Comprehensive guide to Tennessee's trust statutes for dynasty planning.
Compare Tennessee against other top jurisdictions based on your specific planning goals.
Start Comparison →Tennessee modified (but did not abolish) the Rule Against Perpetuities in 2007, extending the permissible trust duration to 360 years. While substantial, this is shorter than perpetual jurisdictions like South Dakota, Nevada, and Delaware.
Tennessee fully repealed the Hall Income Tax effective January 1, 2021. Tennessee now has no state income tax on trust income, interest, dividends, or capital gains. This makes Tennessee equivalent to other no-income-tax states for trust purposes.
Tennessee has DAPT legislation through the Tennessee Investment Services Trust Act. The statute of limitations is 4 years from transfer or 1 year from discovery, whichever is later. Tennessee's DAPT statute is newer than South Dakota or Alaska with less established case law.
Tennessee adopted the Uniform Directed Trust Act effective July 1, 2020, providing comprehensive, modern directed trust and trust protector provisions. The statute allows separation of trustee duties with explicit liability protection for directed trustees following proper directions.
Tennessee adopted the full Uniform Trust Decanting Act effective July 1, 2016. The statute provides broad powers to modify beneficial interests, extend trust terms, change situs, and update administrative provisions. No court approval generally required.
360-year duration, no state income tax (since 2021), and investment-friendly directed trust statutes. Growing trust industry.
The tort creditor exception in the DAPT statute is a huge hole. If someone sues you for a car accident, your Tennessee trust won't help.
Tennessee talks a good game on asset protection but the tort creditor exception is a dealbreaker. For pure dynasty planning without asset protection, it's fine. For anything else, look elsewhere.