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- Written by: DENNIS FORDHAM
Under present California trust law, trustees are the only fiduciaries (i.e., legally appointed representatives) with the duty, authority and power to administer a trust’s assets, liabilities and financial and legal affairs.
The trustee’s primary duty is to carry out the terms of the trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries.
Effective Jan. 1, 2024, however, the Uniform Directed Trust Act (“UDTA”) becomes law. The UDTA adds new sections 16600 to 16632 to the Probate Code to allow Directed Trusts to exist in California.
The UDTA allows for an additional type of fiduciary, called a Trust Director, to participate in trust administration.
The directed trust was created in the early 1900’s because wealthy families wanted to make trust investment decisions, instead of the trustee, that the trustee would perform. Under the UDTA, a trustee becomes a directed trustee.
A directed trustee must carry-out the trust director’s decisions within the scope of the trust director’s authority. That is, “[i]n a directed trust, the terms of the trust grant a person other than a trustee a power over some aspect of the trust’s administration.”
The trust director is essentially a trustee in all but name: “A trust director has the same fiduciary duty and liability in the exercise or nonexercised of the power, if the power is held individually, as a sole trustee in a like position and under similar circumstances … .”
The one difference is that the trust director is authorized to direct a trustee to take certain actions.
In fact, the UDTA allows a trust director to have a, ” [p]ower of direction [that] includes a power over the investment, management, or distribution of trust property or other matters of trust administration.”
Thus nothing in the UDTA prevents a trust director from controlling all of the trust administration and making the directed trustee a mere agent of the trust director.
The essence of the UDTA is that it allows for trust directors and directed trustees to have compartmentalized duties, for them not to become liable for what the other is doing, and for the trust director to direct the directed trustee.
Under the UDTA, the directed trustee and the trust director do not have to monitor each other’s performance of their duties, do not have to advise each other and do not have to warn the trust beneficiaries or the settlor who established the trust (if still alive) as to any concerns each may have regarding the decisions that the other is making.
A possible use of UDTA in California might be to appoint a trust director in a special needs trust with authority over all discretionary distributions for the special needs beneficiary.
The directed trustee’s risk of being held liable for complying with an instruction from a trust director is greatly reduced: “A directed trustee shall not comply with a trust director’s exercise or non-exercise of a power of direction … to the extent that, by complying, the trustee would engage in willful misconduct.”
The “willful misconduct threshold is a high standard to meet.
Interestingly, the UDTA allows the directed trust rules to apply to the duties and relationships between co-trustees. That is, co-trustees may be responsible for different areas of the trust administration, the same way as trust directors and directed trustees, and not have to monitor each other.
Again, a trust director is essentially the same as a trustee, so why not allow co-trustees a very similar relationship.
For example, one co-trustee could be responsible for investments and the other co-trustee be responsible for discretionary distributions to beneficiaries.
We do not know all the possible applications of the Directed Trust Act in California. We do know from the use of directed trusts in other states that the trust director’s role usually involves investment decisions, discretionary distribution decisions, and control over special assets that like investments require some special expertise (e.g., managing businesses, artwork, intellectual property, etc.).
The foregoing discussion is not legal advice. Consult a qualified estate planning attorney for guidance.
Dennis A. Fordham, Attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at
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- Written by: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has measured the size of the nearest Earth-sized exoplanet that passes across the face of a neighboring star.
This alignment, called a transit, opens the door to follow-on studies to see what kind of atmosphere, if any, the rocky world might have.
The diminutive planet, LTT 1445Ac, was first discovered by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite in 2022.
But the geometry of the planet’s orbital plane relative to its star as seen from Earth was uncertain because TESS does not have the required optical resolution.
This means the detection could have been a so-called grazing transit, where a planet only skims across a small portion of the parent star’s disk. This would yield an inaccurate lower limit of the planet’s diameter.
“There was a chance that this system has an unlucky geometry and if that’s the case, we wouldn’t measure the right size. But with Hubble’s capabilities we nailed its diameter,” said Emily Pass of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Hubble observations show that the planet makes a normal transit fully across the star’s disk, yielding a true size of only 1.07 times Earth’s diameter. This means the planet is a rocky world, like Earth, with approximately the same surface gravity. But at a surface temperature of roughly 260 degrees Celsius, it is too hot for life as we know it.
The planet orbits the star LTT 1445A, which is part of a triple system of three red dwarf stars that is 22 light-years away in the constellation Eridanus.
The star has two other reported planets that are larger than LTT 1445Ac. A tight pair of two other dwarf stars, LTT 1445B and C, lies about 4.7 billion kilometers away from LTT 1445A, also resolved by Hubble.
