Q&As

A trust deed allows the trustees to vary the 'administrative provisions' of the settlement. We would like to vary the settlement to allow the trustees to make decisions as a majority (the trust deed is currently silent on how trustees should make decisions). Would this come under the scope of an 'administrative provision'?

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Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk

Published on: 11 March 2016

Various statutes govern the exercise of trustee powers. For the purposes of this answer it is assumed that there are no special or unusual provisions or objects of the trust. In such circumstances the Trustee Act 1925 (TA 1925) and Trustee Act 2000 (TrA 2000) are likely to be the most relevant statutory provisions.

Ordinarily, there will be no more than four trustees (TA 1925, s 34), and the trustees have a duty to make decisions which are consistent with the objects and powers of the trust. They must act in good faith and avoid conflicts of interest. Any decisions must be made on an informed basis, and the general rule in respect of private trusts (as opposed to, for example, charitable

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Chris Bryden

Barrister, 4 King’s Bench Walk

Chris was called to the Bar in 2003 and since that time has built a busy practice across a range of areas, with an emphasis on Chancery practice. He enjoys a well-deserved reputation for his knowledge and expertise in each area. He appears regularly in the County Court, Family Court and the High Court as well as various specialist Tribunals, and has been involved in cases up to and including the Supreme Court. He regularly is instructed at Appellate level. He has extensive and wide-ranging experience particularly in the areas of wills, probate and inheritance disputes; property including adverse possession, boundary disputes and issues arising out of trusts of land; company and commercial work and financial remedies. Chris is head of the Family Group and head of the Property Team at 4KBW.

Chris is the author of numerous articles in publications such as the New Law Journal, Counsel and Family Law, amongst many other titles, and is the co-author of Social Media in the Workplace: A Handbook (2015, Jordan Publishing).