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Trusts Act 2019

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

34: Duty to avoid conflict of interest

You could also call this:

"Trustees must put the beneficiaries' interests first and not do things that help themselves instead."

Illustration for Trusts Act 2019

If you are a trustee, you must make sure your own interests do not clash with the interests of the people who benefit from the trust. You have to think about what is best for the beneficiaries. As a trustee, it is your job to avoid any situation where your own interests might conflict with theirs.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7382913.

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33: Duty not to bind or commit trustees to future exercise of discretion, or

"Trustees must not make decisions that limit future trustees' choices"

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35: Duty of impartiality, or

"Be fair to all beneficiaries as a trustee"

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

34Duty to avoid conflict of interest

  1. A trustee must avoid a conflict between the interests of the trustee and the interests of the beneficiaries.