Act of Parliament · 2020 Revised Edition
Public Trustee Act 1915
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s 1Short title
This Act is the Public Trustee Act 1915.
s 2Interpretation
In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context —“Board” means the Investment Board mentioned in section 13;“Common Fund” means the Common Fund mentioned in section 10;“expenses” includes costs and charges;“letters of administration” means letters of administration of the estate and effects of a deceased person, whether general or with a will annexed, or limited either in time or otherwise;“private trustee” means a trustee other than the Public Trustee;“Reserve Fund” means the fund established under section 15A;“trust” includes an executorship or administratorship, and “trustee” is to be construed accordingly;“trust property” includes all property in the possession or under the control wholly or partly of the Public Trustee by virtue of any trust.
“Board” means the Investment Board mentioned in section 13;
“Common Fund” means the Common Fund mentioned in section 10;
“expenses” includes costs and charges;
“letters of administration” means letters of administration of the estate and effects of a deceased person, whether general or with a will annexed, or limited either in time or otherwise;
“private trustee” means a trustee other than the Public Trustee;
“Reserve Fund” means the fund established under section 15A;
“trust” includes an executorship or administratorship, and “trustee” is to be construed accordingly;
“trust property” includes all property in the possession or under the control wholly or partly of the Public Trustee by virtue of any trust.
The Minister may appoint a fit person to the office of Public Trustee, who is to hold office during the Minister’s pleasure, and receive such salary or fees, and be appointed on such terms, as the Minister determines.
The Minister may appoint such fit and proper persons to be Deputy Public Trustees, Assistant Public Trustees and other officers of the Public Trustee as the Minister considers necessary for the purposes of this Act.
The Deputy Public Trustees, Assistant Public Trustees and other officers of the Public Trustee are to hold office on such terms as the Minister may determine.
Any reference in this Act or in any other written law to officer or officers of the Public Trustee includes a reference to a Deputy Public Trustee and an Assistant Public Trustee.
The Public Trustee is a corporation sole under that name, with perpetual succession and an official seal, and may sue and be sued under the above name like any other corporation sole.
The salary or remuneration of the Public Trustee and the officers of the Public Trustee and such other expenses of executing the office of the Public Trustee or otherwise carrying this Act into effect as are sanctioned by the Minister are to be paid out of the Consolidated Fund.
The Public Trustee and every officer of the Public Trustee is declared to be a public servant within the meaning of the Penal Code 1871.
Subject to and in accordance with this Act and the rules made under this Act, the Public Trustee may —
act in the administration of estates;
act as an ordinary trustee; and
be appointed trustee by a court of competent jurisdiction.
In addition to the powers and duties under subsection (1), the Public Trustee may —
undertake any functions and duties relating to victims of motor accidents and their claims to compensation that the Minister may assign to the Public Trustee;
be appointed as a deputy by the court under the Mental Capacity Act 2008 with powers and duties conferred or imposed under that Act in relation to the property and affairs of a person who lacks capacity;
undertake the role, functions and duties of the Public Trustee set out in the Deposit Insurance and Policy Owners’ Protection Schemes Act 2011; and
undertake any functions and duties relating to bona vacantia arising from the death of natural persons that the Minister may assign to the Public Trustee.
Subject to and in accordance with this Act and the rules made under this Act, the Public Trustee —
may act either alone or jointly with any person or body of persons in any capacity to which he or she is appointed pursuant to this Act; and
has all the same powers, duties and liabilities, and is entitled to the same rights and immunities and is subject to the control and orders of the court, as a private trustee acting in the same capacity.
The Public Trustee may decline, either absolutely or except on the prescribed conditions, to accept any trust, but must not decline to accept any trust on the ground only of the small value of the trust property.
The Public Trustee must not accept —
any trust which involves the management or carrying on of any business, except in the cases in which the Public Trustee is authorised to do so by rules made under this Act;
any trust under a deed of arrangement for the benefit of creditors; or
the administration of any estate that the Public Trustee knows or believes to be insolvent.
Subject to any conditions or restrictions imposed by the Minister in writing, the Public Trustee may authorise in writing any Deputy Public Trustee or Assistant Public Trustee to exercise all or any of the powers, and perform all or any of the duties, of the Public Trustee conferred by or under any written law, except this power of authorisation.
Every Deputy Public Trustee or Assistant Public Trustee who is authorised under subsection (6) to exercise any power or perform any duty of the Public Trustee must, when exercising that power or performing that duty, comply with the directions of the Public Trustee.
Any reference in this Act or in any other written law to the Public Trustee includes a reference to a Deputy Public Trustee and an Assistant Public Trustee authorised under subsection (6), unless the context otherwise requires.
Subject to the sanction of and any direction given by the Board, the Public Trustee may authorise any person to be his or her agent to carry out any of his or her functions under section 10 and the rules made for the purpose of that section.
The Public Trustee or any other person may apply to the court by originating application or summons, as appropriate, for the Public Trustee to be appointed to act as litigation representative of any minor for the purpose of instituting any suit or proceeding in the name of the minor.
