Section 362.332

Title XXIV BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Chapter 362

Effective - 28 Aug 2008   

  362.332.  Fiduciary obligations and liabilities, bank or trust company may transfer to another bank or trust company, procedure — definitions. — 1.  As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall mean:

  (1)  "Bank", any bank subject to the provisions of chapter 362, which is duly authorized to exercise trust powers, and any national bank which is authorized to exercise trust powers under the laws of the United States and which has its principal place of business in Missouri, including a national bank whose operations include providing trust and other fiduciary services and related activities;

  (2)  "Beneficiary", any person or entity which benefits from, or has a present or future interest in, any money or property administered by a person with a fiduciary obligation;

  (3)  "Director", the director of the division of finance;

  (4)  "Fiduciary obligation", any obligation of any bank or trust company to a person or entity resulting from an appointment, designation or undertaking to act alone or jointly with others primarily for the benefit of others in matters connected with such appointment, designation or undertaking, and including, but is not limited to, acting as a trustee of a trust, including a testamentary or nontestamentary trust, or a trustee of a common trust fund; executor; administrator; personal representative; guardian; conservator; custodian; assignee; depositary; receiver; attorney-in-fact; registrar or transfer agent with respect to stocks, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness of any corporation, association, state, municipality, or public authority; agent, including escrow agent or agent for the investment of money; or in any other similar capacity.  The term "fiduciary obligation" includes any obligation occurring as a result of an appointment or designation to any foregoing capacity upon the death of a person serving in such capacity or upon the happening of any other future event;

  (5)  "Transferee", a bank or trust company assuming fiduciary obligations pursuant to this section from a transferor;

  (6)  "Transferor", a bank or trust company transferring fiduciary obligations pursuant to this section to a transferee;

  (7)  "Trust company", any trust company or bank organized under the laws of this state which is duly authorized to exercise trust powers.

  2.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a bank or trust company may transfer by assignment to another bank or trust company any or all of the fiduciary obligations of such bank or trust company, without any order of or other action by any court or any consent or other approval of any interested person, except as provided in subsection 5 of this section, upon the prior approval of the director and provided that the transferor and transferee comply with the provisions of this section.  The assignment may encompass all fiduciary obligations, a general class or classes of fiduciary obligations, or specified individual accounts or other particularly identified fiduciary obligations.

  3.  The transferor, transferee or any beneficiary on behalf of all beneficiaries jointly shall file an application for approval of the transfer of a fiduciary obligation with the director, and shall provide all relevant information as the director may deem necessary.  The transferee shall also file proof with the director that the transferee has given written notice by certified mail of the proposed transfer, including a summary of the provisions of subsection 5 of this section relating to objections to the transfer of the fiduciary obligation, at least thirty days and not more than sixty days prior to the filing of the application, to the transferor, all persons, firms, organizations or corporations who are known to the applicant to be living or existing grantors under each affected trust or other fiduciary obligation, or if there is no such known living or existing grantor, to each living or existing beneficiary thereof known to the transferee.  If any living or existing grantor or any such beneficiary delivers to the applicant any communication regarding the proposed transfer, the applicant shall furnish the director with a copy of such communication together with any accompanying documents.  If the director determines that the transferee has the authority and is qualified to complete the fiduciary obligation, and that the transfer of the fiduciary obligation will not materially adversely affect the fiduciary obligation, he shall issue an order approving the transfer of the fiduciary obligation.  If the director fails to approve or deny the transfer of the fiduciary obligation within thirty days of the date of the filing of the application with the director, the application shall be deemed approved by the director.

  4.  If the director approves the transfer of a fiduciary obligation, within twenty days of the approval, the transferee shall publish a notice of the transfer of the fiduciary obligation pursuant to this section in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or city where the transferor's main banking house or principal place of business, respectively, is located.  The transfer of the fiduciary obligation shall be effective upon the thirtieth day after the date of such publication except with respect to any fiduciary obligation which upon that date is the subject of notice of objection made pursuant to subsection 5 of this section.

  5.  Within thirty days after the publication of notice of approval by the director of the transfer of a fiduciary obligation pursuant to subsection 4 of this section, any grantor or beneficiary who was entitled to receive a written notice pursuant to subsection 3 of this section may give written notice to the transferee objecting to the transfer of the fiduciary obligation in which such person has an interest.  In order to complete the transfer, the transferee may petition the probate division of the circuit court of the county or city not within a county in which the notice was published to determine whether the transfer of the fiduciary capacity will materially adversely affect the administration of the fiduciary account.  After notice to all interested parties and a hearing on the issues, the circuit court may deny the relief sought by the petitioning transferee and not transfer the fiduciary obligation to the petitioning transferee, may appoint a new fiduciary to succeed the transferor if the court finds that the appointment of a new fiduciary is in the best interests of the beneficiaries of the fiduciary obligation but that the transfer of the fiduciary obligation to the petitioning transferee will materially adversely affect the administration of the fiduciary account, or shall order the transferor to transfer by assignment the fiduciary obligation to the petitioning transferee.

  6.  On the effective date of the transfer of a fiduciary obligation pursuant to this section, the transferor shall be released from all transferred fiduciary obligations and all liability relating to such transferred fiduciary obligations, and shall cease to act regarding all such transferred fiduciary obligations, except that such transferor shall not be relieved of any liabilities arising out of a breach of a fiduciary obligation occurring prior to such effective date.  The transferor shall file an itemized accounting of all assets and liabilities in each transferred fiduciary account with the transferee upon the effective date of the transfer.  Notwithstanding the provision of any law or the provision of any agreement to the contrary, the transferor shall not impose fees relating to the transfer of the fiduciary obligation in excess of the actual cost to the transferor of the transfer of the fiduciary obligation.  The failure by a bank or trust company to give any notice required by subsection 3 of this section with respect to any fiduciary account shall not affect the validity of the transfer of a fiduciary obligation pursuant to this section with respect to any other fiduciary obligation or account.

  7.  Any appointment or other designation of a bank or trust company to a fiduciary obligation in a trust, will or other instrument shall be deemed to be made based only on facts and circumstances in existence on the date and at the time that the appointment or designation is made, and the director or a court, when considering the transfer of a fiduciary obligation, shall consider whether the transferee has the authority to complete the fiduciary obligation and is qualified to do so, the effect of the transfer of the fiduciary obligation including whether the transfer of the fiduciary obligation will materially adversely affect the fiduciary obligation, and whether the transfer of the fiduciary obligation is in the best interests of the beneficiaries of the fiduciary obligation.

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(L. 1996 S.B. 494 § 1, A.L. 2008 S.B. 788)