Current as of November 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.
North Dakota adopted the Uniform Trust Code in Title 59 of the Century Code, numbering its sections differently: the reporting section is 59-16-13 (UTC 813) and the limitation section is 59-18-05 (UTC 1005). It keeps the annual report but redirects the reporting duty while anyone holds a power of withdrawal or a power to change the beneficiaries.
Who must provide an accounting in North Dakota
Under section 59-16-13, while a trust is revocable, or to the extent trust property is subject to a power of withdrawal or a power to change the qualified beneficiaries, the duties to inform and report run only to the settlor or the power holder. They also run to a qualified beneficiary who needs the information to establish or verify eligibility for public benefits under Title 50.
For other irrevocable trust property, the trustee keeps the qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed and responds promptly to requests for information unless that would be unreasonable. On written request, the trustee furnishes a qualified beneficiary the portion of the instrument relating to that beneficiary's interest. Within sixty days after accepting a trusteeship, the trustee notifies the qualified beneficiaries of the acceptance and contact details. Within sixty days after learning that an irrevocable trust has been created, or that a revocable trust has become irrevocable, the trustee tells them of the trust's existence, the settlor's identity, their right to request a copy of the instrument, and their right to a trustee's report. The trustee also notifies them of any change in compensation.
The report goes at least annually and at termination to the distributees or permissible distributees, and to other qualified beneficiaries who request it.
What a North Dakota trust accounting must contain
The report covers the trust property, liabilities, receipts and disbursements, including the source and amount of the trustee's compensation, and a listing of the trust assets with market values if feasible.
When a North Dakota accounting is contested
Section 59-18-05 bars a proceeding for breach of trust more than one year after the beneficiary was sent a report that adequately disclosed the potential claim and told the beneficiary, in the report or a separate notice accompanying it, how long they had to bring it. Otherwise, the outer limit is five years from the first of the trustee's removal, resignation or death, the end of the beneficiary's interest, or the end of the trust.
How T.E.A. Fiduciary helps
We prepare North Dakota annual and termination reports under section 59-16-13, with the disclosure and accompanying deadline notice that start the section 59-18-05 one-year period. We work alongside your attorney and your tax preparer; we do not prepare tax returns.
This page provides general information about North Dakota fiduciary accounting requirements and is not legal or tax advice. Statutes and court rules change. Verify the current text before relying on any of it, and consult counsel on questions of legal interpretation.
More: the uniform framework · all state pages · our services
Primary source: North Dakota Century Code Title 59, North Dakota Legislative Branch.
Written by Christina Gutman, C.P.A. — Founder and Principal of T.E.A. Fiduciary. Christina is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant by the State of California and has specialized exclusively in fiduciary accounting for over a decade, preparing trust, estate, and conservatorship accountings for law firms, professional fiduciaries, trust companies, family offices, and individual trustees nationwide. She has also served as a forensic consultant in contested accounting matters. More about Christina
