Trusts Act 2019

Trustees’ duties and information obligations - Duties of trustee - Default duties

29: General duty of care

You could also call this:

"Be careful and make good decisions when in charge of a trust"

Illustration for Trusts Act 2019

When you are in charge of a trust, you must be careful and make good decisions. You need to think about what is reasonable in the situation, and consider any special skills or knowledge you have. If you are a trustee as part of your job or business, you should also think about the skills and knowledge that someone in your position is expected to have.

You must use the care and skill that is reasonable, considering your own skills and experience, and what others might expect of you in your role. This means being careful and making good decisions when you are administering a trust. You should not just rely on guesswork or luck, but instead use your skills and knowledge to make informed decisions.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7382908.


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Part 3Trustees’ duties and information obligations
Duties of trustee: Default duties

29General duty of care

  1. When administering a trust (other than when exercising a discretion to distribute trust property), a trustee must exercise the care and skill that is reasonable in the circumstances, having regard, in particular,—

  2. to any special knowledge or experience that the trustee has or that the trustee holds out as having; and
    1. if the person acts as a trustee in the course of a business or profession, to any special knowledge or experience that it is reasonable to expect of a person acting in the course of that kind of business or profession.