ABSTRACT
Trustees are required to administer the trust in accordance with its terms. They have a primary duty to obey the instructions as detailed by the settlor or implied by law. Any deviation from the terms of the trust is a breach making them personally liable, irrespective of how well intentioned the trustees may have been. The Variation of Trusts Act 1958 was passed in order to reverse the decision of the House of Lords in Chapman v Chapman and to introduce sweeping changes in the law. The jurisdiction of the courts was extended in order to approve variations of trusts on behalf of infants, unborn persons and others who lacked the capacity to consent to an arrangement. A ‘variation’ retains the basic fundamental purpose of the trust but alters some important characteristic of the trust, whereas a ‘resettlement’ destroys the foundation or substance of the original design or purpose of the trust.
