Tennessee Code Title 35. Fiduciaries and Trust Estates § 35-15-814

(1) “Improper motive” means to demonstrate action such as the following:

(2) Unless otherwise provided in the trust:

(1) A discretionary interest is neither a property interest nor an enforceable right; it is a mere expectancy;

(2) A court may review a trustee's distribution discretion only if the trustee acts dishonestly, acts with an improper motive, or fails to act if under a duty to do so;

(3) A reasonableness standard shall not be applied to the exercise of discretion by the trustee with regard to a discretionary interest;

(4) Other than for the three (3) circumstances listed in subdivision (b)(2) or to enforce the limitations of subsection (d), a court has no jurisdiction to review the trustee's discretion or to force a distribution; and

(5) Absent express language in the trust instrument to the contrary, in the event that the distribution language in a discretionary interest permits unequal distributions between beneficiaries or distributions to the exclusion of other beneficiaries, the trustee may distribute all of the accumulated, accrued, or undistributed income and principal to one beneficiary in the trustee's discretion.

(1) A beneficiary of a mandatory or a support interest has an enforceable right to a distribution pursuant to a court's review;

(2) A trustee's distribution decision may be reviewed for unreasonableness, dishonesty, improper motivation, or failure to act if under a duty to do so; and

(3) In the case of a support interest, nothing in this section shall raise a beneficiary's support interest to the level of a property interest.

(1) A person other than a settlor who is a beneficiary and trustee of a trust that confers on the trustee a power to make discretionary distributions to or for the trustee's personal benefit may exercise the power only in accordance with an ascertainable standard; and

(2) A trustee may not exercise a power to make discretionary distributions to satisfy a legal obligation of support that the trustee personally owes another person.

(1) A power held by the settlor's spouse who is the trustee of a trust for which a marital deduction, as defined in § 2056(b)(5) or § 2523(e) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 2056(b)(5) and § 2523(e)), was previously allowed;

(2) Any trust during any period that the trust may be revoked or amended by its settlor; or

(3) A trust if contributions to the trust qualify for the annual exclusion under § 2503(c) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 2503(c)).