Trust Series 2025 - Trustee Liability
1.5 CPD Hours
Description
Building on Trust Series 2025 - Trustee Duties and Powers, this popular session explores breaches of trust through the lens of inadequate decisions and improper consultation.
“… Once one accepts (as the Board has on Issue 1) that the wishes and intentions of Spey were that this trust was primarily for the benefit of the next generation, it is clear that Ashley cannot show that the decision would have been, or even might have been, different had there been no breach of fiduciary duty. Contrary to the advice of the Family Advisers, the trustee did provide for the needs of Ashley by holding back 2% (now worth some US$14 million) in the trust fund as a safety net for her. She was a very wealthy woman with funds from other sources, including the estate of her late husband John and, even though there was a breach of the fiduciary duty of proper consideration, Ashley cannot show that the trustee, or a reasonable trustee, would have acted, or even might have acted, any differently had there been no such breach.”
Dawson-Dalmer v Grampian Trustee Company Limited [2025] UKPC 32 at [74]
This popular webinar that will include a comprehensive case book, considers breaches of trust by reference to inadequate deliberation, improper consultation and mistakes.
HIGHLIGHTS
Before concluding with a question-and-answer section, this webinar will:
- Identify trustee duties by reference to the Trusts Act and common law
- Canvass contemporary case law regarding breaches of trust
- Review the parameters of proper consultation
- Explore seeking the assistance of the court when trustees identify deficits in decision making
- Consider (in the context of breach of trustee duties):
- Protections available to trustees
- Remedies available to beneficiaries
WHY ATTEND
Trustees act personally in the first instance and must remain alive to the risks that can flow from the exercise of trustee powers and duties. While many breaches of trust are not actionable, trustees and trustee advisers need to be constantly alert to proper decision making and the risks that can flow from any shortfall.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Attendees will learn:
- How to practically assess the consequences of breaches of trust
- The extent to which trustees can limit liability and be indemnified for losses to the trust fund
- The parameters of properly incurred expenses in a trust context
- Strategies to manage risk when a breach has occurred
SUITED TO
This webinar is targeted at practitioners at all levels but will be of particular benefit to practitioners who advise trustees or who are trustees or directors of trustee companies.
PRESENTER
Vicki Ammundsen, Director, Vicki Ammundsen Trust Law Limited
Vicki is a director at Vicki Ammundsen Trust Law. Vicki's approach to trust law is practical but also grounded in a good understanding of trust law principles, related legislation, and case law. As the author of a number of texts including Taxation of Trusts, the Trustee's Handbook and Trustee Liability, Vicki is well placed to provide advice on all areas of trust law.