Exiting Difficult Trusts

"Hope is a talent like any other" Storm Jameson

Trustees sometimes get trapped in trusteeships. Sometimes there is a relationship breakdown with the beneficiaries, other times the trustee is exiting the trust business, and other times still the trustee decides that a given trust no longer fits its risk profile.

Changes of trustee are usually incident free but problems can arise when a sole trustee is unable to find a replacement. As a trust is not a separate legal entity the idea of a sole trustee simply retiring without a replacement is fraught with difficulty.

There are many reasons why replacement trustees can be hard to find. With older trusts, a new trustee might struggle to satisfy increasingly stringent due diligence requirements. Fee pressure from the family may mean that what they are willing to pay is below market rate and consequently a new trustee cannot be found. In other cases still the appointment of a new trustee might require, within the trust