RCW chapter 11.98 is Washington's trusts chapter, and RCW 11.98.920 gives the act its short title: the Washington Trust Act. This reference organizes the current chapter section by section and links each entry to the official text. The statute links on this page were checked on August 19, 2026.
For a broader overview of Washington trust administration, accounting, and TEDRA, see our Washington trust law guide. This page focuses on what the individual sections of RCW 11.98 cover. It does not replace advice about a specific trust document, transaction, or dispute.
How to use this reference
The trust document matters alongside the statute. Several provisions in this chapter expressly depend on the trust's terms, and some rules apply only to particular trust types or effective dates. Read the linked text before relying on a section, especially for a trustee change, notice, situs transfer, beneficiary trustee power, or distribution decision.
The terms permissible distributee and qualified beneficiary are important throughout the chapter. A permissible distributee is currently eligible to receive trust income or principal. A qualified beneficiary includes a permissible distributee and certain people who would be permissible distributees if current interests ended or the trust terminated. RCW 11.98.002
Creation, scope, and administration of a trust
Washington's trust-creation provisions address how a trust can be formed, the required elements, allowable purposes, and certain special forms of trust. RCW 11.98.008 lists three methods of creation: transfer to a trustee, declaration by an owner that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee, or exercise of a power of appointment in favor of a trustee.
RCW 11.98.011 requires capacity, intent, an eligible beneficiary arrangement, trustee duties, and a separation between the sole trustee and sole beneficiary. The chapter also says a trust purpose must be lawful, consistent with public policy, and possible to achieve. RCW 11.98.013
An oral trust is not automatically excluded, but its creation and terms must be established by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence unless another statute requires a trust instrument. RCW 11.98.014 Noncharitable purpose trusts without an ascertainable beneficiary have their own enforcement and distribution rules in RCW 11.98.015.
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| RCW 11.98.002 | Definitions, including permissible distributee and qualified beneficiary |
| RCW 11.98.005 | Trust situs and governing law |
| RCW 11.98.008 | Methods of trust creation |
| RCW 11.98.009 | Application of the chapter |
| RCW 11.98.011 | Requirements for trust creation |
| RCW 11.98.012 | Trust creation under another jurisdiction's law |
| RCW 11.98.013 | Allowable purposes |
| RCW 11.98.014 | Oral trusts |
| RCW 11.98.015 | Noncharitable trusts without ascertainable beneficiaries |
| RCW 11.98.016 | Exercise of powers by cotrustees |
| RCW 11.98.017 | Accepting or declining a trusteeship and limited powers before acceptance |
| RCW 11.98.019 | Relinquishment of tax-sensitive trustee powers |
Trustee changes and trust situs
The chapter provides several ways to handle a trustee vacancy. When a willing successor is named in the governing instrument or selected under its procedure, notice of the vacancy and successor's agreement to serve goes to each permissible distributee. If no such successor is available, all interested parties may agree to a nonjudicial trustee change under TEDRA. The statute also permits a nonjudicial addition of cotrustees and gives specified people a court-petition path when the other routes do not apply. RCW 11.98.039
An outgoing trustee may resign by a signed writing filed with trust records, but the resignation becomes effective on discharge under the separate discharge provision. RCW 11.98.029 RCW 11.98.041 A successor trustee succeeds to the original trustee's powers, duties, and discretionary authority. RCW 11.98.060
A change to a foreign trustee does not itself change the trust's situs. A nonjudicial situs transfer has specific notice, information, and objection requirements, while a judicial transfer requires the court to find the statutory criteria. RCW 11.98.039 RCW 11.98.045 RCW 11.98.051 RCW 11.98.055
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| RCW 11.98.029 | Trustee resignation |
| RCW 11.98.039 | Nonjudicial and judicial trustee changes, plus successor fiduciary rules |
| RCW 11.98.041 | Discharge of an outgoing trustee |
| RCW 11.98.045 | Criteria for transferring trust assets or administration |
| RCW 11.98.051 | Nonjudicial situs transfer notice and consent process |
| RCW 11.98.055 | Judicial situs transfer |
| RCW 11.98.060 | Powers of a successor trustee |
| RCW 11.98.065 | Change in form of a corporate trustee |
Trustee powers, delegation, and beneficiary information
RCW 11.98.070 gives a trustee a detailed list of discretionary powers in addition to authority otherwise provided by law. The list includes powers involving trust property, investments, transactions, claims, tax elections, and winding up at termination. The trust terms and other law remain important when deciding whether a particular power may be used.
