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Trustee presentation

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Page 1: Trustee presentation
Page 2: Trustee presentation

I’m an Executor/Trustee. Get me out of here!14 May 2013

Presented by:Chris GreenwellScott McKittrick Claire Herbert

Page 3: Trustee presentation

What we want to tell you about

• Choosing trustees• Removing trustees• Beneficiaries' right to information • Duties, obligations and breaches • Reliefs• Protecting trustees who part with trust assets

Page 4: Trustee presentation

Choosing trustees

Who chooses trustees?

• Trustees are initially chosen by settlor (via trust document or Will)

• New trustees are chosen by an appointor or current trustees (if there is no appointor)

• In unusual circumstances new trustees may be chosen by either the beneficiaries or the court

Page 5: Trustee presentation

Choosing trustees

Factors that may limit the choice of trustees• The trust document can impose restrictions.• If the settlor or a beneficiary (or potential

beneficiary) is a trustee, there may be a conflict of interest.

• If the trust document does not contain a charging clause, a professional trustee will not act.

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Choosing trustees

• If a trustee is a director or shareholder of a company in which the trustees hold shares, the law does not allow the trustee to receive directors' fees unless the trust document expressly authorises this.

• A company can only act as a trustee if its articles of association allow it to do so.

• There are some specific restrictions on an undischarged bankrupt acting as a trustee of certain types of trust.

Page 7: Trustee presentation

Choosing trustees

Who can be a trustee?• Settlor• Beneficiary• Professional person• Any other individual• Company• LLP

The trust document can impose restrictions

Page 8: Trustee presentation

Choosing trustees

How many trustees?

• Only four trustees can be appointed for a trust of land

• Two trustees are required to give good receipt under a trust of land except where a sole trustee is a trust corporation

• It is only permissible to have a sole trustee if the original trustee was a sole trustee and the trust is not a trust of land

Page 9: Trustee presentation

Choosing trustees

Factors to consider• Individual trustee may know the settlor and

his family personally but there can be practical problems if he dies or loses capacity

• Corporate trustee provides continuity in the trusteeship but there is likely to be a turnover of employees dealing with the trust

Page 10: Trustee presentation

Choosing trustees

• Professional trustee should be regulated and offer a level of expertise but charges for the service

• A trustee being appointed to an existing trust should examine books and documents to review the state of the trust

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Choosing trustees

Common choices for UK trusts• For a small trust, two or three family trustees,

who carry out some of the trust administration themselves and instruct professional advisers when needed.

• For a medium-sized trust, between two and four individual trustees, including both family members and professional trustees. A professional trustee's firm usually administers the trust.

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Choosing trustees

• For a large trust, a corporate trustee and one or two family trustees. The corporate trustee usually provides trust administration services.

Page 13: Trustee presentation

Choosing trustees

Conflict of interest

• If the settlor or a beneficiary is a trustee, there is a possible conflict of interest between his interest as settlor or beneficiary and his duties as a trustee

• If family members are appointed to be trustees of family trust, certain issues need to be considered e.g. is there a balance between different parts of a family

Page 14: Trustee presentation

Removing trustees

Express power of removal

• Trustees may be removed by exercise of a power expressly conferred on a person by the trust instrument

• An express power of removal is strictly construed

• The power is usually fiduciary (exercised for the benefit of the beneficiaries and not of the donee of the power himself)

Page 15: Trustee presentation

Removing trustees

Replacement (S.36 Trustee Act 1925)

• The power to replace trustees may only be exercised in specific circumstances

• The power may be exercised by those nominated by trust instrument or continuing trustees (if there is no person nominated)

• The power may be limited in scope• Appointment should be made by deed (allows

automatic vesting under S.40 Trustee Act 1925)

Page 16: Trustee presentation

Removing trustees

Removal by the court (S.41Trustee Act 1925)

• A claim under this section is appropriate to replace trustees where two conditions are met:• It is expedient to appoint a new trustee(s)• It is inexpedient, difficult or impracticable to

do so without the assistance of the court• It may sometimes be more appropriate to use

court’s inherent jurisdiction (e.g. where trustee wishes to remain in office)

