What is the duty of impartiality in trusts with multiple beneficiaries and uneven interests?

• A. The trustee must treat present and future beneficiaries fairly, balancing interests as directed by the trust terms, and avoid bias unless the instrument specifies otherwise.
• B. The trustee may favor one beneficiary if they are a family member.
• C. The trustee only needs to favor the most recent beneficiary.
• D. The trustee should ignore the interests of future beneficiaries.

Answer: (D)

Impartiality means the trustee administers the trust without giving unfair preference to any beneficiary. In a setup with multiple beneficiaries and uneven interests, the trustee must balance the rights of current beneficiaries with those of future beneficiaries, following the trust’s terms and preserving value for later interests. This means distributions or preservations should reflect what the instrument directs and should avoid bias toward family ties, recency, or any single group unless the trust language specifically requires it. Ignoring future beneficiaries or privileging a particular present beneficiary would violate that duty. For example, if income goes to current beneficiaries but principal must be preserved for remainder beneficiaries, the trustee should provide the income while safeguarding enough assets for those future interests. The core obligation is fair, even-handed administration that respects the trust terms and the interests of all beneficiaries over time.