Duties of a Trustee & Fiduciary Relations — KSLU Property Law Notes

Duties of a Trustee & Fiduciary Relations

A trustee holds property he may not enjoy; the Act (ss.11–30) imposes exacting duties: to execute the trust and obey its terms (s.11), to protect the trust property (s.13), to act impartially between beneficiaries (s.19), to keep accounts and give information (s.19), to invest prudently, and — above all — the duty of loyalty: not to profit from the trust and not to set up an adverse title. A trustee may not delegate (s.47) and may not buy the trust property himself (the self-dealing rule). Where a trustee, in breach, gains an advantage, the law fastens a constructive trust on that gain for the beneficiary, and the transaction is voidable at the beneficiary’s instance.