Fiduciaries — trustees, directors, agents, and sometimes solicitors themselves — are trusted to act for someone else's benefit. Equity guards that trust strictly: a fiduciary must not let personal interest conflict with duty, and must not profit from the position without authorisation. As a solicitor you will advise people on both sides of this line — trustees worried about a transaction, beneficiaries who suspect one has gone wrong — so knowing precisely where the rules bite, and what follows when they are broken, is core practical knowledge.
Here is what we cover, in order:
- The Core Rules and Establishing a Claim — what the no-conflict and no-profit rules say, who they bind, the strict standard of liability, and the three elements of a claim.
- The No-Profit Rule in Operation — how the duty to account works in practice, including bribes, directors' fees, and indirect profits.
- Self-Dealing and Fair-Dealing — the two rules that control a trustee dealing with trust property or a beneficiary's interest.
- Trustee Remuneration and Authorisation — when a trustee may be paid or reimbursed, and the three routes that can authorise otherwise-prohibited conduct.
- Remedies, Bars and Limitation — the remedies a beneficiary can claim, the bars that defeat them, and the limitation rules that apply.