ABSTRACT
OVERVIEW A benefi ciary under an ordinary express trust acquires equitable proprietary rights in the trust property as well as rights to demand an account from the trustee and to hold
the trustee liable for any breach of trust. The principle in Saunders v Vautier provides that if all of the benefi ciaries are acting together and are sui juris then they may direct the trustees how to deal with the trust property. By contrast, the objects of mere powers have no proprietary interests at all until property is appointed to them. The nature of the rights of the objects of discretionary trusts are more complex because those objects may have no vested rights in any property until it has been appointed to them, except in relation to ‘closed discretionary trusts’ .
