WEST VIRGINIA CODE
WVC 44 - 5 A- 6
§44-5A-6. Restrictions on exercise of power for fiduciary's
benefit.
(a) A power conferred upon a person in his or her capacity as
fiduciary to make discretionary distributions of principal or
income to himself or herself or to make discretionary allocations
in his or her favor of receipts or expenses between income and
principal cannot be exercised by him or her. If the power is
conferred on two or more fiduciaries, it may be exercised by the
fiduciaries who are not so disqualified. If there is no fiduciary
qualified to exercise the power, it may be exercised by a special
fiduciary appointed by the court authorized under article fourteen
of this chapter, and in accordance with the procedure described
therein, to appoint a successor or substitute trustee. Except as
provided in subsection (c) of this section this section applies to
all trusts now in existence and to all trusts which are created
later.
(b) Unless either: (1) Mandatory; (2) limited by an
ascertainable standard relating to the health, education, support
or maintenance of the fiduciary; or (3) exercisable by the
fiduciary only in conjunction with another person having a
substantial interest in the trust which is adverse to the interest
of the fiduciary, a power to make distributions of principal or
income is a discretionary power for purposes of this section.
(c) This section does not apply to trusts that come into
existence or are amended after the effective date of this section which show a clear intent that this section does not apply.
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2012 1st Special Session