Washington § 11.98.072 - Trustee — Notification requirements.

(1) A trustee must keep all qualified beneficiaries of a trust reasonably informed about the administration of the trust and of the material facts necessary for them to protect their interests. Unless unreasonable under the circumstances, a trustee must promptly respond to any beneficiary's request for information related to the administration of the trust. The trustee is deemed to have satisfied the request of a qualified beneficiary who requests information concerning the terms of the trust reasonably necessary to enable such beneficiary to enforce his or her rights under the trust if the trustee provides a copy of the entire trust instrument. If a qualified beneficiary must compel production of information from the trustee by order of the court, then the court may order costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, to be awarded to such beneficiary pursuant to RCW 11.96A.150.

(2)(a) Except to the extent waived or modified as provided in subsection (5) of this section, within sixty days after the date of acceptance of the position of trustee, the trustee must give notice to the qualified beneficiaries of the trust of:

(i) The existence of the trust;

(ii) The identity of the trustor or trustors;

(iii) The trustee's name, address, and telephone number; and

(iv) The right to request such information as is reasonably necessary to enable the notified person to enforce his or her rights under the trust.

(b) The notice required under this subsection (2) applies only to irrevocable trusts created after December 31, 2011, and revocable trusts that become irrevocable after December 31, 2011.

(3) Despite any other provision of this section, and except to the extent waived or modified as provided in subsection (5) of this section, the trustee may not be required to provide any information described in subsection (1) or (2) of this section to any beneficiary of a trust other than the trustor's spouse or domestic partner if:

(a) Such spouse or domestic partner has capacity;

(b) Such spouse or domestic partner is the only permissible distributee of the trust; and

(c) All of the other qualified beneficiaries of the trust are the descendants of the trustor and the trustor's spouse or domestic partner.

(4) While the trustor of a revocable trust is living, no beneficiary other than the trustor is entitled to receive any information under this section.

(5) The trustor may waive or modify the notification requirements of subsections (2) and (3) of this section in the trust document or in a separate writing, made at any time, that is delivered to the trustee.

Application—2013 c 272: See note following RCW 11.98.002.