LOUISIANA TRUST INVESTMENT LAW
2018 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 9 — Civil code-ancillaries
RS 9: §2082. Administration in interest of beneficiary; duty of impartiality
A. A trustee shall administer the trust solely in the interest of the beneficiary.
B. When there is more than one beneficiary, a trustee shall administer the trust impartially, based on what is fair and reasonable to all of the beneficiaries, except to the extent that the trust instrument manifests an intention that the trustee shall or may favor one or more of the beneficiaries.
Acts 2001, No. 520, §1.
RS 9: §2087. Delegating performance
A. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, a trustee shall not delegate the performance of his duties.
B.(1) A trustee may, by power of attorney, delegate the performance of acts that he could not reasonably be required to perform personally and the performance of ministerial duties.
(2) A power of attorney, granted by a trustee authorizing a mandatary to alienate, acquire, lease, or encumber specifically described property on specific terms, shall be considered the delegation of the performance of a ministerial duty as provided by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection. The recitation by the trustee in a power of attorney that he has approved the specific terms of the transaction shall be sufficient to demonstrate that the trustee has delegated to the mandatary the performance of a ministerial duty.
C. A trustee may delegate the selection of specific investments by acquiring mutual funds registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, or other pooled funds managed by a third party, so long as the portfolio of such a fund consists substantially of investments not prohibited by the trust instrument.
D.(1) A trustee may delegate investment and asset management functions that a prudent trustee of comparable skills could properly delegate under the circumstances. In connection with such delegation, the trustee has the duty to exercise reasonable care, skill, and caution in selecting the agent and establishing the scope and terms of the delegation consistent with the purposes and terms of the trust instrument, to review periodically the actions of the agent, and, in the event of a breach of the agent’s duties discovered by the trustee, to take such action to remedy the breach as is reasonable under the circumstances.
(2) In performing a delegated function, an agent owes a duty to the trustee and to the beneficiaries to exercise reasonable care and skill, considering the scope and terms of the delegation. An agreement to relieve the agent from that duty is contrary to public policy and void.
(3) By accepting delegation from a trustee of a trust established pursuant to this Code, an agent submits to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state in all matters relating to the performance of his duties.
Acts 2001, No. 520, §1; Acts 2010, No. 224, §1; Acts 2014, No. 188, §1; Acts 2015, No. 219, §1.
RS 9: §2090. Prudent administration
A. A trustee shall administer the trust as a prudent person would administer it. In satisfying this standard, the trustee shall exercise reasonable care and skill, considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust.
B. A trustee who has special skills or expertise, or has held himself out as having special skills or expertise, has a duty to use those special skills or expertise.
Acts 2001, No. 520, §1.
RS 9: §2117. Expenses that may be incurred
A trustee may incur expenses necessary to carry out the purposes of the trust and not forbidden by the provisions of the trust instrument, and other expenses authorized by the provisions of the trust instrument.
RS 9: §2127. Standard of care in investing and management
Unless the trust instrument provides otherwise, a trustee shall invest and manage trust property as a prudent investor. In satisfying this standard, the trustee shall consider the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances of the trust. A trustee’s investment and management decisions are to be evaluated in the context of the trust property as a whole and as part of an overall investment strategy having risk and return objectives reasonably suited to the trust. In investing within the limitations of the foregoing standard, a trustee is authorized to retain and acquire every kind of property.
Acts 1986, No. 178, §1; Acts 1991, No. 665, §2; Acts 2001, No. 520, §1.