Every breach of trust claim turns on the same sequence: identify the duty, show it was broken, then ask what the trustee can be made to pay and whether anything shields them. This chapter starts with the two standards of care, including the statutory duty under the Trustee Act 2000 and the higher bar set for professionals, before working through the duties that bite on taking office, the rules governing how discretions are exercised — impartiality, unanimity and the bar on fettering — and the investment duties built around the standard investment criteria, review and proper advice. It then sets out the framework for liability itself: causation, joint and several liability among co-trustees, and the remedies available, with equitable compensation at the centre. Finally it covers the escape routes — beneficiary consent, relief under s.61, exemption clauses and their irreducible-core limit, and the limitation period.
