Arkansas’s Trust Code and Trust Planning: A Ten-Year Perspective

In 2001, the Uniform Law Commission adopted the Uniform Trust Code, which regulates certain aspects of trusts. One impetus for the trust code was the ever-increasing popularity of revocable trusts as part of standard estate planning packages. Another was the fact that few states—including Arkansas—had well-developed common law trust rules, let alone any statutory trust codes. In 2005, the Arkansas legislature enacted a slightly modified version of the Uniform Trust Code (UTC), titled the Arkansas Trust Code (ATC). At that time, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review published my article summarizing the most important features of the new Trust Code, compared and contrasted with the then-current Arkansas common law of trusts. Since then, over ten years have passed, rendering further commentary timely. This update addresses two broad themes. Part II examines how the ATC has fared in Arkansas courts. Part III discusses some recent aspects of Arkansas trust law not covered by the ATC. Overall, the cases and statutes discussed are examined in the context of how they affect estate planning and administration