Page 17: Trustee presentation

Removing trustees

Removal by the court under its inherent jurisdiction

• The welfare of the beneficiaries is the focus of the court's consideration

• The court also exercise their jurisdiction with a view to the security of the trust property, an efficient and satisfactory execution of the trusts, and a faithful and sound exercise of the powers conferred on the trustee

Page 18: Trustee presentation

Removing trusteesCompulsory retirement (S.19 Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996)

• This power can only be used if certain requirements are met and can be excluded by the trust document

• A direction must be given by beneficiaries in writing

• A trustee must retire if he receives a valid direction

• Retirement should be effected by deed

Page 19: Trustee presentation

Removing trustees

Replacement for mental incapacity (S.20 Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996)

• This power can only be used if certain requirements are met and can be excluded by the trust document

• A direction must be given by beneficiaries in writing

• Trustee must lack capacity within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

• Appointment should be effected by deed

Page 20: Trustee presentation

Removing trustees

Procedure for court to remove trustees

• Removal may be carried out as part of an administration claim or as a stand-alone claim

• In urgent cases the court may order removal on an interim application

• The court will decide who pays costs in a claim for removal

Page 21: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Information trustees are under a duty to provide

• An adult beneficiary who has an interest in possession is entitled to know of the existence of the trust and the nature of their interest

• Objects of discretionary trusts should know of the existence and nature of their interest

• Trustees ought to inform those who are real potential candidates for benefit under a discretionary power

Page 22: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Position before Schmidt -v- Rosewood [2003]• Beneficiaries had a proprietary right to see

trust documents• The right to see documents only extended to

documents relating to the ownership, management or administration of any property vested in the trustees

Page 23: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Position before Schmidt -v- Rosewood [2003]The trustees were exempt from disclosing:• The agendas of trustee meetings• Correspondence between the trustees• Correspondence between the trustees and the

beneficiaries

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Right to information

Position before Schmidt -v- Rosewood [2003]• Minutes of trustee meetings and other

documents disclosing: • The deliberations of the trustees as to the

manner in which they should exercise their discretionary powers;

• The reasons for any particular exercise of such powers; or

• The materials on which such reasons were, or might have been, based

Page 25: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Facts of Schmidt -v- Rosewood [2003] • The case was decided under Manx law, but is

based on English trust law principles and mainly English case law

• Two discretionary settlements, created in 1992 and 1995 by Mr Schmidt's father and established under the laws of the Isle of Man

• Rosewood Trust Limited had been the trustee of both settlements since 1997

Page 26: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Facts of Schmidt -v- Rosewood [2003] • The assets of the settlements were worth

over US$105million• The settlor died intestate in 1997, and letters

of administration to his estate were granted to Mr Schmidt

• Mr Schmidt began proceedings in the Isle of Man in June 1998, alleging breach of trust and breach of fiduciary duty

• Mr Schmidt obtained an order requiring extensive disclosure of information

Page 27: Trustee presentation

Right to informationFacts of Schmidt -v- Rosewood [2003] Mr Schmidt was not satisfied with the disclosure

he obtained as it ‘raised more questions than it answered’, especially as parts of some of the disclosed documents had been obliterated

• In June 1999, he brought proceedings seeking fuller disclosure in two capacities:• His personal capacity, as the possible object

of a wide power to add to the class of beneficiaries

• His capacity as administrator of his late father's estate

Page 28: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Facts of Schmidt -v- Rosewood [2003] • The trustees opposed disclosure, arguing that

the claimant was not a beneficiary under the settlements, and his father was never more than a mere object of a power

• An order for disclosure was made by the High Court of the Isle of Man but set aside on appeal

• The claimant then appealed to the Privy Council in London

Page 29: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Decision in Schmidt -v- Rosewood [2003] The Privy Council held that a proprietary right

was neither necessary nor sufficient for the exercise of the court’s jurisdiction:

• ‘A beneficiary’s right to seek disclosure of trust documents, although sometimes not inappropriately described as a proprietary right, is best approached as one aspect of the court’s inherent jurisdiction to supervise (and where appropriate intervene in) the administration of trusts’

