Charities Act 1960

16Entrusting charity property to official custodian, and determination of trust

(1)The court may by order vest any property held by or in trust for a charity in the official custodian for charities, or authorise or require the persons in whom any such property is vested to transfer it to him, or appoint any person to transfer any such property to him.

(2)Where any personal property is held by or in trust for a charity, or is comprised in any testamentary gift to a charity, the property may with the agreement of the official custodian for charities be transferred to him; and his receipt for any such property comprised in a testamentary gift to a charity shall be a complete discharge of the personal representative.

In this subsection, the expression " personal property " shall extend to any real security, but shall not include any interest in land otherwise than by way of security only.

(3)Where property is vested in the official custodian for charities in trust for a charity, the court may make an order discharging him from the trusteeship as respects all or any of that property.

(4)Where the official custodian for charities is discharged from his trusteeship of any property, or the trusts on which he holds any property come to an end, the court may make such vesting orders and give such directions as may seem to the court to be necessary or expedient in consequence.

(5)No person shall be liable for any loss occasioned by his acting in conformity with an order under this section or by his giving effect to anything done in pursuance of such an order, or be excused from so doing by reason of the order having been in any respect improperly obtained; and no vesting or transfer of any property in pursuance of this section shall operate as a breach of a covenant or condition against alienation or give rise to a forfeiture.