Trustees

The importance of having more than one trustee

Check to make sure you’re not the only trustee - if you’re not sure, you can call us and we’ll let you know.

Once you’ve appointed any additional trustees, they’ll be entitled to receive policy information, such as missed premium reminder letters. If there are any changes to the trust, such as change of beneficiaries or trustees, we’ll require their signatures to make the change, and if you want to cancel the policy we’ll need signatures from all the trustees.

Why does there need to be more than one trustee?

Having only one trustee can cause complications if a claim is made or if the trustee is unable to act.

There may be no surviving trustee to ensure the terms of the trust are carried out, which can delay payments to beneficiaries.

Having no additional trustees can also cause problems if a sole trustee becomes incapable of acting (by reason of a mental incapacity). It’ll then become impossible to administer the trust without the intervention of the court.

Your estate may have to pay any costs involved.

What to do if you are the only trustee

It’s easy to appoint an additional trustee. They should be someone you know you can rely on to act on your behalf, and must be over 18.

Print off and complete the Deed of Appointment of additional trustees form (PDF, 607KB). This sets out the duties and responsibilities of the trustees and has useful notes explaining how to compete the form.

If you’ve any queries about how to complete the deed, please contact your financial adviser or your legal adviser. There will normally be a charge for this.

Please send the completed deed to

Scottish Widows Limited
PO Box 24171
69 Morrison Street
EDINBURGH
EH3 1HL

If you’ve any further questions you can call us.