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Right to information

Decision in Schmidt -v- Rosewood [2003]• ‘The right to seek the court’s intervention does

not depend on entitlement to a fixed and transmissible beneficial interest. The object of a discretion (including a mere power) may also be entitled to protection from the court of equity, although the circumstances in which he may seek protection, and the nature of the protection he may expect to obtain, will depend on the court’s discretion’

Page 31: Trustee presentation

Right to informationDecision in Schmidt -v- Rosewood [2003]• ‘No beneficiary (and least of all a discretionary

object) has any entitlement as of right to disclosure of anything which can plausibly be described as a trust document. Especially when there are issues as to personal or commercial confidentiality, the court may have to balance the competing interest of different beneficiaries, the trustees themselves and third parties’

Page 32: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Decision in Schmidt -v- Rosewood [2003] • ‘Disclosure may have to be limited and

safeguards may have to be put in place. Evaluation of the claims of a beneficiary (and especially of a discretionary object) may be an important part of the balancing exercise which the court has to perform on the materials placed before it. In many cases, the court may have no difficulty in concluding that an applicant with no more than a theoretical possibility of benefit ought not to be granted any relief’

Page 33: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Position after Schmidt -v- Rosewood [2003]• Beneficiaries right to information is not based

on any equitable proprietary right but fiduciary duty of trustees to keep them informed

• Beneficiaries are not entitled to disclosure as of right but have a legitimate expectation of disclosure

• Beneficiaries need to prove that prospect of benefiting under the trust is sufficient to warrant disclosure requested

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Right to information

How should trustees deal with requests?

• Trustees have discretion (the beneficiary has no entitlement as of right) and should conduct a balancing exercise considering all the relevant circumstances at the time

• Whether or not trustees decide to exercise their discretion to disclose may depend on the type of document requested

• Beneficiaries commonly request documents such as the trust document and the settlor’s letter of wishes

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Right to information

Commonly requested documents - trust deed

• The trust document is a key document, which trustees should disclose to beneficiaries if requested

• The same applies to supplemental documents such as:• Deeds of appointment and retirement of

trustees• Instruments adding assets to the trust• Instruments varying the trust

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Right to information

Commonly requested documents - redaction

• The trustees may wish to redact information that does not relate to the beneficiary making the request (for example, by obscuring the names of other beneficiaries in a deed)

• If a beneficiary requests redacted information, the trustees ought to inquire why (there might be a valid reason, so they should not refuse outright)

Page 37: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Commonly requested documents - accounts

• Trustees have a duty to keep clear trust accounts and to be constantly ready with those accounts

• If a beneficiary requests a copy of the trust accounts, the trustees should provide a copy

• If they do not, the beneficiary can seek the accounts via the court, and the court usually orders the trustees to pay personally (not from the trust fund) the costs of obtaining the order

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Right to information

Commonly requested documents – accounts

• If a beneficiary seeks disclosure of trust accounts apparently in order to attack the trust or trust property (such as a challenge to the validity of the trust which would be against the interests of the beneficiaries as a whole) the trustees ought to be cautious

• If the trustees are unsure of the reason for the request, they should clarify that with the beneficiary before making a decision. However, there is a strong presumption in favour of disclosure

Page 39: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Commonly requested documents - letters of wishes

• Settlors often leave a letter addressed to the trustees setting out their wishes in relation to the exercise of the trustees' discretions.

• Trustees must consider those wishes, but are not bound to comply with them. Settlors often specify that the letter is to remain confidential.

Page 40: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Commonly requested documents - letters of wishes

• A number of cases provide guidance on beneficiaries' requests to see letters of wishes.• A New South Wales case Hartigan

Nominees Property Limited -v- Rydge (1992) 29 NSWLR 405

• The Jersey case of Re Rabaiotti's Settlements [2000] WTLR 953

• The recent English case of Breakspear and others -v- Ackland and others [2008] EWHC 220 (Ch)

Page 41: Trustee presentation

Right to informationCommonly requested documents - letters of wishes

In the light of the case law, trustees should:• Consider the reasons for the beneficiary's

request for a letter of wishes to be disclosed, and whether disclosure would be in the interests of the administration of the trust.

• Not refuse disclosure simply because the settlor has requested that the letter remain confidential.

• Not feel obliged to give reasons for their decision.• Consider obtaining an undertaking of

confidentiality or, if appropriate, redacting information in the letter before disclosure.

