3B:31-8 Principal place of administration.

3B:31-8. Principal Place of Administration.

a. Without precluding other means for establishing a sufficient connection with the designated jurisdiction, terms of a trust designating the principal place of administration are valid and controlling if:

(1) a trustee maintains a place of business located in or a trustee is a resident of the designated jurisdiction; or

(2) all or part of the administration occurs in the designated jurisdiction.

In the absence of terms of a trust designating the principal place of administration, the initial principal place of administration of a nontestamentary trust shall be this State if the trust is governed by the law of this State, and the principal place of administration of a testamentary trust shall be the jurisdiction in which the decedent was domiciled at the time of death.

b. A trustee is under a continuing duty to administer the trust at a place appropriate to its purposes, its administration, and the interests of the beneficiaries.

c. The trustee, in furtherance of the duty prescribed by subsection b. of this section, may transfer the trust's principal place of administration to another State or to a jurisdiction outside of the United States.

d. The trustee shall notify the qualified beneficiaries of a proposed transfer of a trust's principal place of administration not less than 60 days before initiating the transfer. The notice of proposed transfer shall include:

(1) the name of the jurisdiction to which the principal place of administration is to be transferred;

(2) the address and telephone number at the new location at which the trustee can be contacted;

(3) the date on which the proposed transfer is anticipated to occur; and

(4) the date, not less than 60 days after the giving of the notice, by which the qualified beneficiary is required to notify the trustee of an objection to the proposed transfer.

e. The authority of a trustee under this section to transfer a trust's principal place of administration terminates if a qualified beneficiary notifies the trustee of an objection to the proposed transfer on or before the date specified in the notice, unless the trustee secures judicial approval for the transfer.

f. In connection with a transfer of the trust's principal place of administration, the trustee may transfer some or all of the trust property to a successor trustee designated in the terms of the trust or appointed pursuant to N.J.S.3B:31-49.

L.2015, c.276, s.1.