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Georgia Code - Wills, Trusts & Estates - Title 53, Section 53-12-288

Legal Research Home > Georgia Laws > Wills, Trusts & Estates > Georgia Code - Wills, Trusts & Estates - Title 53, Section 53-12-288

(a) Unless otherwise provided in the fiduciary instrument, trustees are authorized to retain the property received by them on the creation of the trust, including, in the case of a corporate fiduciary, stock or other securities of its own issue, even though the property may not otherwise be a legal investment and trustees shall not be liable for such retention, except for gross neglect. In the case of corporate securities, trustees may likewise retain the securities into which the securities originally received may be converted or which may be derived therefrom as a result of merger, consolidation, stock dividends, splits, liquidations, and similar procedures; and they may exercise by purchase or otherwise any rights, warrants, or conversion features attaching to any such securities. This Code section applies to all such property held by the fiduciary on March 28, 1961, under trusts previously created, except that it shall not relieve the fiduciary from liability for loss which had already accrued on or before March 28, 1961, for losses that had occurred.

(b) In the case of a corporate fiduciary, the authorities described in subsection (a) of this Code section shall apply to the exchange or conversion of stock or securities of the corporate fiduciary´s own issue, whether or not any new stock or securities received in exchange therefor are substantially equivalent to those originally held; and such authorities shall also apply to the continued retention of all new stock and securities resulting from merger, consolidation, stock dividends, splits, liquidations, and similar procedures and received by virtue of such conversion or exchange of stock or securities of the corporate fiduciary´s own issue, whether or not the new stock or securities are substantially equivalent to those originally received by the fiduciary. The foregoing authorities shall have reference, inter alia, to the exchange of such stock or securities for stock or securities of any holding company which owns stock or other interests in one or more other corporations including the corporate fiduciary, whether the holding company is newly formed or already existing and whether or not any of the corporations own assets identical or similar to the assets of or carry on a business identical or similar to the corporation whose stock or securities were previously received by the fiduciary and the continued retention of stock or securities, or both, of the holding company; and such authorities shall apply regardless of whether any of the corporations have officers, directors, employees, agents, or trustees in common with the corporation whose stock or securities were previously received by the fiduciary.

Last modified: April 25, 2006