Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Beneficiary definition

What does Beneficiary mean? In legal practice, a beneficiary is the person or entity for whose benefit property is held or administered, most commonly under a trust or will. In trust law, the trustee holds legal title while the beneficiary holds the beneficial (equitable) interest and may enforce the trust. The term is largely descriptive rather than uniformly defined by statute, though particular Acts, scheme rules and trust instruments may define beneficiary classes. Key features include: fixed or discretionary entitlements; present, future, contingent or defeasible interests; and eligibility of individuals, charities and other bodies. Beneficiaries may, subject to the trust terms and capacity,...

Trustees’ duties and liabilities in England and Wales: property, investment, care, conflicts, delegation, information rights, unanimity and compliance

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Practice notes

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Nature of duties

The distinction between a duty and a power is clear: performing a duty is mandatory, whereas powers are, to varying extents, matters of discretion. A trustee’s obligations to a Beneficiary are Fiduciary in character. Ordinarily, the court will not force a trustee to exercise a mere power against their wishes; however, it will require the performance of powers attached to a trust that possess the nature of a trust or obligation, as recognised in McPhail v Doulton: ‘Where duty and power are coupled the court can compel the trustees to perform the duty.’ A trustee who does not fulfil their duties commits a Breach of trust.

Trust property

The common law duty

A trustee must enquire into the trust property, take control of it, and then ensure its Preservation:

where there are multiple trustees, title to trust property must be in the joint names of them all
if any trust property remains outstanding, the trustees must demand payment or require that the property be transferred to them...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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