Page 42: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Commonly requested documents - legal advice

Legal advice obtained by trustees and paid for from the trust fund is privileged but such privilege is held for the benefit of the beneficiaries and is therefore not a reason in itself to refuse disclosure of the advice to the beneficiaries. Where the advice relates to:

• Reasons for the exercise of the trustees' powers and discretions, the trustees should consider carefully requests for disclosure.

Page 43: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Commonly requested documents - legal advice

• A dispute between the trustees and a beneficiary, and disclosure of that advice would not be in the interests of the beneficiaries as a whole, the trustees may exercise their discretion not to disclose (although this is subject to the court's ability to override the trustees' decision).

• A claim against the trustees for breach of trust, they are not required to disclose the legal advice they obtain in order to defend the claim, which is privileged.

Page 44: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Commonly requested documents - company documents

• Where trustees hold all the shares of, or have a controlling shareholding in, a company, a beneficiary may seek disclosure of company documents.

• Company articles of association usually state that only the company directors can see company documents.

Page 45: Trustee presentation

Right to informationCommonly requested documents - company documents

• The leading case in this area is Butt -v- Kelson [1952] Ch 197 CA, which established that beneficiaries can be entitled to see information about underlying companies (as if they were the registered shareholders) provided that:• The beneficiary must specify the documents he

wishes to see.• He must set out why he wishes to see them.• He must provide assurances that he will not

disclose the documents to others.• There must be no valid objections by other

beneficiaries, or by the company directors (from the perspective of the company).

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Right to information

On what basis can trustees refuse disclosure?

The trustees may decide (when exercising their discretion pursuant to Schmidt -v- Rosewood) to refuse disclosure because:

• There is a legal reason to refuse (for example, if a document contains privileged legal advice).

• There is a commercial reason to refuse (for example, if a document contains commercially sensitive information).

Page 47: Trustee presentation

Right to information

On what basis can trustees refuse disclosure?

• The document is confidential (for example, it might be relevant to one beneficiary but not another).

• Disclosure is impractical or too costly.• The beneficiary has only a theoretical

possibility of benefiting from the trust. • The information has been requested for an

improper purpose (such as challenging the validity of the trust, which would not be in the interests of the beneficiaries as a whole).

Page 48: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Other options available before refusing disclosure

• Offering redacted documents. • Offering to release the documents to the

beneficiary’s advisers, rather than to the beneficiary.

• Requesting an undertaking in relation to the use of the information disclosed.

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Right to information

Other options available before refusing disclosure

• If there is no good reason to refuse, the trustees ought to disclose (otherwise they are at risk as to costs if the beneficiary then applies to court for disclosure).

• If the trustees are unsure, they can make an application to court by a Part 8 claim form under Part 64 of the Civil Procedure Rules, but they should consider carefully whether they can justify the costs of doing so.

Page 50: Trustee presentation

Right to information

How can a beneficiary obtain information?

• Ask the trustees (beneficiary traditionally meets the costs of copying and sending the documents)

• If the trustees refuse and cannot be persuaded) the beneficiary could consider making a court application

• The costs of an application are at the discretion of the court (costs order often reflect the outcome of the application)

Page 51: Trustee presentation

Right to information

How can a beneficiary obtain information?

• Application under the Probate Rules for an inventory and account

Page 52: Trustee presentation

Right to information

Disclosure and litigation/divorce

• Trustees can be subject to an order for pre-action disclosure or an order for disclosure once proceedings have commenced

• A beneficiary must disclose any trust interest (including an interest under a discretionary trust) in the divorce proceedings. The court can then order that they disclose certain trust documentation and they may in turn request this information from the trustees

Page 53: Trustee presentation

Trustees duties and obligations

• A trustee is one who holds property in trust

for another• Trustees must act honestly and loyally• Trustees must ‘take all those precautions

which an ordinary prudent man of business would take in managing similar affairs of his own’

• (Lord Blackburn, Speight -v- Gaunt 1883).• Trustees not liable for loss or depreciation

caused by factors beyond their control

Page 54: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations • This standard presupposes that the ordinary

man of business acts as though he has a moral duty to others

• The standard is objective i.e. it is not a charter for an honest incompetent

• The standard cannot be lowered because of subjective matters particular the case

Page 55: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations

• Statutory duty Section 1 Trustee Act 2000

• A trustee:• ‘Must exercise such care and skill as is

reasonable in the circumstances, having regard in particular to

• (a) any special knowledge or experience that he has or holds himself out as having; and

• (b) if he acts as trustee in the course of a business or profession, to any special knowledge or experience that it is reasonable to expect of the person acting in the course of that kind of business or profession’.

