. App. LEXIS 119 (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 6, 2007), appeal denied, — S.W.3d —, 2007 Tenn. LEXIS 695 (Tenn. Aug. 13, 2007). Section Comment. Unless provided otherwise hereinafter, any reference to “section,” “subsection” or “subdivision” means all, or such portion of, T.C.A. § 35-15-809 . This section codifies the substance of sections 175 and 176 of the Restatement (Second) of Trusts (1959). The duty to take control of and safeguard trust property is an aspect of the trustee's duty of prudent administration as provided in T.C.A. § 35-15-804 . See also the various subdivisions of T.C.A. § 35-15-816 regarding the power to collect trust property), the power to insure trust property and the power to abandon trust property. The duty to take control normally means that the trustee must take physical possession of tangible personal property and securities belonging to the trust, and must secure payment of any choses in action. See Restatement (Second) of Trusts § 175 cmt. a, c & d (1959). This section, like the other sections in this part 8, is subject to alteration by the terms of the trust. See T.C.A. § 35-15-105 . By way of example and not in limitation, the settlor may provide that the spouse may occupy the settlor's former residence rent free, in which event the spouse's occupancy would prevent the trustee from taking possession.