Discretionary trust - removing a trustee

andyandyman

I'm a trustee of a discretionary trust that was created by the will of the settlor when they died.

One of the other trustees is refusing to act and no longer wants to be a trustee but they are refusing to make a deed of resignation. 

One option seems to be to remove them using Section 36 of the Trustee Act 1925 on the grounds that they refuse to act.

The wording of the act says the other trustees "may, by writing, appoint one or more other persons (whether or not being the persons exercising the power) to be a trustee or trustees in the place of the trustee..."

Has anyone ever done used this method to replace a trustee?

Does it need a deed or does a letter suffice?
How long does it take?

We have a suitable person who is happy to act as replacement trustee and the existing trustee has indicated that they will not resist removal.

andyandyman

The will states that if the settlor is alive they can change the trustees, and if they are not alive then the trustees can do it, but it does not describe the process of doing so. The first part is a bit of a nonsense because the trust was not created until the death of the settlor!

I know we'll end up in the hands of a solicitor but I'd like to be a bit more informed before we do that. The solicitor situation is complicated by the fact that the solicitor who drafted the will retired 15 years ago and has since died, and the practice he worked for no longer has a STEP solicitor. In fact, none of the practices in our (medium-sized) town have a STEP solicitor, which is not ideal.

Keep_pedalling

I fear you may need to take legal advice on this one. You say they won’t make a deed resignation but would they simply sign one drafted by you for them? 

andyandyman

That was the original plan. I was going to pay a solicitor to send him a form to sign, which he said he would sign. However, the solicitor I engaged decided to send him a whole package of stuff to sign him up as a client and then told him how much he would be charged to make the deed. The (not STEP) solicitor said that was the only way but the result is that the trustee is now refusing to engage with any solicitor, hence my question.

To add to the fun the nearest STEP solicitor is almost an hour away and has indicated that she is not willing to get involved. 

Keep_pedalling

Any costs involved should come out of the trust not a resigning trustee. You should be able to find suitable template wording on line and do it yourselves.