In any suit or proceeding in which a minor is a party or to which it becomes necessary to add a minor as a party, the court may, on its own motion or on the application of the Public Trustee or any other person, appoint the Public Trustee to act as litigation representative of the minor in the suit or proceeding.
A court is to consider the views of the Public Trustee before deciding whether to appoint the Public Trustee as litigation representative of a minor —
on the application of a person other than the Public Trustee under subsection (1);
on its own motion under subsection (2); or
on the application of a person other than the Public Trustee under subsection (2).
The court must not make any order under this section unless provision is made to the satisfaction of the court for the payment of the costs of the Public Trustee as between solicitor and client and for the payment of any costs which may be awarded against the Public Trustee or directed to be paid by the Public Trustee.
In any suit or proceeding in which the Public Trustee is appointed under this section to act for a minor, no costs are recoverable from the Public Trustee personally or from the Government.
In this section, “suit” means an action for the administration of the estate of any deceased person or of a trust, and “proceeding” means a proceeding under Order 32 of the Rules of Court 2021 (administration and similar actions).
Any person who in the opinion of the Public Trustee would be entitled to apply to the court for an order for the administration of an estate, the gross capital value of which is proved to the satisfaction of the Public Trustee to be less than the prescribed amount, may apply to the Public Trustee to administer the estate, and where any such application is made, and it appears to the Public Trustee that the persons beneficially entitled are persons of small means, the Public Trustee must administer the estate, unless the Public Trustee sees good reason for refusing to do so.
On the Public Trustee undertaking, by written declaration signed and sealed by him or her, to administer the estate, the trust property vests, by virtue of this Act, in the Public Trustee.
As from such vesting, any trustee entitled under the trust to administer the estate is discharged from all liability attaching to the administration, except in respect of past acts.
For the purposes of the administration, the Public Trustee may exercise the administrative powers and authorities of the court that are conferred on him or her by rules made under this Act, subject to any conditions that are imposed by the rules.
Rules may be made under this Act for enabling the Public Trustee to take the opinion of the court on any question arising in the course of any administration without judicial proceedings, and otherwise for making the procedure under this section simple and inexpensive.
Where proceedings have been instituted in any court for the administration of an estate, the court may order the Public Trustee to administer the estate, subject to any directions that the court may give, where it appears to the court that —
by reason of the small value of the estate, the estate can be more economically administered by the Public Trustee than by any other person; or
for any other reason, it is expedient that the estate should be administered by the Public Trustee instead of any other person.
The court must, before making any order under subsection (6), consider the views of the Public Trustee on the matter.
Where the court makes an order under subsection (6), this section applies as if the Public Trustee has given an undertaking under subsection (2) to administer the estate.
Where any trust money (forming part of an estate administered by the Public Trustee under this section) which is not included in the Common Fund is normally insufficient to earn bank interest if kept in a bank current account, the money may be kept in a general banking account or deposited in any bank and any interest allowed by the bank must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
Subject to subsection (4), a testator, a settlor or a court may appoint the Public Trustee by that name, or by any sufficient description, as if the Public Trustee were a private trustee —
to be trustee of any will, settlement or other instrument creating a trust; or
to perform any trust or duty belonging to a class which the Public Trustee is authorised by rules made under this Act to accept.
This section applies regardless of when the will, settlement or other instrument creating the trust or duty was made or came into operation.
The Public Trustee may be appointed under subsection (1) —
as an original trustee; or
as a new trustee in place of or in addition to one or more trustees.
No appointment under subsection (1) has effect unless the Public Trustee has given his or her written consent to the appointment.
Where a court wishes to appoint the Public Trustee under subsection (1), the court must direct that an application for the written consent of the Public Trustee required under subsection (4) be made by such person seeking the appointment of a trustee by the court as the court considers fit.
Where no written consent has been given by the Public Trustee before his or her appointment, the Public Trustee may, at any time after he or she knows of the fact of his or her appointment, act as if the Public Trustee had given his or her written consent.
Where the Public Trustee has been appointed a trustee of any trust, a co‑trustee may retire from the trust under and in accordance with the provisions of the Trustees Act 1967 but without such consent as is required by that Act, even if the Public Trustee becomes the sole trustee upon the retirement.
The Public Trustee is not to be so appointed either as a new or additional trustee where the will, settlement or other instrument creating the trust or duty contains a direction to the contrary, unless the court orders otherwise.
Notice of any proposed appointment of the Public Trustee, either as a new or additional trustee, must, where practicable, be given in the prescribed manner to all persons beneficially interested who are resident in Singapore and whose addresses are known to the persons proposing to make the appointment, or, if the beneficiaries are infants, to their guardians.
If any person who has been given notice under subsection (9) applies to the court within 21 days from the receipt of the notice, the court may, if having regard to the interests of all the beneficiaries it considers it expedient to do so, make an order prohibiting the appointment being made.
The failure to give the notice under subsection (9) does not invalidate the appointment.