Singapore legislation
Section 4
Section 4
General powers and duties of Public Trustee
(1)
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.
(2)
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.
(3)
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.
(4)
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.
(5)
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.
(6)
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.
(7)
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.
(8)
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.
(9)
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.