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Public Trustee
Practical Law UK Glossary 0-623-0387 (Approx. 5 pages)
Glossary
Public Trustee
A statutory office holder, appointed by the Lord Chancellor, who can:
- Administer low value estates. The Public Trustee acts as an executor or administrator of last resort where the estate beneficiary is a vulnerable person.
- Act as a custodian trustee, ordinary trustee or judicial trustee.
- Exercise the functions of a deputy appointed by the Court of Protection.
(Sections 1 and 2, Public Trustee Act 1906 (PTA 1906) and section 3, Public Trustee and Administration of Funds Act 1986.)
A deceased person's estate vests in the Public Trustee until a grant of representation is issued if the deceased:
- Died intestate.
- Left a will, but there is no executor with power to obtain a grant of probate.
(Section 9, Administration of Estates Act 1925.)
The Public Trustee is a trust corporation (section 68(1)(18), Trustee Act 1925, section 117(1)(xxx), Settled Land Act 1925, section 55(1)(xxvi), Administration of Estates Act 1925, section 205(1)(xxviii), Law of Property Act 1925 and section 128, Senior Courts Act 1981).
For more information, see: