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If you are a trustee, what are your obligations?

In its review of the Law of Trusts, the Law Commission has endorsed the following summary of duties:

To get to know the terms of the trust
To obey the trust's terms
To be impartial between beneficiaries
To act in the best interests of the beneficiaries
Not to profit from the trusteeship
Not to charge for your services
To invest
Not to delegate
To be active
To act unanimously
To pay correct beneficiaries
To keep proper accounts and to give information as required

Some of these duties can be varied by the trust deed. For example, some trust deeds allow trustees to charge for their services or to delegate some of their roles.

Some trust deeds allow trustees to make decisions by a majority, without requiring unanimity.

You will see from this however, that the duties on a trustee are onerous, and trusteeship is not a role that should be taken lightly.

If you are a trustee, and do not follow these rules, you face the possibility of personal liability to the beneficiaries if anything goes wrong.

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