A trustee may delegate duties and powers that a prudent trustee of comparable skills could properly delegate. The trustee must use reasonable care, skill, and caution in selecting the delegate, setting the scope and terms, periodically reviewing performance, and enforcing the delegate's duties. RCW 11.98.071
The notification section creates both an ongoing information duty and a narrower acceptance notice. The trustee must keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed and, unless unreasonable under the circumstances, promptly respond to information requests. For irrevocable trusts created after December 31, 2011, and revocable trusts that become irrevocable after that date, the acceptance notice is due within 60 days and must identify the trust, trustor, trustee contact information, and the right to request information needed to enforce the recipient's rights. The trustor may waive or modify the requirements in subsections (2) and (3). RCW 11.98.072
For a transaction with someone other than a beneficiary, a trustee may provide a certification of trust instead of the full instrument. The section identifies the information a certification may contain, what a recipient may reasonably request, and protections for good-faith reliance. RCW 11.98.075
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| RCW 11.98.070 | Statutory powers of a trustee |
| RCW 11.98.071 | Delegation of trustee duties |
| RCW 11.98.072 | Beneficiary information and notification requirements |
| RCW 11.98.075 | Certification of trust |
Loyalty, impartiality, and consolidation
RCW 11.98.078 requires the trustee to administer the trust solely in the beneficiaries' interests. A transaction involving trust property that is for the trustee's personal account or affected by a conflict can be voidable by an affected beneficiary, subject to the statute's listed exceptions. The section also addresses presumptions for certain related-party transactions, compensation from investment companies, special fiduciaries, and impartial administration when a trust has two or more beneficiaries.
Two or more trusts may be consolidated when the statute's conditions are met. Among other requirements, the relevant dispositive provisions must be substantially similar, the consolidation must not be inconsistent with the trustor's intent, and it must facilitate administration without materially impairing beneficiary interests. The section contains notice, objection, nonjudicial agreement, and court procedures. RCW 11.98.080
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| RCW 11.98.078 | Trustee duty of loyalty, conflicts, and impartiality |
| RCW 11.98.080 | Consolidation of trusts |
Breach, exculpation, and third-party dealings
For a breach of trust, the chapter measures a trustee's liability by the greater of the amount needed to restore trust property and distributions to their no-breach value or the trustee's profit from the breach. It also establishes contribution rules among multiple liable trustees. RCW 11.98.085
Other sections address liability in narrower settings. They include lack of knowledge of a relevant event, good-faith dealings by people other than beneficiaries, limits on exculpatory terms, the effect of beneficiary consent or release, and contract and tort claims involving a trustee. RCW 11.98.100 RCW 11.98.105 RCW 11.98.107 RCW 11.98.108 RCW 11.98.110
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| RCW 11.98.085 | Damages for breach of trust and contribution among trustees |
| RCW 11.98.100 | Nonliability based on lack of knowledge of events |
| RCW 11.98.105 | Protection for third persons without knowledge of a breach |
| RCW 11.98.107 | Trustee exculpation |
| RCW 11.98.108 | Beneficiary consent, release, or ratification |
| RCW 11.98.110 | Contract and tort liability |
Trust duration and distribution
The chapter's perpetuities provisions use a 150-year period measured from the effective date of the instrument. During that period, a provision creating a trust or disposition under a covered power of appointment is not invalid under the rule against perpetuities or a similar statute or common law. After the period, a provision or disposition is deemed invalid if the assets have not already become distributable or vested. RCW 11.98.130
The effective date is the execution date for an irrevocable inter vivos trust and the death date of the trustor or testator for a revocable inter vivos or testamentary trust, for purposes of these duration provisions. RCW 11.98.160 The chapter separately addresses distributions and vesting during the period, distribution at its end, and a trustee's work when a trust partially or fully terminates. RCW 11.98.140 RCW 11.98.145 RCW 11.98.150
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| RCW 11.98.130 | Rule against perpetuities |
| RCW 11.98.140 | Distribution and vesting during the statutory period |
| RCW 11.98.145 | Distribution upon full or partial termination |
| RCW 11.98.150 | Distribution after the 150-year period |
| RCW 11.98.160 | Effective date for the duration provisions |
| RCW 11.98.170 | Trustee designations in life insurance and retirement plan arrangements |
Beneficiary trustees and remaining chapter provisions
When a trustee is also a beneficiary, RCW 11.98.200 limits certain discretionary powers unless the trust refers specifically to the beneficiary trustee provisions and expressly provides otherwise. The statute addresses distributions for the trustee's own benefit, allocations between principal and income, satisfaction of the trustee's legal obligations, and the appointment of an eligible trustee where necessary.
RCW 11.98.210 addresses supposedly absolute or similar discretion held by a beneficiary trustee and explains that a power to remove or replace a trustee does not itself give the holder the trustee's powers. The next sections address judicial review, marital-deduction income and spousal powers of appointment, and applicability or election rules for the beneficiary trustee provisions. RCW 11.98.220 RCW 11.98.230 RCW 11.98.240
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| RCW 11.98.200 | Limits on powers of beneficiary trustees |
| RCW 11.98.210 | Beneficiary trustee discretion and removal powers |
| RCW 11.98.220 | Inferences of law and judicial review |
| RCW 11.98.230 | Marital-deduction income and spousal powers of appointment |
| RCW 11.98.240 | Applicability, exceptions, elections, and causes of action |
| RCW 11.98.900 | Application of the duration provisions and RCW 11.68.090 precedence |
| RCW 11.98.920 | Short title: Washington Trust Act |
| RCW 11.98.930 | Application to state registered domestic partnerships |
When to talk to a Washington trust attorney
Talk with a qualified Washington trust attorney before changing a trustee, moving a trust's situs, relying on a beneficiary release, exercising a beneficiary trustee power, or interpreting a distribution provision. Those issues can turn on the trust's terms, the trust's effective date, related RCW chapters, and facts that a chapter reference alone cannot resolve.
This reference is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney for decisions about your trust.