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Trusts Act 2019

Appointment and discharge of trustees - Death of trustee

102: Devolution of powers on death of trustee

You could also call this:

"What happens to a trustee's powers when they die"

Illustration for Trusts Act 2019

When a trustee dies, you need to know what happens to their powers. If there are two or more trustees and one of them dies, the surviving trustees can keep making decisions until a new trustee is appointed. You should consider that the powers can be exercised by the surviving trustees until a replacement is found. If the trustee who died was the only one, their personal representative can make decisions for a little while, but they are not 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=DLM7383018.

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Part 5Appointment and discharge of trustees
Death of trustee

102Devolution of powers on death of trustee

  1. If a power or function is vested in or imposed on 2 or more trustees jointly and 1 or more of those trustees dies, the surviving trustees (if any) may exercise the power or perform the function until a replacement trustee (if any) is appointed.

  2. If a sole trustee or the last surviving or continuing trustee dies, the personal representative of the trustee—

  3. may exercise, for a reasonable period of time, any power or perform any function that was vested in, or capable of being exercised or performed by, that trustee; but
    1. is not a trustee for the purposes of subsection (1).