Power to remove a Trustee?

Hi,

We are having ongoing difficulties with a Trustee and are considering all options.

It is a Will Trust and the provisions provide the following power:-

“An appointment may create any provisions and in particular:
Discretionary Trusts;
Dispositive or administrative powers; exercisable by any person.”

Does this give one Trustee the power to amend the Trust provisions so that remove the other without us needing to go to Court?

Many thanks

Lyndzey Smissen
Paytons Solicitors LLP

I don’t see how one trustee could make the appointment without the other joining in. The default position is that all trustee powers must be exercised jointly (ie unanimously)

If there were some power allowing one trustee to act alone (which I haven’t seen before) it would still be “interesting” in the sense of interesting to the trust litigation team.

Andrew Goodman
Osborne Clarke LLP

Andrew,

Thank you, I think we are clutching at straws due to the circumstances and that is the response I expected to receive.

Kind regards,

Lyndzey

Section 36(1) Trustee Act 1925 provides for a situation where a trustee “refuses to act” in connection with the trust. However, it sounds as though it is simply that there is disagreement, rather than the other trustee “refusing to act”.

Paul Davidoff
New Quadrant Partners Ltd

Paul,

I would say it probably does fall outside of refusing to act and more into the realms of an inability to understand the role of a trustee or to accept that the assets are held in Trust and not in their own name.

Thank you for the suggestion though.

Lyndzey