Trusts

The role of a Trustee can be difficult at times. BBS can assist you with a range of different Trustee matters including:

• Retiring Trustees
• When a Trustee dies 
• If a Trustee becomes incapacitated 
• Removal of Trustees 
• Appointment/replacement of Trustees 

The starting point is to consider the Trust Deed that created the Trust. 

What happens when a Trustee retires? (Trustee Retirement) 

Usually when a Trustee retires, they will need to seek the consent of the other Trustees. There must also be at least two remaining trustees. As long as these two conditions are met a Trustee can retire. We can prepare the Deed of Retirement on your behalf. 

Where a Trustee retires and there are not at least two remaining Trustees, a replacement Trustee will need to be appointed. BBS can deal with the retirement and replacement synchronously. 

What happens when a Trustee dies? (Death of a Trustee)

If a Trustee dies and there are remaining Trustees, the surviving Trustees can appoint a replacement. If a Trustee dies and there are no remaining Trustees, the Personal Representatives of the last surviving Trustee can appoint new Trustees. As we are highly skilled with administering deceased’s estates, we can advise the Personal Representatives the best approach to appointing new Trustees. 

What happens when a Trustee becomes incapacitated? (Incapacitation of a Trustee) 

If a Trustee becomes mentally incapacitated, has no beneficial interest in the Trust and there are other Trustees, they can appoint another Trustee to replace the incapacitated Trustee. 

On the other hand, if the Trustee does have a beneficial interest in the Trust then the Court of Protection must consent to the removal. 

If a Trustee becomes incapacitated and there is no other Trustee who can make an appointment there are a number of options which can be explored which BBS can help you with. 

What happens if a Trustee needs to be removed? (Removal of Trustees)

There are different instances where a Trustee may need to be removed for example if there is a dispute between a Trustee and the beneficiaries, or a Trustee has not been acting in the best interests of the Trust. 

BBS can help to determine the way forward in these scenarios which are judged on a case by case basis. BBS will help you achieve the best possible results in a cost-effective way.