Law of Property (Amendment) Act 1924

Powers to delegate.

8 The following sections shall be inserted at the end of Part IV. of the principal Act—

“127A (1) A trustee intending to remain out of the United Kingdom for a period exceeding one month may, notwithstanding any rule of law or equity to the contrary, by power of attorney, delegate to any person, including a trust corporation, the execution or exercise during his absence from the United Kingdom of all or any trusts, powers and discretions vested in him as such trustee, either alone or jointly with any other person or persons:

Provided that a person being the only other co-trustee and not being a trust corporation shall not be appointed to be ah attorney under this .subsection.

(2) The donor of a, power of attorney given under this section shall be liable for the acts or defaults of the donee in the same manner as if they were the acts or defaults of the donor.

(3) The power of attorney shall not come into operation unless and until the donor is out of the United Kingdom, and shall be revoked by his return.

(4) The power of attorney shall be attested by at least ohe witness, and shall be filed at the Central Office within ten days after the execution thereof with a statutory declaration by the donor that he intends to remain out of the United Kingdom for a period exceeding one month from the date of such declaration, or from a date therein mentioned.

(5) The execution of such instrument and statutory declaration shall be verified in such manner as is required by statute in the case of powers of attorney filed at the Central Office.

(6) If the power of attorney confers a power to dispose of or deal with land or a charge registered under the Land Transfer Acts, an office copy shall be filed at the land registry.

(7) The statutory declaration aforesaid and a statutory declaration by the donee of the power of attorney that the power has come into operation and has not been revoked by the return of the donor shall be conclusive evidence of the facts stated in favour of any person dealing with the donee.

(8) In favour of any person dealing with the donee any act done or instrument executed by the donee shall, notwithstanding that the power has never come into operation or has become revoked by the act of the donor or by his death or otherwise, be as valid and effectual as if the donor were alive and of full capacity, and had himself done such act or executed such instrument, unless such person had actual notice that the power had never come into operation or of the revocation of the power before such act was done or instrument executed

(9) For the purpose of executing of exercising the trusts or powers delegated to him, the donee may exercise any of the powers conferred on the donor by statute or by the instrument creating the trust, including power, for the purpose of the transfer of any inscribed stock, himself to delegate to an attorney the power to transfer but not including the power of delegation conferred by this section.

(10) The fact that it appears from any power of attorney given under this section, or from any evidence required for the purposes of any such power of attorney or otherwise, that in dealing with any stock the donee of the power is acting in the execution of a trust shall not be deemed for any purpose to affect any person in whose books the stock is inscribed or registered with any notice of the trust.

(11) In this section 'trustee' includes a tenant for life and a statutory owner.

127B A trustee or personal representative acting for the purposes of more than one trust or estate shall not, in the absence of fraud, be affected by notice of any instrument, matter, fact or thing in relation to any particular trust or estate if he has obtained notice thereof merely by reason of his acting or having acted for the purposes of another trust or estate.”