Trustee

[terambulan]

R trustee responsibilities inherited by surviving spouse

[dzug]

What trustee responsibilities do you mean? Who is trustee for whom?

What does the trust dcument say?

[terambulan]

fathers business shares in trust for mother held by trustee - son (son has deceased). R they passed to spouse when son has left 'everything' to his spouse?

[Barmaid]

when you say "held in trust for mother" - do you mean that she has a life interest in the business and then to someone else on her death?

Unless the son holds a power of appointment and has exercised this by will, no his surviving spouse does not inherit his trust duties. Just because the son was trustee it gives him no beneficial interest to dispose of the property as he wishes - subject to the terms of the trust. However, this is terribly complicated and depends on who left a will and who died intestate (ie the chain of executorship can only pass through testacy and not intestacies). Looks likely that you will need to invoke the Trustee Act 1925 and appoint a new trustee.

HOWEVER - if you post full details of trust document leaving the business shares in trust to mum (whether a will or trust deed and any substitutional provisions) and whether son died testate or intestate I may be able to help further.

[terambulan]

Deceased's father left 50% shares to son=trustee by Will (until son's mother's death. After mother's death shares to be divided equally between 3 brothers; (one deceased, leaving spouse).

Deceased son left 'everything' to spouse. Does everything include Trustee shares as his mother still lives?

[Barmaid]

Right what happens is this:-

father's trust continues for life of mother notwithstanding death of sole trustee. A new trustee will need to be appointed until the death of the mother. Executors of son's estate may become new trustees of father's estate but that depends on whether the father's estate was still "under administration by the executor" or whether it had been placed in trust - although on the face of it, it sounds like son's executors could also become father's trustees. This will depend on EXACT wording of the will (the question as to when an executor becomes a trustee is a legal point and depends on the extent of administration).

All that passes under the son's will is his own free estate - he only has a beneficial interest in father's estate on death of mother (as to whether HIS beneficiaries inherit on her death depends on the terms of dad's will - if there is a survivorship provision ie "on her death to such of my sons in equal shares as shall survive her" his estate does not take but if no such provision exists, he is deemed to achieve a vested interest in remainder on father's death which on mother's death will pass to his beneficiaries.

Does this make any sense at all?!

[terambulan]

Thanx Barmaid....it's quite complicated....so will have to read it a few times to absorb it!