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Trusts Act 2019

Appointment and discharge of trustees - Appointment of trustee

99: How trustee accepts or rejects appointment

You could also call this:

"Accepting or rejecting a trustee job: saying yes or no to being in charge of a trust"

Illustration for Trusts Act 2019

When you are appointed as a trustee, the appointment does not take effect until you accept it. You can accept the appointment directly or your actions can show that you accept it, unless the trust says otherwise.

If you do not want to be a trustee, you can reject the appointment directly. You can also reject the appointment indirectly if you do nothing to show you accept it and you do not do anything related to the trust for 90 days after being appointed.

You must either accept or reject the appointment for it to be clear what you decide to do about being a trustee.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7383013.

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98: How trustee is appointed, or

"How to become a trustee of a trust"

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100: Acts of trustee not invalidated by defect in appointment, or

"What a trustee does is still valid even if they weren't appointed correctly"

Part 5Appointment and discharge of trustees
Appointment of trustee

99How trustee accepts or rejects appointment

  1. An appointment of a trustee does not take effect until the appointee accepts the appointment.

  2. The acceptance of an appointment may be given expressly or may be implied through conduct unless there is a contrary intention in the terms of the trust.

  3. The rejection of an appointment—

  4. may be given expressly; or
    1. will be implied if the appointee—
      1. gives no express indication of acceptance or rejection of the appointment; and
        1. is inactive in relation to the trust for 90 days after the appointment.