Remedy to breach of trust
Remedies available to beneficiary in case of breach of trust
INTRODUCTION:
A beneficiary may adopt a breach of trust and accept all the benefits arising therefrom or may condone the breach and bear the consequences thereof. This type of conduct suggests that the beneficiary has nothing to complain about since he has reconciled with the situation. But where a breach of trust is neither adopted nor condoned the question of action and relief may arise. A breach of trust is an evil in itself and therefore such dangerous doctrines must be rejected by all means.
MEANING OF REMEDY:
How a right is enforced or the violation of a right is prevented, redressed, or compensated.
MEANING OF BENEFICIARY:
One who benefits from the act of another. A party who will benefit from a transfer of property or other arrangement (Black's Law Dictionary).
MEANING OF BREACH OF TRUST:
Any act done by a trustee contrary to the terms of his trust, or over his authority and to the
determinant of the trust.
REMEDIES OF A BENEFICIARY IN CASE OF BREACH OF TRUST BY THE TRUSTEE
RIGHT TO GET AN INJUNCTION:
A beneficiary has a right to get an injunction restraining the trustee from Committing any contemplated or probable breach of trust. An injunction should be granted if the act contemplated would, if done, be irremediable.
RIGHT TO ACTION AGAINST TRUSTEE PERSONALLY:
The beneficiary can proceed against the guilty trustee and recover from him the amount of loss to the trust property caused by the breach of trust. The personal liability of a trustee in case of more trustees than one is joint and in several, thus where the co-trustee jointly commits à breach of trust, each is liable to the beneficiary for the whole of the loss occasioned, thereby.
RIGHT TO RECOVER FROM THE TRUSTEE,
The right arises
Where the trustee having wrongfully purchased the trust property or,
Where the trustee having wrongfully disposed of the trust property, subsequently acquired the trust property himself.
RIGHT TO RECOVER FROM ALIENEE:
If the trustee has wrongfully alienated the trust property, the beneficiary has the right to recover it as from any alienee except a bona fide purchaser for value without notice This right is available not only against a transferee from the trustee but against any third party into whose hands the trust property appears to come inconsistently with the trust.
RIGHT OF FOLLOWING TRUST FUND:
Not only can the beneficiary follow the trust property in the hands of third parties, but he can follow the trust fund in whatever shape it may be found in the hand of the trustee himself or of any person.
CHARGE ON THE WHOLE FUND:
The charge on the whole fund when the trustee wrongfully mingles the trust property with his own. In England, in such a case the beneficiary will be entitled to all which the trustee cannot prove to be his own. In this country, he has a charge only. The charge is to the extent of the amount due to the beneficiary.
CONCLUSION:
The right to get an injunction, right to action against the trustee personally, right to recover from the trustee, right to recover from the alienee, and right to follow the trust fund are the remedies available to the beneficiary in case of breach of trust by the trustee.
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