Trustees hold property for others and owe strict duties in doing so. When they step outside the trust's terms, act carelessly, or put themselves in a position of conflict, beneficiaries need a way to hold them personally to account and restore what was lost. For a solicitor advising trustees or beneficiaries, knowing precisely when a breach occurs — and what flows from it — is everyday work, whether you are protecting a client from liability or recovering a depleted fund.
This lesson builds that picture step by step.
- Nature, Types and Liability — what a breach claim is, the four elements a beneficiary must establish, and the different liability standards for unauthorised acts, the duty of care, and fiduciary duties.
- Which Trustees Are Liable — joint and several liability, the position of passive, new, and retired trustees, and how liability is apportioned between them.
- Remedies — the accounting remedies of falsification and surcharging, how the beneficiary elects, and the rules on offsetting gains against losses.
- Defences — exemption clauses, beneficiary consent, court relief, and limitation periods, and the limits of each.
- Dishonest Assistance — how a third party who dishonestly helps a breach becomes personally liable, and the test for dishonesty that founds that liability.