Idaho Trust Protectors, Trust Advisors, Purpose Trusts, and Dry Trusts

Part of my Idaho Trusts Overview.

By Ronald W. Brilliant, Attorney at Law · Licensed in Idaho, Nevada & California · Last reviewed: September 2026 against the Idaho Code (Titles 15 and 68) as posted by the Idaho Legislature (July 1, 2026)

In This TopicIdaho TrustsTopic 7 of 14: Protectors & Special Trusts

Under Idaho law, a trust document can give decision-making authority to people other than the trustee, such as a trust protector or a trust advisor (Idaho Code § 15-7-501). Idaho also has rules on spendthrift trusts, on trusts created for a purpose rather than for people, and on trusts that hold no property (Idaho Code §§ 15-7-502, 15-7-601, 15-7-701).

These rules matter to people planning a trust, to trustees working alongside an advisor or protector, and to beneficiaries who want to know who has the final say. This page explains what Chapter 7, Parts 5 through 7, of Idaho’s Title 15 provide.

Key Terms

Idaho Code § 15-7-501(1) defines the key terms. A trust protector or trust advisor has a role only if the trust instrument provides for one (§ 15-7-501(1)(a), (e), (g)).

Term	Meaning under Idaho law
Trust protector	Any disinterested third party whose appointment is provided for in the trust instrument (§ 15-7-501(1)(g)).
Investment trust advisor	A person the trust instrument authorizes to use some or all of the investment powers listed in § 15-7-501(10) (§ 15-7-501(1)(e)).
Distribution trust advisor	A person the trust instrument authorizes to use some or all of the distribution powers listed in § 15-7-501(11) (§ 15-7-501(1)(a)).
Trust advisor	A distribution trust advisor or an investment advisor (§ 15-7-501(1)(f)).
Excluded fiduciary	A fiduciary, such as a trustee, who is excluded under the instrument from using certain powers that the grantor, a trust advisor, or a trust protector may use instead (§ 15-7-501(1)(b)).
Fiduciary	A trustee, an executor, administrator, or personal representative of a decedent’s estate, or anyone else, including a trust advisor or trust protector, acting in a fiduciary capacity for a person, trust, or estate (§ 15-7-501(1)(c)).
Instrument	Any revocable or irrevocable trust document, whether created during life or by will (§ 15-7-501(1)(d)).

Trust Protectors

A trust protector’s powers are whatever the governing instrument provides (Idaho Code § 15-7-501(6)). The protector may use or not use those powers, in the best interests of the trust, in the protector’s sole and absolute discretion, and the protector’s decisions are binding on all other persons (§ 15-7-501(6)).

The statute lists powers a trust protector’s authority may include (§ 15-7-501(6)):

• Modifying or amending the trust instrument to achieve favorable tax status, or because of changes in the Internal Revenue Code, state law, or related rulings and regulations.
• Increasing or decreasing the interests of any beneficiaries.
• Modifying the terms of any power of appointment granted by the trust.
• Terminating the trust.
• Vetoing or directing trust distributions.
• Changing the trust’s situs (location) or governing law, or both.
• Appointing a successor trust protector.
• Interpreting the trust’s terms at the trustee’s request.
• Advising the trustee on matters concerning a beneficiary.
• Amending or modifying the trust to take advantage of laws on restraints on alienation, distribution of trust property, or trust administration.

There is a limit. A modification or amendment may not give a beneficial interest to any individual or class of individuals not specifically provided for under the trust instrument (§ 15-7-501(6)(c)).

A will or trust instrument may adopt any of these listed powers, as they exist when the will or trust instrument is signed, by an appropriate reference to them (§ 15-7-501(8)). The testator or trustor must clearly express the intention to incorporate them, in whole or in part (§ 15-7-501(8)).

Investment and Distribution Trust Advisors

A trust instrument governed by Idaho law may name an investment trust advisor for investment decisions or a distribution trust advisor for discretionary distributions (Idaho Code § 15-7-501(9)). Each advisor’s powers are set by the trust instrument (§ 15-7-501(10), (11)). The advisor may use or not use them, in the best interests of the trust, in the advisor’s sole and absolute discretion, and those decisions bind any other person, interested party, fiduciary, and excluded fiduciary (§ 15-7-501(10), (11)).

Unless the trust document says otherwise, an investment trust advisor has the power to (§ 15-7-501(10)):

• Direct the trustee on keeping, buying, selling, or encumbering trust property, and on investing and reinvesting the trust’s principal and income.
• Vote proxies for securities held in the trust.
• Select one or more investment advisors, managers, or counselors, including the trustee, and delegate any of its powers to them.

Unless the trust document says otherwise, a distribution trust advisor directs the trustee on all discretionary distributions to beneficiaries (§ 15-7-501(11)).

If the governing instrument gives one or more trust advisors authority to direct, consent to, or disapprove a fiduciary’s investment decisions or proposed investment decisions, those advisors are considered fiduciaries when using that authority, unless the instrument provides otherwise (§ 15-7-501(4)). For the duties Idaho places on trustees, see trustee duties and liabilities.

Protection for an Excluded Fiduciary

When a trustee has been excluded from certain powers, Idaho limits the trustee’s liability. An excluded fiduciary is not liable, individually or as a fiduciary, for (Idaho Code § 15-7-501(2)):

• Any loss that results from following a trust advisor’s direction.
• Any loss that results from not taking an action the excluded fiduciary proposed, if the action needed the trust advisor’s prior authorization and the excluded fiduciary timely sought but failed to get it.