The alignment of the three stars and the edge-on orbit of the BC pair suggests that everything in the system is coplanar, including the known planets.
“Transiting planets are exciting since we can characterize their atmospheres with spectroscopy, not only with Hubble but also with the James Webb Space Telescope. Our measurement is important because it tells us that this is likely a very nearby terrestrial planet. We are looking forward to follow-on observations that will allow us to better understand the diversity of planets around other stars,” said Pass.
"Hubble remains a key player in our characterisation of exoplanets", added Professor Laura Kreidberg of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg (who was not part of this study). "There are precious few terrestrial planets that are close enough for us to learn about their atmospheres — at just 22 light years away, LTT 1445Ac is right next door in galactic terms, so it’s one of the best planets in the sky to follow up and learn about its atmospheric properties."
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services, or OES, extends its gratitude to partners who embody our mission, which is dedicated to strengthening Lake County's ability to withstand disasters.
While OES serves as the lead emergency management agency for the county, achieving our mission would be unattainable without the proactive collaboration of both the public and private sectors, as well as the collective efforts of individuals and county employees.
Resilience is a core aspect of the OES mission, encompassing a comprehensive approach to emergency management, or EM.
This approach covers all types of hazards and emphasizes the crucial phases of mitigation, preparation/planning, response, and recovery.
Throughout the county, numerous agencies and individuals are unwavering in their commitment to one or more of these EM phases.
“As we reflect on the past year, we would like to highlight the exceptional partners who have exhibited qualities that are not only commendable but also serve as replicable examples to enhance Lake County's resilience,” said Emergency Services Manager Leah Sautelet.
By category, the honorees for 2023 are:
PRIVATE SECTOR | KONOCTI FIRE SAFE COUNCIL
The Konocti Fire Safe Council, a 501c(3) nonprofit corporation established with the aim of enhancing wildfire resilience in Lake County's Soda Bay Road corridor, which is home to approximately 7,800 residents. The council's dedicated efforts are concentrated on preparedness, mitigation, education and evacuation across the eight evacuation zones within their service area. These objectives are achieved through collaborative efforts with the resources provided by four homeowners associations and the Firewise communities in the region.
The Lake County Office of Emergency Services recognizes the importance of their vision, effective coordination, and substantial contributions in the pursuit of creating a more resilient community.
PUBLIC SECTOR | HABEMATOLEL POMO OF UPPER LAKE
The Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake’s primary objective is to serve its tribal members, yet it consistently seizes opportunities to assist the broader community. When necessary, the tribe graciously opens its community center to the public to provide support during events such as warming centers and PSPS relief efforts.
Furthermore, the Habematolel Pomo has generously offered its facilities to Lake County Office of Emergency Services for hosting vital public information sessions and emergency management training sessions.
INDIVIDUAL | BETSY CAWN
Cawn is a highly engaged and dedicated citizen who exemplifies an unwavering commitment to Lake County and its emergency management efforts. She actively participates in various public forums, including Disaster Council meetings and public information sessions, where she contributes her invaluable historical knowledge and insights.
Cawn's contributions are particularly noteworthy in areas that address the unique needs of the aging and access or functional needs populations, showcasing her profound dedication to the betterment of our community.
COUNTY EMPLOYEE / DSW | MIREYA TURNER
Turner rejoined the County as the Community Development Director in fall 2022. Shortly thereafter, she reached out to OES to initiate a discussion regarding staffing requirements for the Emergency Operations Center, or EOC, and extended her department's assistance to bolster emergency management endeavors.
She also played an active role in supporting the Hazard Mitigation Plan Update process.
Though additional hours and responsibilities might not be everyone's aspiration, Turner embraced her duty as a disaster service worker and proactively immersed herself in the process, all in the pursuit of enhancing Lake County's well-being.
Lake County OES appreciates the dedication of all Lake County residents, visitors, service providers and government entities.
To learn more about what you can do to build Lake County’s resilience to disaster, visit www.lakesheriff.com/about/oes.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Bring the kids for a day of family fun to the Lower Lake Hometown HoliDaze Street Fair, Main Street of Lower Lake will be transformed to a holiday landscape.
This festive event is loaded with holiday cheer. Come enjoy the many food and craft vendors, get your holiday shopping done early. Merchants will be open.
Children can visit Santa in the community center and share their heart’s desires.
The Brick Hall will be set up for children with a bounce house, face painting, art projects, games and more.
For added fun, there will be a Children’s Holiday Hunt with prizes for all participants, (while supplies last).
“This small-town USA experience will bring you joy,” said the Lower Lake Community Action Group, which is presenting the event.
Join them in Lower Lake, on Sunday, Dec. 3, where you can revel in holiday magic while shopping locally.