Section 35-15-504 - Discretionary interests - Effect thereof

(a) A discretionary interest is neither a property interest nor an enforceable right; it is a mere expectancy.(b) Relative to a discretionary interest, whether or not a trust contains a spendthrift provision:(1) No creditor or assignee shall force or otherwise reach a distribution with regard to a discretionary interest;(2) No creditor or assignee shall require a trustee, cotrustee or other fiduciary to exercise the trustee's, cotrustee's or other fiduciary's discretion to make a distribution with regard to a discretionary interest;(3) Regardless of whether a beneficiary has any outstanding creditors or assignees, a trustee, cotrustee or other fiduciary of a discretionary interest may directly pay any expense on behalf of such beneficiary and may exhaust the income and principal of the trust for the benefit of such beneficiary;(4) No trustee, cotrustee or other fiduciary is liable to any creditor or assignee for paying the expenses of a beneficiary of a discretionary interest;(5)(A) Regardless of whether a beneficiary holding a discretionary interest is also a trustee, cotrustee or other fiduciary, subdivisions (b)(1)-(4) remain applicable if:(i) The beneficiary-fiduciary does not

gardless of whether a beneficiary holding a discretionary interest is also a trustee, cotrustee or other fiduciary, subdivisions (b)(1)-(4) remain applicable if:(i) The beneficiary-fiduciary does not have the discretion to make or participate in making distributions to such beneficiary-fiduciary;(ii) The beneficiary-fiduciary's discretion to make or participate in making distributions to such beneficiary-fiduciary is limited by an ascertainable standard; or(iii) The beneficiary-fiduciary's discretion to make or participate in making distributions to such beneficiary-fiduciary is exercisable only with the consent of a cotrustee or another person holding an adverse interest;(B) A creditor or assignee may compel or otherwise reach a distribution only to the extent the creditor or assignee may compel or otherwise reach a distribution if the beneficiary was not acting as a trustee, cotrustee or other fiduciary.Amended by 2013 Tenn. Acts, ch. 390, s 17, eff. 7/1/2013.Acts 2004, ch. 537, § 43; 2007 , ch. 24, § 22.