(a) Without precluding other means for establishing a sufficient connection with the designated jurisdiction, terms of a trust designating the principal place of administration are valid and controlling if:
- (1) A trustee’s principal place of business is located in, or a trustee is a resident of the designated jurisdiction;
- (2) A trust director’s principal place of business is located in, or a trust director is a resident of the designated jurisdiction; or
- (3) All or part of the administration occurs in the designated jurisdiction.
- (b) Without precluding the right of the court to order, approve, or disapprove a transfer, the trustee may transfer the trust’s principal place of administration to another state or to a jurisdiction outside of the United States that is appropriate to the trust’s purposes, its administration, and the interests of the beneficiaries.
(c) When the proposed transfer of a trust’s principal place of administration is to another state or to a jurisdiction outside of the United States, the trustee shall notify the current beneficiaries of a proposed transfer of a trust’s principal place of administration not less than 60 days before initiating the transfer. A corporate trustee that maintains a place of business in West Virginia where one or more trust officers are available on a regular basis for personal contact with trust customers and beneficiaries has not transferred its principal place of administration merely because all or a significant portion of the administration of the trust is performed outside West Virginia. The notice of proposed transfer must include:
- (1) The name of the jurisdiction to which the principal place of administration is to be transferred;
- (2) The address and telephone number at the new location at which the trustee can be contacted;
- (3) An explanation of the reasons for the proposed transfer;
- (4) The date on which the proposed transfer is anticipated to occur; and
- (5) The date, not less than 60 days after the giving of the notice, by which the current beneficiary must notify the trustee of an objection to the proposed transfer.
- (d) The authority of a trustee under this section to transfer a trust’s principal place of administration to another state or to a jurisdiction outside the United States terminates if a current beneficiary notifies the trustee of an objection to the proposed transfer on or before the date specified in the notice.
- (e) In connection with a transfer of the trust’s principal place of administration, the trustee may transfer some or all of the trust property to a successor trustee designated in the terms of the trust instrument or appointed pursuant to §44D-7-704 of this code.