Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024

30 Trustees’ duty to provide information on request

(1) It is the duty of the trustees to disclose—

(a) to a beneficiary or potential beneficiary,

(b) where the beneficiary or potential beneficiary has not attained the age of 16 years, or is incapable, to an appropriate person in relation to that person (see section 81(2)),

(c) where the beneficiary or potential beneficiary has attained the age of 16 years and is capable but has instructed a solicitor to act on that person’s behalf, to the solicitor, or

(d) where the beneficiary or potential beneficiary has (wholly or in part) assigned that person’s interest in the trust, to the assignee,

information requested by the beneficiary (or as the case may be by the potential beneficiary, appropriate person, solicitor or assignee) as regards the trust unless the trustees consider it would be inappropriate, in all the circumstances, to make the disclosure.

(2) But subsection (1) is subject—

(a) to the express provisions of the trust deed, and

(b) to the following provisions of this section.

(3) Subsections (1) and (9) do not apply where—

(a) a person is a potential beneficiary (or an appropriate person in relation to, solicitor or assignee of, such a person), and

(b) that person’s interest in the trust is, or would be, so remote as to be of negligible value.

(4) The disclosure—

(a) is to be made in such a way as is appropriate in all the circumstances, and

(b) may be conditional on payment of such expenses as are reasonably incurred by the trustees in making it.

(5) Any duty arising by virtue of paragraph (d) of subsection (1) is without prejudice to any other duty under that subsection.

(6) A disclosure under subsection (1) is to be made as soon as is reasonably practicable after receipt of the request.

(7) It is to be presumed that the trustees will not ordinarily disclose under subsection (1) information requested in respect of—

(a) some other beneficiary or potential beneficiary,

(b) the trustees’ deliberations or reasons for their decisions, or

(c) letters of wishes (that is to say documents in which an account is given, whether or not by the truster, of circumstances which are to be relevant to the exercise by them of a discretion).

(8) The trustees may seek a direction from the court as to the fulfilment of their duty under subsection (1) in relation to a particular request.

(9) The court may, on the application of any person to whom the trustees have declined to disclose information requested under subsection (1), direct the trustees to disclose the information (or such part of that information as may be specified by the court) to the person.

(10) At any time after the trust is created, a person mentioned in subsection (12) may apply to the court for a determination as to whether a limitation on disclosure of information as respects the trust, imposed by the express provisions of the trust deed, is reasonable in all the circumstances.

(11) If, on an application under subsection (10) as respects such a limitation, the court determines that the limitation is not reasonable in all the circumstances it may—

(a) alter the limitation to such extent as it considers expedient having regard to the need for a beneficiary or potential beneficiary to be able to hold the trustees to account at an appropriate time, or

(b) rescind the limitation.

(12) The persons are—

(a) the trustees,

(b) in the case of an inter vivos trust, the truster,

(c) a descendant of the truster,

(d) a beneficiary or potential beneficiary,

(e) a descendant or ancestor of a beneficiary or potential beneficiary,

(f) an appropriate person in relation to a beneficiary or potential beneficiary,

(g) a judicial factor, and

(h) unless the trust deed expressly or impliedly excludes the possibility—

(i) a protector, and

(ii) a supervisor.

(13) Subsection (10) does not apply where—

(a) a person is—

(i) a descendant of the truster,

(ii) a potential beneficiary (or an appropriate person in relation to, solicitor or assignee of, such a person), or

(iii) a descendant or ancestor of a beneficiary or potential beneficiary, and

(b) that person’s interest in the trust is, or would be, so remote as to be of negligible value.

(14) This section—

(a) applies irrespective of when the trust was created, but

(b) except in the case of a beneficiary who has a personal interest in the trust property, does not apply as respects a private purpose trust.

(15) But subsection (14)(a) is subject to subsection (16).

(16) In the period of a year beginning with the day on which this section comes into force, this section does not apply to a trust created before that day.