Vermont H 546: An act relating to administrative and policy changes to tax laws

Bill Text

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VT LEG #385911 v.1
H.546 1
Introduced by Representative LaLonde of South Burlington 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Decedents’ estates; Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act 5
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to enact the 6
Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act in Vermont. 7
An act relating to the Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act 8
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 9
Sec. 1. 14 V.S.A. chapter 129 is added to read: 10
CHAPTER 129. VERMONT DISCLAIMER OF PROPERTY INTERESTS 11
ACT 12
§ 4101. SHORT TITLE 13
This chapter may be cited as the “Vermont Uniform Disclaimer of Property 14
Interests Act.” 15
§ 4102. DEFINITIONS 16
As used in this chapter: 17
(1) “Disclaimant” means the person to whom a disclaimed interest or 18
power would have passed had the disclaimer not been made. 19

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(2) “Disclaimed interest” means the interest that would have passed to 1
the disclaimant had the disclaimer not been made. 2
(3) “Disclaimer” means the refusal to accept an interest in or power over 3
property. 4
(4) “Fiduciary” means a personal representative, trustee, agent acting 5
under a power of attorney, or other person authorized to act as a fiduciary with 6
respect to the property of another person. 7
(5) “Jointly held property” means property held in the name of two or 8
more persons under an arrangement in which all holders have concurrent 9
interests and under which the last surviving holder is entitled to the whole of 10
the property. 11
(6) “Person” means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, 12
trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, 13
government, governmental subdivision, governmental agency, governmental 14
instrumentality, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity. 15
(7) “Personal representative” means a duly appointed representative of a 16
probate estate, such as an executor or administrator. 17
(8) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, 18
Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular 19
possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The term includes 20

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an Indian tribe or band, or Alaskan native village, recognized by federal law or 1
formally acknowledged by a state. 2
(9) “Trust” means: 3
(A) an express trust, charitable or noncharitable, with additions 4
thereto, whenever and however created; or 5
(B) a trust created pursuant to a statute, judgment, or decree that 6
requires the trust to be administered in the manner of an express trust. 7
§ 4103. SCOPE 8
This chapter applies to disclaimers of any interest in or power over 9
property, whenever created. 10
§ 4104. SUPPLEMENTED BY OTHER LAW 11
(a) Unless displaced by a provision of this chapter, the principles of law 12
and equity supplement this chapter. 13
(b) This chapter does not limit any right of a person to waive, release, 14
disclaim, or renounce an interest in or power over property under a law other 15
than this chapter. 16
§ 4105. POWER TO DISCLAIM; GENERAL REQUIREMENTS; WHEN 17
IRREVOCABLE 18
(a) A person may disclaim, in whole or in part, any interest in or power 19
over property, including a power of appointment. A person may disclaim the 20

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interest or power even if its creator imposed a spendthrift provision or similar 1
restriction on transfer or a restriction or limitation on the right to disclaim. 2
(b) Except to the extent a fiduciary’s right to disclaim is expressly 3
restricted or limited by another statute of this State or by the instrument 4
creating the fiduciary relationship, a fiduciary may disclaim, in whole or in 5
part, any interest in or power over property, including a power of appointment, 6
whether acting in a personal or representative capacity. A fiduciary may 7
disclaim the interest or power even if its creator imposed a spendthrift 8
provision or similar restriction on transfer or a restriction or limitation on the 9
right to disclaim, or an instrument other than the instrument that created the 10
fiduciary relationship imposed a restriction or limitation on the right to 11
disclaim. 12
(c) To the extent that there is no material conflict of interest, a parent, as 13
defined in 15C V.S.A. § 102(16), can disclaim on behalf of the parent’s minor 14
or incapacitated child, if a guardian has not been or is not required to be 15
appointed for the child. 16
(d) To be effective, a disclaimer shall be in a writing or other record, 17
declare the disclaimer, describe the interest or power disclaimed, be signed, 18
and be delivered or filed in the manner provided in section 4112 of this title. 19
As used in this subsection: 20

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