701.0401 Methods of creating a trust. A trust may be created by any of the following: (1) A transfer of property to another person as trustee during the settlor’s lifetime, by will, or by other disposition taking effect upon the settlor’s death. (2) A declaration by an owner of property that the owner holds identifiable […]
701.0402 Requirements for creation. (1) A trust is created only if all of the following are satisfied: (a) The settlor of the trust has capacity, as defined in sub. (4), to create the trust, unless the trust is created by court order or by an agent, guardian of the estate, conservator, or representative payee with […]
701.0403 Trusts created in other jurisdictions. A trust not created by will is validly created if its creation complies with the law of the jurisdiction in which the trust instrument was executed, or the law of the jurisdiction in which, at the time of creation, any of the following was satisfied: (1) The settlor was […]
701.0404 Trust purposes. A trust may be created only to the extent its purposes are lawful and possible to achieve. A trust and its terms must be for the benefit of its beneficiaries or for a noncharitable, but otherwise valid, purpose as described in s. 701.0409. History: 2013 a. 92.
701.0405 Charitable purposes; enforcement. (1) A charitable trust may be created for the relief of poverty, the advancement of education or religion, the promotion of health or governmental or municipal purposes, or other purposes the achievement of which is beneficial to the community. (2) If the terms of a charitable trust do not indicate a […]
701.0406 Creation of trust induced by fraud, duress, or undue influence. A trust is void to the extent its creation was induced by fraud, duress, or undue influence. History: 2013 a. 92.
701.0407 Evidence of oral trust. Except as required by a statute other than this chapter, a trust does not need to be evidenced by a trust instrument, but the creation of an oral trust and its terms may be established only by clear and convincing evidence. History: 2013 a. 92.
701.0408 Trust for care of animal. (1) A trust may be created to provide for the care of an animal alive during the settlor’s lifetime. The trust terminates upon the death of the animal or, if the trust was created to provide for the care of more than one animal alive during the settlor’s lifetime, […]
701.0409 Noncharitable trust without ascertainable beneficiary. Except as otherwise provided in s. 701.0408 or by another statute, the following rules apply: (1) A trust may be created for a noncharitable purpose without a definite or definitely ascertainable beneficiary or for a noncharitable but otherwise valid purpose to be selected by the trustee. (2) A trust […]
701.0410 Modification or termination of trust; proceedings for approval or disapproval. (1) In addition to the methods of termination prescribed by ss. 701.0411 to 701.0414, a trust terminates to the extent the trust is revoked or expires pursuant to its terms, no purpose of the trust remains to be achieved, or the purposes of the […]
701.0411 Modification or termination of noncharitable irrevocable trust by consent. (1) A noncharitable irrevocable trust may be modified or terminated, with or without court approval, upon consent of the settlor and all beneficiaries, even if the modification or termination is inconsistent with a material purpose of the trust. A settlor’s power to consent to a […]
701.0412 Modification or termination because of unanticipated circumstances or inability to administer trust effectively. (1) The court may modify the administrative or dispositive terms of a trust or terminate the trust if, because of circumstances not anticipated by the settlor, modification or termination will further the purposes of the trust. To the extent practicable, the […]
701.0413 Cy pres. (1) The purpose of this section is to broaden the power of the courts to make charitable gifts more effective. The court shall liberally apply the cy pres doctrine. (2) Except as provided in sub. (3), if a particular charitable purpose becomes unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve, or wasteful, all of the […]
701.0414 Modification or termination of uneconomic trust. (1) In this section: (a) “Adjustment reference number” means the consumer price index for all urban consumers, as published by the United States bureau of labor statistics, in effect on January 1 of the year in which an adjustment is to be made in accordance with sub. (3). […]
701.0415 Reformation to correct mistakes. The court may reform the terms of a trust, even if unambiguous, to conform the terms to the settlor’s intent if it is proved by clear and convincing evidence that both the settlor’s intent and the terms of the trust were affected by a mistake of fact or law, whether […]
701.0416 Modification to achieve settlor’s tax objectives. To achieve the settlor’s tax objectives, the court may modify the terms of a trust in a manner that is not contrary to the settlor’s probable intent. The court may provide that the modification has retroactive effect. A party petitioning the court for action under this section shall […]
701.0417 Combination and division of trusts. (1) After notice to each trust protector, each directing party, and the qualified beneficiaries, a trustee may do any of the following if the result does not impair rights of any beneficiary or adversely affect achievement of any trust purposes: (a) Combine 2 or more trusts into a single […]
701.0418 Trustee’s power to appoint assets to new trust. (1) Definitions. In this section: (a) “Absolute power” means a power to invade trust assets for the benefit of a beneficiary that is not limited by a specific or ascertainable standard, whether or not the term “absolute” is used in the trust instrument. “Absolute power” includes […]
701.0419 Transfers to trusts. (1) Validity and effect. The order of execution of a trust instrument and a will or other instrument purporting to transfer or appoint property to the trust evidenced by the trust instrument shall be disregarded in determining the validity of the transfer or appointment. No reference in any will to a […]
