Estates and Trusts - Maryland Trust Decanting Act - Notification and Document Transmittal
Summary
HB88 amends the Maryland Trust Decanting Act by setting out how notice and other documents must be delivered when an authorized fiduciary exercises the decanting power or sends required materials under the subtitle. The bill establishes that notice or document transmittal must be made in a manner reasonably suitable under the circumstances and likely to result in receipt.
The bill specifies acceptable delivery methods, including personal service, certified mail or first-class mail with return receipt requested, courier or delivery service with confirmation, and, if the recipient agrees in writing, alternative methods such as first-class mail, fax with confirmation, or email with acknowledgment requested. It also allows a recipient to revoke consent to alternative notice methods and requires the fiduciary to revert to a more formal method if the fiduciary knows or should know the recipient did not actually receive the notice.
Impact
HB88 adds new Section 14-602.1 to the Estates and Trusts Article, clarifying procedural requirements for notice and document delivery under the Maryland Trust Decanting Act. The change affects trustees, other authorized fiduciaries, and persons entitled to notice in decanting transactions by standardizing how notice may be given and when alternative electronic or informal methods are permitted. It is a procedural clarification rather than a substantive change to trust decanting authority, and it takes effect October 1, 2025.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been noncontroversial and received unanimous support in both chambers, passing the House 130-0 and the Senate 47-0. The lack of recorded committee discussion and the unanimous votes suggest broad agreement that the measure is a technical or administrative clarification to improve notice practices under trust law.
Contention
No notable opposition is reflected in the available record. Any potential concern would likely center on ensuring actual receipt of notice when alternative methods such as email or fax are used, but the bill addresses that by requiring written consent for alternative methods, allowing revocation of that consent, and requiring fallback to traditional notice if the fiduciary knows or should know notice was not received.