Trusts & Estates Glossary: U

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Trusts & Estates Glossary: U

ULTIMATE BENEFICIARY:
A beneficiary of a trust who is entitled to receive principal of the trust property in final distribution; also called principal beneficiary; opposed to immediate beneficiary and income beneficiary.

ULTRA VIRES:
A term applied to acts of a corporation which exceed its corporate powers.

UNAUTHORIZED INVESTMENT:
A trust investment that is not authorized by the trust instrument; to be distinguished from a nonlegal investment.

UNDISTRIBUTED NET INCOME ("UNI"):
The amount by which the distributable net income for the year exceeds the sum of any amount of income for the year required to be distributed currently, any other amounts properly paid, credited, or required to be distributed for such year, and the amount of taxes properly allocable to the undistributed portion of the distributable net income.

UNFUNDED INSURANCE TRUST:
An insurance trust in which the premiums on the policies are to be paid by the insured or by some third person and not by the trustee; to be distinguished from a funded insurance trust.

UNIFIED CREDIT:
A dollar amount allocated to each taxpayer which can be applied against the gift tax and the estate tax.

UNIFORM ACTS:
A series of acts drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and suggested for passage in the various states with a view toward making the laws in the states uniform as to the particular subjects covered.

UNIFORM SIMULTANEOUS DEATH ACT:
An act providing that each person is presumed to be the survivor of the other with respect to testamentary disposition of his property in the event of simultaneous death. See also Simultaneous Death.

UNIFORM TRANSFERS TO MINORS ACT:
An act adopted in many states to replace the more restrictive Uniform Gifts to Minors Act which provides a means of transferring property to a minor, wherein the designated custodian has the legal right to act on behalf of the minor without the necessity of a guardianship.