§ 53-12-506. Statutory Provisions Applicable to Trust Directors; Defenses Available to Trust Directors; Personal Jurisdiction; Term “Trustee” Includes Trust Director Where Required or Permitted

1. An individual shall be eligible to serve as a trust director regardless of citizenship and residency. If the trust director is a corporation, partnership, or other entity, it shall be required to have the power to act as a trustee in Georgia.
2. The rules applicable to a trustee apply to a trust director regarding:
   1. Jurisdiction under Code Section 53-12-6;
   2. Appointment and acceptance, compensation, and resignation and removal of trustees under Article 11 of this chapter;
   3. Accounting under Article 12 of this chapter; and
   4. Nonresidents and foreign entities acting as trustees under Article 15 of this chapter.
3. In an action against a trust director for breach of trust, the trust director may assert the same defenses a trustee in a like position and under similar circumstances could assert in an action for breach of trust against the trustee.
4. By accepting appointment as a trust director of a trust subject to this article, a trust director submits to personal jurisdiction of the courts of this state regarding any matter related to a power or duty of a trust director. This subsection shall not preclude use of another method to obtain jurisdiction over a trust director.
5. As used in this Code, where the context requires or permits, the term “trustee” includes a trust director.

History. Code 1981, § 53-12-506 , enacted by Ga. L. 2018, p. 262, § 25/HB 121; Ga. L. 2020, p. 377, § 1-92/HB 865.

The 2020 amendment, effective January 1, 2021, added subsections (a) and (e) and redesignated former subsections (a) through (c) as present subsections (b) through (d); in subsection (b), in the introductory language, substituted “The” for “Except as otherwise provided in the trust instrument, the” and deleted “shall” following “trustee”, rewrote paragraph (b)(1), which formerly read: “Appointment and vacancies under Code Section 53-12-201”, rewrote paragraph (b)(2), which formerly read: “Acceptance under Code Section 53-12-202”, rewrote paragraph (b)(3), which formerly read: “Giving of a bond under Code Section 53-12-203”, rewrote paragraph (b)(4), which formerly read: “Co-trustees under Code Section 53-12-204”, and deleted former paragraphs (b)(5) through (b)(8), which formerly read: “(5) Compensation and reimbursement of expenses under Code Sections 53-12-210 through 53-12-214; (6) Resignation under Code Section 53-12-220; (7) Removal under Code Section 53-12-221; and (8) Service under Code Section 53-12-320”.

Law reviews.

For article with annual survey on wills, trusts, guardianships, and fiduciary administration, see 73 Mercer L. Rev. 281 (2021).