A breach of trust occurs when a trustee acts contrary to the dictates of the trust instrument or where he fails to act as instructed by the terms of the trust. Thus, where he neglects, fails or refuses to do what he ought to do or does what he is not instructed to do, he would be liable for a breach of trust.
Category: Equity and Trust
Termination of a trusteeship
All things come to an end, and the appointment of a trustee is no different. At some point, the trustee will end his relationship with the trust. This end can be voluntary, enforced or by operation of law.
Duties of a trustee
The duty to act as a trustee is considered a very important one. It carries great responsibly and should not be taken lightly, primarily because the court does not take it lightly. So misconduct on the part of the trustee can attract severe sanction from the court, criminal and civil. Perhaps, the reason for this is the root of trusts, particularly the untrustworthy nature of several early trustees. Read More…
Appointment of trustees
Having fulfilled all the conditions that a trust needs to become operative, it is essentially valid and can be given effect. From this point, the duty falls to the trustee to take charge of the trust property and enforce the trust. Read More…
Completely and incompletely constituted trusts
Where a trust has scaled through the three certainties and can be validly determined under any of the classes of a trust, it is not fully operative yet. In order for the trust to become fully operative and capable of being enforced, it must be properly/completely constituted first. Read More…
Requirements for the creation of a valid trust
There are rules that govern the creation of a valid trust, essentials that it must contain in order to be valid and enforceable. These requirements were outlined in the case of KNIGHT v KNIGHT by Lord Lonsdale. They are also referred to as the three certainties. They are: Read More…
Classification of trust
There are several types of trusts. Trying to attempt a watertight classification may be impossible as this area of law did not develop in any organized fashion. As such, trying to impose the imperious order of a watertight classification may be a foolhardy task. Read More…
Definition and Historical Development of Trusts
The oft quoted and predominantly accepted definition of a trust is that provided by Keeton. According to him: Read More…
Equitable Remedies
The whole of the development of equitable jurisdiction has hinged on the production of remedies. These remedies, which were unavailable or inadequate at Common law were the hallmarks of the jurisdiction of Courts of Chancery and are what gave them an ascendancy over the Common law courts. Read More…
Assignment of Choses in Action
Property generally may be realty (real) or personalty (personal). Realty are characterized by geographical fixity(land) while personalty are generally mobile. Read More…