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Committee releases 2026 Delaware Trust Act with a trust‑merger clarification
Summary
House Bill 297, the 2026 Delaware Trust Act, was presented as largely technical and clarifying; the bill expands the trust‑merger provision to allow merged trusts to elect which governing instrument controls and clarifies fiduciary decision‑making; the committee released the bill.
The Insurance and Commerce Committee released House Bill 297, the 2026 Delaware Trust Act, after a presentation and brief questions.
Mr. Lydon, who presented the bill, described most changes as "housekeeping or clarifying changes" that remove ambiguity about fiduciary and nonfiduciary decision‑making and update rules on successor trustee appointments. He said the bill’s one substantive change "has been to the trust merger provision, which now allows... when you're merging two trusts, you can now elect to use either governing instrument." The presenter said that aligns the merger rule with changes previously made to the decanting statute.
A committee member asked whether the revisions would make Delaware more competitive for trust business. Mr. Lydon replied the expansion "will help as another option" but characterized most of the act as technical cleanup rather than sweeping reform.
There was no in‑person or virtual public opposition recorded; the committee moved to release the bill, conducted a roll‑call vote and the chair announced HB297 had received the required votes to be released from committee.
The sponsor and presenter characterized the measure as clarifying law and providing additional drafting options for trustees and their advisers rather than altering fundamental trust principles.
