Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A beneficiary of a trust who on the date qualification is determined is a distributee or permissible distributee of trust income or principal. The term also reaches a beneficiary who would become a distributee or permissible distributee if the interests of current distributees ended on that date without terminating the trust or if the trust itself terminated on that date.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
2
Discretionary Trust Notices
Quiana Quach created an irrevocable trust directing the trustee to distribute income in its discretion among her three siblings. If any sibling dies the trustee must continue distributions to that sibling's children until they reach age thirty and then pay any remainder to a named charity. When the trustee must send required annual reports the siblings qualify as current permissible distributees while the nieces and nephews qualify because they would step into the distribution stream if a sibling's interest ended today without terminating the trust.
Residuary Beneficiary Standing
After the settlor's death the trustee petitioned to construe the revocable trust. A residuary beneficiary who would receive the remaining corpus if the current permissible distributees' interests ended today objected to the judgment. The court held that the residuary beneficiary met the definition of qualified beneficiary and therefore possessed standing to appeal.
Put it into practice
Test Yourself
9
Practice Questions5
· 8 primary sources
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Uniform Acts
Casebooks
Hornbooks
Course Outlines
Study Supplements
In re Betty G. Weldon Revocable Trust231 S.W.3d 158 (Mo.App.W.D.2007)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
4
Which beneficiaries receive notices and accountings under the Uniform Trust Code?+
Qualified beneficiaries receive the required notices and reports. The definition includes current distributees or permissible distributees of income or principal. It also includes those who would become distributees if the current distributees' interests ended today without terminating the trust and those who would become distributees if the trust terminated today.
Supporting sources
Does a discretionary beneficiary in an open class qualify as a qualified beneficiary?+
Yes. A person who falls within a class to whom the trustee may presently distribute income or principal is a permissible distributee. That status makes the person a qualified beneficiary even if the interest is contingent on the trustee's exercise of discretion.
Supporting sources
Are remote contingent remainder beneficiaries qualified beneficiaries?+
No. Only those who would actually become distributees under the three statutory scenarios qualify. Beneficiaries whose interests are too remote to receive anything if current interests ended or if the trust terminated today do not qualify.
Supporting sources
Must a qualified beneficiary hold a vested interest?+
No. The definition turns on distributable status rather than vesting. Discretionary and contingent interests qualify when the beneficiary is a current permissible distributee or would become one under the statutory termination assumptions.
Supporting sources
Trusts and Estates Trusts and Future InterestsTrusts · Protective trustsUBEFoundational