An excluded fiduciary is also relieved of any obligation to review investments and make investment recommendations, to the extent the trust advisor had authority to direct buying, selling, or keeping those investments (§ 15-7-501(2)). If the instrument appoints a trust protector, the excluded fiduciary is not liable for any loss resulting from action taken on the trust protector’s direction (§ 15-7-501(5)).

If the instrument allows it, an excluded fiduciary may keep following a trust advisor’s direction after the grantor becomes incapacitated or dies (§ 15-7-501(3)).

Idaho Courts Have Jurisdiction Over Advisors and Protectors

A person who accepts an appointment as trust advisor or trust protector of a trust subject to Idaho law submits to the jurisdiction of Idaho courts, even if investment advisory agreements or other related agreements say otherwise (Idaho Code § 15-7-501(7)). The advisor or protector may be made a party to any action or proceeding if the issues relate to one of the advisor’s or protector’s decisions or actions (§ 15-7-501(7)).

For how disputes over a trust can be settled by agreement or in court, see trust and estate disputes under TEDRA. For where trust proceedings are heard, see trust registration and court jurisdiction.

Spendthrift Trusts

A settlor (the person who creates the trust) may provide that a beneficiary’s interest in income, principal, or both may not be voluntarily or involuntarily transferred before the trustee pays or delivers it to the beneficiary (Idaho Code § 15-7-502(1)). A statement in the trust instrument that a beneficiary’s interest is held subject to a “spendthrift trust” is enough to restrain voluntary or involuntary transfer of the interest to the maximum extent the section permits (§ 15-7-502(2)). The restraint does not need to use the statute’s exact words or refer to them (§ 15-7-502(3)).

When the Settlor Is Also a Beneficiary

If the same person is both settlor and beneficiary, a spendthrift provision does not stop the settlor’s creditors from reaching the settlor’s interest in the part of the trust the settlor contributed (§ 15-7-502(4)).

There is an exception for certain irrevocable trusts taxed under the federal grantor trust rules (Internal Revenue Code sections 671 through 679) (§ 15-7-502(4)). The settlor is not considered a beneficiary if the settlor’s only beneficial interest is a right to receive distributions equal to or less than the federal and state income tax the settlor owes because the trust is treated as a grantor trust (§ 15-7-502(4)).

Powers That Do Not Make a Beneficiary a Settlor

A beneficiary is not considered a settlor, and is not treated as having made or having the power to make a transfer of the beneficiary’s interest, merely because the beneficiary, in any capacity including as trustee, holds or exercises (§ 15-7-502(6)):

• A presently exercisable power to take or distribute trust property for the beneficiary’s own benefit, if the power can be used only with the consent of someone with an adverse interest, or is limited by an ascertainable standard such as health, education, support, or maintenance.
• A presently exercisable limited power of appointment, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code.
• A testamentary power of appointment.
• A presently exercisable right to withdraw trust property within the annual limit described below.

A beneficiary also is not considered a settlor merely because one of those powers lapses or is waived or released (§ 15-7-502(5)(a)). The same is true for the lapse, waiver, or release of a right to withdraw trust property, if the value affected in any calendar year does not exceed the greater of the amounts in Internal Revenue Code section 2041(b)(2) or 2514(e), or section 2503(b) (§ 15-7-502(5)(b)).

Purpose Trusts

A trust may be created for any purpose, charitable or noncharitable, under a trust agreement or a will (Idaho Code § 15-7-601(1)). A noncharitable trust created this way is a purpose trust and exists to serve a purpose (§ 15-7-601(1)). A purpose trust does not need a beneficiary (§ 15-7-601(2)). Charitable trusts are not governed by this section (§ 15-7-601(8)).

Who Enforces a Purpose Trust

The person named in the trust agreement to enforce the trust enforces it on the agreement’s terms (§ 15-7-601(3)). Failing to name an enforcer does not void the trust or make it unenforceable (§ 15-7-601(3)). The enforcer may resign or be removed or replaced as the trust provides (§ 15-7-601(4)).

If the enforcer resigns, is removed, or is unwilling or unable to act, and no successor is named under the trust, the trustee must immediately (the statute says “forthwith”) ask the court having jurisdiction of the trust for directions or for a court-appointed enforcer (§ 15-7-601(5)). The court may appoint an enforcer on terms it sees fit and designate how successors will be named (§ 15-7-601(5)).

While no one is named or acting as enforcer, the court having jurisdiction may exercise all powers necessary to enforce the trust and serve its purpose (§ 15-7-601(6)). Any interested person, as defined in Idaho Code § 15-1-201(25), may bring an action under law or equity to enforce a purpose trust (§ 15-7-601(7)). That definition includes heirs, devisees, children, spouses, creditors, beneficiaries, and others with a property right in or claim against a trust estate that may be affected by the proceeding (§ 15-1-201(25)).

A purpose trust created before July 1, 2005, is valid and enforceable from the date the trust was created (§ 15-7-601(9)).

Dry Trusts

In Idaho, a trust is valid and enforceable even if it is not funded at a given time or from time to time, or has no property of any kind in it (Idaho Code § 15-7-701). For how a will can add property to a trust, see pour-over and testamentary trusts.

How I Can Help

I can review a trust document to identify who holds which powers, explain how a trust protector or trust advisor provision works under Idaho law, and help trustees, advisors, and beneficiaries understand their roles when questions or disagreements arise. Request a consultation to discuss your situation.

This page provides general information about Idaho trust law, based on the Idaho Code, and is not legal advice. Court rules and case law also affect these matters. Every situation is different; consult an attorney about yours. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.