Scottish Law Commission publishes revised Trusts (Scotland) Bill

Lord Pentland

Although some trusts are administered by professional trustees, many others are administered by lay people. They are commonly used to protect vulnerable people, such as young children whose parents have died.

The commission believes that implementation of its recommendations for the modernisation of the law of trusts would be of “great advantage” to many people and that there are powerful reasons for reform.

The current legislation, which goes back to 1921, is archaic and difficult to work with, the commission noted.

Lord Pentland, chairman of the commission, said: “Trust law in Scotland needs to be brought up to date. I urge the Scottish Government to implement the detailed recommendations we made for improvement of the law in 2014.

“The recommendations in our Report and our revised Trusts (Scotland) Bill are designed to bring the Scots law of trusts into the modern era. This is for the benefit of all citizens in their family and private lives as well as in their commercial enterprises.”