Page 56: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations • Professional trustees. • There are objective minimum standards that

have to be applied to anyone carrying out trusteeship in a trade or profession.

• There are subjective higher standards for those holding themselves out as having specialist knowledge or experience.

• Brightman J in Bartlett -v- Barclays Bank Trust Co Ltd (1) 1980

Page 57: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations

• ‘I am of the opinion that a higher duty of care is plainly due from someone like a trust corporation which carries on a specialised business of trust management. (It) holds itself out in its advertising literature as being above ordinary mortals and...capable of providing an expertise which it would be unrealistic to expect, and a trust to demand, from the ordinary prudent man or woman who accepts probably unpaid and sometimes reluctantly from a sense of family duty, the burdens of trusteeship…..’

Page 58: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations • Trustees have a duty to keep beneficiaries

informed if they are asked to disclose information pertaining to a beneficiaries interest or reasonable expectation of interest

• Trustees are liable to third parties with whom they contract subject a right of indemnity and observing their other duties

• There is no such thing as a ‘sleeping trustee’. If you are a trustee and decisions are made by the trustees of the body whether you participated or not you are fixed personally with liability flowing from that decision

Page 59: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations • Note a professional trustee making a

decision alongside a lay trustee may be subject to higher obligations in respect of consequences flowing from that decision

• A professional trustee relied on to advise by a lay trustee and doing so carelessly may well face claims in contract or negligence

Page 60: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations • The powers to which the duties apply:

• Investment• Acquisition of land• Appointment of agents, nominees and

custodians• Compounding liabilities• Insurance• Valuations• Audit

Page 61: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations

• The duty of care applies to whether a duty has been exercised or not and an honest but improper exercise of duty may attract liability though could be relieved of (which more shortly)

Page 62: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations • Generally

• A trustee in breach of trust for failing to comply with terms of the trust or duty of honesty has personal liability

• That liability is to reconstitute the trust fund by making specific restitution where possible or paying equitable compensation for losses that would not have occurred but for the breach

Page 63: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations

• Unlike other claims, for example against negligent professionals, the loss in question is recoverable even if it could not have been reasonably foreseen as likely to result from the breach

• Note the obligation and duty is to recompense the trust fund and not normally individual beneficiaries (who may have other causes of action)

Page 64: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations • Breach of duty of care

• There are greater restrictions on a trustee’s duty to simply fail to exercise reasonable care and skill rather than fail to comply with the terms of the trust or being dishonest. They are subject to loss being foreseeable (the same as the obligation imposed on the negligent professional)

• Put simply this distinction is basically between a negligent or careless trustee and a dishonest trustee or one acting deliberately in breach of the terms of his trusteeship

Page 65: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations • Quantification of loss

• A trustee causing loss will receive little sympathy from the court

• If intermeddling with trust assets increases value then this belongs to the trust. A trustee is personally liable if the intermeddling causes loss

• If unauthorised investments are made trustees are liable for loss incurred on sale whether they have any control over the sale date or not

Page 66: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations

• If authorised investments are improperly sold the trustees can be required to account for the proceeds of sale or replace them

• The trustees are liable for interest from the date misapplication of funds

Page 67: Trustee presentation

Duties and obligations

• Gains made out of trust property by trustees acting improperly belong to the beneficiaries

• Losses out of the same breach have to be made good by the trustee (there is no offset)

• Trustees are jointly and severally liable but are entitled to contributions from fellow trustees

Page 68: Trustee presentation

Relief from breach

• Don’t panic. There are ways of getting you out of there!

