32-1-807. Transfer of fiduciary relationships from affiliated banks to subsidiary trust companies. (1) Upon any subsidiary trust company being duly authorized to commence the business for which it is organized, the subsidiary trust company may file its verified application in the district court of the county in which its main office is located requesting that it be substituted, except as may be expressly excluded in the application, in every fiduciary capacity for each of its affiliated banks specified in the application, and each specified affiliated bank shall join in the application. The application must indicate the county in which the main office of each affiliated bank joining in the application is located and must designate each fiduciary account existing at the date of the application with respect to which the subsidiary trust company requests substitution, but fiduciary capacities in other cases need not be listed. The application must additionally set forth, with regard to each existing fiduciary account designated in the application, the name and address last known to the applicant of each person entitled to mailed notice of hearing on the application, including:

(a) in the case of an existing fiduciary account that may be revoked, terminated, or amended, each person who, alone or together with others, is empowered to revoke, terminate, or amend the account;

(b) in the case of an existing fiduciary account with respect to which any person other than a court has the power to remove the corporate fiduciary, each person who, alone or together with others, is empowered to remove the corporate fiduciary;

(c) in the case of an existing fiduciary account that is an estate of a deceased person or that is a guardianship or conservatorship, to the clerk of the court in which the estate, guardianship, or conservatorship matter is pending;

(d) in the case of an existing fiduciary account not described in subsections (1)(a) through (1)(c), to each income beneficiary of the account and to each beneficiary who, if the account terminated at the date of the application respecting the account, would be entitled to share in distributions of income or principal of the account; and

(e) in the case of any existing fiduciary account for which an affiliated bank specified in the application is acting with a cofiduciary, to each cofiduciary at the cofiduciary's last-known address.

(2) When an application has been filed, the clerk of the court where the application is filed shall make an order fixing a date and time for hearing on the application and give notice of the hearing as provided in this section. The clerk of court shall cause a copy of the notice to be published at least once a week for 3 successive weeks preceding the hearing date. The first publication must be at least 25 days preceding the hearing date in a newspaper of general circulation published in each county in which the main office of an affiliated bank specified in the application is located or, if a general circulation newspaper is not published in that county, then in a newspaper of general circulation published in a contiguous county. In addition, at least 25 days preceding the hearing date, the clerk of the court shall cause a copy of the notice to be mailed by first-class mail to each person identified in the application as being entitled to mailed notice under the provisions of this part, at the person's address last known to the applicant as set forth in the application.

(3) The notice to be published and mailed with respect to each application must state the time and place of the hearing on the application, the name of the subsidiary trust company that has filed the application, the name of each affiliated bank that has joined in the application, that the application requests that the subsidiary trust company be substituted in every fiduciary capacity for each of its affiliated banks specified in the application, and that any person beneficially interested in any affected fiduciary account may appear on or before the date of hearing and file the person's written objection to the substitution for the affected fiduciary account, and the notice must refer to the application for further particulars.

(4) On or before the date and time of hearing on the application, any person beneficially interested in any fiduciary account for which substitution of the subsidiary trust company is requested may appear and file an objection to substitution and is entitled to be heard with respect to the objection.

(5) On the date of hearing, upon finding that due notice has been given as required by this part and upon finding that the subsidiary trust company has been duly authorized to commence the business for which it is organized by the department or the comptroller of the currency if the subsidiary trust company is a national banking association, the district court shall enter an order substituting the subsidiary trust company in every fiduciary capacity for each of its specified affiliated banks except as may be otherwise specified in the application and except for fiduciary capacities in any account with respect to which an objection has been filed pursuant to this section. Upon entry of the order, the subsidiary trust company must, without further act, be substituted in every fiduciary capacity. The substitution may be made a matter of record in any county of this state by filing a certified copy of the order of substitution in the office of the clerk of any district court in this state or by filing a certified copy of the order in the office of the clerk and recorder of any county in this state. The clerk and recorder shall record and index the order in the same manner and with the same effect as other orders and decrees of court are recorded and indexed.

(6) Each designation, in a will or other instrument, of a bank as fiduciary is considered a designation of the subsidiary trust company substituted for the bank pursuant to this section except when the will or other instrument is executed after the substitution and expressly negates the application of this section. Any grant in a will or other instrument of any discretionary power is considered conferred upon the subsidiary trust company designated as the fiduciary pursuant to this section.

(7) A bank shall account jointly with the subsidiary trust company that has been substituted as fiduciary for the bank pursuant to this section for the accounting period during which the subsidiary trust company is initially substituted. Upon substitution pursuant to this section, the bank shall deliver to the subsidiary trust company all assets held by the bank as fiduciary, except assets held for accounts with respect to which there has been no substitution pursuant to this section, and upon the substitution, all of the assets become the property of the subsidiary trust company without the necessity of any instrument of transfer or conveyance.

History: En. 5-1507 by Sec. 7, Ch. 401, L. 1975; R.C.M. 1947, 5-1507; amd. Sec. 1019, Ch. 56, L. 2009.