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Trusts Act 2019

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

35: Duty of impartiality

You could also call this:

"Be fair to all beneficiaries as a trustee"

Illustration for Trusts Act 2019

When you are a trustee, you must be fair to all the beneficiaries. You cannot favour one beneficiary over the others in a way that hurts them. You do not have to treat all beneficiaries the same, but you must follow the rules of the trust when dealing with them. This means you will act in a way that is fair to everyone involved, according to what the trust says.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7382914.

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"Trustees must not use their job to make money for themselves"

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

35Duty of impartiality

  1. A trustee must act impartially in relation to the beneficiaries, and must not be unfairly partial to one beneficiary or group of beneficiaries to the detriment of the others.

  2. This section does not require a trustee to treat all beneficiaries equally (but all beneficiaries must be treated in accordance with the terms of the trust).