• If a beneficiary has participated in or positively consented to a breach of trust of his own free will, he cannot take action whether he benefited or not

• Beneficiaries relief and acquiescence i.e. consent to breaches after the event

Page 69: Trustee presentation

Relief from breach

• A beneficiary actually instigates or demands/requests the breach of trust

• Certain claims against trustees must be brought within six years of the breach

• There may also be a general remedy in law to block cases if they have been long delayed and are not subject to limitation

• Broadly dishonesty or intermeddling with trust assets will never be relieved

Page 70: Trustee presentation

Relief from breach• Section 61 Trustee Act

• The Trustee’s ‘get out of jail free card’

• ‘If it appears to the court that a trustee is or may be personally liable for any breach of trust but has acted honestly and reasonably and ought fairly to be excused for the breach of trust and for omitting to obtain the directions of the court in the matter in which he committed such breach, then the court may relieve him wholly or partly from personal liability for the same’.

Page 71: Trustee presentation

Relief from breach

• Thank goodness there is this provision!

• But note:• It does not relieve the turning of a blind eye

to the obvious• It is unlikely to relieve wanton and dilatory

carelessness however honest• The greater the amount of money involved

the more difficult it may be for the trustee to claim relief

Page 72: Trustee presentation

Relief from breach

• Professional trustees are far less likely to be relieved under Section 61

• Lay trustees or non-lawyer, or non specialised professional trustees are well advised to take legal advice if only as an insurance policy against alleged breach

• Finally it may be possible to obtain trustee indemnity insurance

Page 73: Trustee presentation

Protection of trustees

When do trustees part with trust assets?

• Trustees change and retiring trustees transfer the assets to successor trustees

• Trustees exercise their powers to appoint assets to beneficiaries or to transfer them to the trustees of another trust

• The terms of the trust provide that the trust ends and the trustees transfer the assets to beneficiaries who are absolutely entitled to them

Page 74: Trustee presentation

Protection of trustees

Why may trustees need protection?

• A trust is not a legal entity so trustees act on behalf of the trust in their personal capacities. This means that they may become personally liable under: • Contracts; • Indemnities given to previous trustees; • Claims made against them

Page 75: Trustee presentation

Protection of trustees

Why may trustees need protection?

• Trustees who have retired, or who have wound up the trust, remain personally responsible for liabilities incurred during their period of trusteeship unless they make arrangements to change this

Page 76: Trustee presentation

Protection of trustees

Protection under trust law• Right of indemnity (from the trust fund for

liabilities they incur as trustees) provided they have acted properly and within the scope of their powers

• Equitable lien (gives trustee equitable interest in trust assets to extent of their indemnity).

• The lien needs to be preserved if assets are distributed to beneficiaries

• Trustees may need additional protection as they may not be able to enforce the above in certain circumstances

Page 77: Trustee presentation

Protection of trustees

Steps trustees can take to protect themselves

• Delaying action• Retaining assets to meet known liabilities that

are not yet due for payment (such as tax and professional fees that have not been quantified) or until they know whether a particular liability will arise in practice

• Expressly preserving the equitable lien• Contractual indemnities• Limiting liability

Page 78: Trustee presentation

Protection of trustees

Steps trustees can take to protect themselves

• Release by beneficiaries• Legal charge over property• Insurance• Trustees in doubt as to the steps they should

take can apply to the court for directions for guidance

Page 79: Trustee presentation

Protection of trustees

What protection do trustees need in practice?

• Before parting with trust assets, trustees should take a realistic view of the liabilities that they may face afterwards• Agree tax liabilities with HMRC is possible

or estimate if not• Obtain up-to-date bills/estimates for

professional fees• Review actual and potential liabilities under

contracts and indemnities

Page 80: Trustee presentation

Protection of trustees

Conflict of interest

• There is always a potential conflict of interest between trustees' interests in protecting themselves and their duty to safeguard trust assets in the interests of the beneficiaries

• It can sometimes be difficult for a trustee to balance their need for protection and the interests of the beneficiaries and in such case it is advisable for them to consult counsel

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Protection of trustees

Distributing to Minors

• Trustees cannot rely on any kind of indemnity or consent from a minor beneficiary when distributing assets

• Trustees do not often make substantial distributions to a minor beneficiary as they cannot give good receipt

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Questions

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