A. Subject to Subsection C of this section and except as expressly provided by will, a trustee, in addition to any other powers conferred by law, without prior approval of any court may:

(1) retain property in the form in which it is received, including assets in which the trustee is personally interested;

(2) make ordinary or extraordinary repairs, store, insure or otherwise care for any tangible personal property and pay shipping or other expense relating to the property as the trustee considers advisable;

(3) abandon property the trustee determines to be worthless;

(4) invest principal and income in any property the trustee determines and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, invest in shares of an investment company or in shares or undivided portions of any common trust fund established by the trustee;

(5) sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of property at public or private sale on terms the trustee determines, no purchaser being bound to see to the application of any proceeds;

(6) lease property on terms the trustee determines even if the term extends beyond the time the property becomes distributable;

(7) allocate items of income or expense to income or principal, as provided by law;

(8) keep registered securities in the name of a nominee;

(9) pay, compromise or contest claims or controversies, including claims for estate or inheritance taxes, in any manner the trustee determines;

(10) participate in any manner the trustee determines in any reorganization, merger or consolidation of any entity whose securities constitute part of the property held;

(11) deposit securities with a voting trustee or committee of security holders even if under the terms of deposit the securities may remain deposited beyond the time they become distributable;

(12) vote any security in person or by special, limited or general proxy, with or without power of substitution, and otherwise exercise all the rights that may be exercised by any security holder in an individual capacity;

(13) borrow any amount the trustee considers advisable to obtain cash for any purpose of the trust, and in connection therewith, mortgage or otherwise encumber any property on any conditions the trustee determines even if the term of the loan may extend beyond the term of the trust;

(14) allot in or towards satisfaction of any payment, distribution or division, in any manner the trustee determines, any property held at the then current fair market value;

(15) hold trusts and shares undivided or at any time hold them or any of them set apart one from another;

(16) enter into a lease or arrangement for exploration and removal of minerals or other natural resources or enter into a pooling or unitization agreement;

(17) sell or exercise stock subscription or conversion rights;

(18) employ persons, including attorneys, auditors, investment advisers or agents, even if associated with the trustee, to advise or assist the trustee in the performance of duties, act without independent investigation upon their recommendations and, instead of acting personally, employ agents to perform any act of administration, whether or not discretionary;

(19) continue any unincorporated business or venture in which the decedent was engaged at the time of death;

(20) incorporate any business or venture in which the decedent was engaged at the time of death;

(21) distribute property distributable to the estate of an individual directly to the devisees or heirs of the individual; and

(22) perform any other act necessary or appropriate to administer the trust.

B. Except as expressly provided in the will, the personal representative, in the administration of the estate, has all of the powers of a personal representative under the [Uniform] Probate Code and all of the powers of a trustee conferred under Subsection A of this section. In addition, the personal representative has the power to satisfy written charitable pledges of the decedent, irrespective of whether the pledges constitute binding obligations of the decedent or were properly presented as claims, if in the judgment of the personal representative the decedent would have wanted the pledges satisfied under the circumstances.

C. Except as expressly provided in the will, the personal representative or trustee shall observe the standards in dealing with the estate which would be observed by a prudent person dealing with the property of another. If the personal representative or trustee has special skills or is named personal representative or trustee on the basis or representation of special skills or expertise, the person is under a duty to use those skills. Except to the extent qualified property is not available, only property that qualifies for the estate tax marital deduction under the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, may be allocated to the surviving spouse under Section 6 [45-2A-6 NMSA 1978] of the Uniform Statutory Will Act or to the surviving spouse's share of principal in a trust established under Section 7 [45-2A-7 NMSA 1978] of that act.

History: Laws 1991, ch. 173, § 14.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

Cross references. — For the Internal Revenue Code, see 26 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.