Settled Estates Act 1934

“court” means the General Division of the High Court or a Judge sitting in open court in the General Division of the High Court;

“judge” means a Judge sitting in chambers in the General Division of the High Court;

“settled estates” —

“settlement” means any statute, deed, agreement, will or other instrument, or any number of such instruments, under or by virtue of which any immovable property, or any estates or interests therein, stand limited to, or in trust for, any person or persons, by way of succession, including any such instruments affecting the estates of any one or more of such persons exclusively.

All estates or interests in remainder or reversion not disposed of by a settlement, and reverting to the settlor, or descending to the next‑of‑kin of a testator, shall be deemed to be estates coming to such settlor or next‑of‑kin, under or by virtue of the settlement.

In determining what are settled estates, the court or a judge shall be governed by the state of facts, and by the trusts or limitations of the settlement at the time of the said settlement taking effect.

The court or a judge, if it is considered proper and consistent with due regard for the interests of all parties entitled under the settlement, may from time to time authorise a sale of the whole or any part of any settled estates, to be conducted and confirmed in the same manner as a sale of lands sold under a judgment of the court.

The proceeds of such sale shall be invested, or dealt with by the court, in such manner as the court or a judge thinks best calculated to carry out the intentions of the settlor, and, subject thereto, with due regard to the interests of those intended to be benefited by the settlement.

When any such lands are sold for building purposes, the court or a judge may, if it or he sees fit, allow the whole or any part of the consideration to be a rent issuing out of such lands, to be secured and settled in such manner as the court or judge approves.

On every sale under this Act, the court or a judge may direct what person or persons shall execute the deed of conveyance.

The deed, executed by such person or persons, shall take effect as if the settlement had contained a power enabling such person or persons to effect such sale.

The court or a judge, if it is considered proper and consistent with due regard for the interests of all parties entitled under the settlement, may from time to time authorise leases for such time as the court or judge considers expedient, not exceeding 99 years for building or repairing leases, or for leases for other purposes in cases where the court or judge considers that a lease for 21 years is not sufficient, or 21 years for other leases, of the whole or any part of any settled estates, or of any rights or privileges over or affecting any settled estates, for any purpose whatsoever, whether involving waste or not; and may authorise the acceptance of surrenders of any such leases, either for the purpose of obtaining a renewal of the same or otherwise.

On every such lease there shall be reserved the best rent, or reservation in the nature of rent, either uniform or not, that can be reasonably obtained without taking any fine or other benefit in the nature of a fine.

A peppercorn rent or any smaller rent than the rent to be ultimately made payable may, if the court or a judge thinks fit so to direct, be made payable during any part of the term of the lease.

Every such lease shall be by deed, and the lessee shall execute a counterpart thereof.

Every such lease shall contain such covenants, conditions and stipulations, as the court or a judge considers expedient, with reference to the special circumstances of the lease.

The power hereby given to authorise leases shall extend to authorise preliminary contracts to grant any such leases, and any of the terms of those contracts may be varied in the leases.

Upon every such application, the court shall be satisfied by sufficient evidence that it is proper and consistent with due regard to the interests of all parties entitled under the settlement that the powers should be exercised.

It shall be stated in the affidavit why, and upon what ground, it is deemed so.

Where, on an application under this Act, the concurrence or consent of any such person as aforesaid has not been obtained, notice shall be given to such person in such manner as the court or a judge to which or whom the application is made directs, requiring him to notify, within the time to be specified in the notice, whether he assents to or dissents from the application, or submits his rights or interests, so far as they may be affected by the application, to be dealt with by the court or judge.

Every such notice shall specify to whom and in what manner such notification shall be delivered or left.

In case no notification is delivered or left in accordance with the notice, and within the time thereby limited, the person to or for whom the notice has been given or left shall be deemed to have submitted his rights and interests to be dealt with by the court or judge.

An order may be made upon any application notwithstanding that the concurrence or consent of any such person as aforesaid has not been obtained, or has been refused.

The court or a judge, in considering the application, shall have regard to the numbers of persons who concur in or consent to the application, and who dissent therefrom, or who submit, or are to be deemed to submit their rights or interests to be dealt with by the court or judge, and to the estates or interests which such persons, respectively, have or claim to have in the estates as to which the application is made.

Every order of the court made upon such application shall have the same effect as if all such persons had been consenting parties thereto.

Notice of any application to the court under this Act shall, if the court or a judge so directs, but not otherwise, be inserted in such newspapers as the court or judge directs.

Any person or body corporate, whether interested in the estate or not, may apply to the court or a judge by summons for leave to be heard in opposition to or in support of any application which may be made to the court under this Act.

The court or a judge may permit such person or corporation to appear and be heard in opposition to or in support of any such application, on such terms as to costs or otherwise and in such manner as it or he thinks fit.

All powers given by, and all applications to the court under this Act, and consents to and notifications respecting the applications, may be executed, made or given by summons.

All notices under this Act may be given by or to —

In cases where a married woman applies to the court or a judge, or consents to an application to the court or a judge, under this Act, she shall first be examined apart from her husband by such officer or person as the court or judge appoints, either generally or for the special occasion, touching her knowledge of the nature and effect of the application, and it shall be ascertained that she freely desires to make or consent to the application.

Such examination shall be made whether the property is her separate property under any special Act or not, or whether it is settled in trust for her separate use, independently of her husband, or not.

No clause or provision in any settlement restraining anticipation shall prevent the court or judge from exercising, if it or he thinks fit, any of the powers given as to leases and sales of settled estates.

No exercise of such powers shall occasion any forfeiture, anything in the settlement contained to the contrary notwithstanding.

When a particular lease or contract for a lease is approved by the court or a judge, the court or judge shall direct what person or persons shall execute the same as lessor.

The lease or contract executed by such person or persons shall take effect in all respects as if he or they were, at the time of the execution thereof, absolutely entitled to the whole estate or interest which is bound by the settlement, and had immediately afterwards settled the same according to the settlement.

When it appears to be expedient that any general powers of leasing any settled estates should be vested in trustees, the court or a judge may, by order, vest any such powers accordingly, either in the existing trustees of the settlement, or in any other persons.

Such powers, when exercised by such trustees, shall take effect in all respects as if the powers so vested in them had been originally contained in the settlement.

In every such case the court or judge, if it or he thinks fit, may impose any conditions as to consents, or otherwise, on the exercise of such powers.

The court or judge may also authorise the insertion of provisions for the appointment of new trustees from time to time for the purpose of exercising such powers of leasing as aforesaid.

In all cases of orders in which any such condition, as is mentioned in section 24, has been inserted, any party interested may apply to the court or a judge to alter the order, by striking out the condition, and the court or judge may alter the same accordingly, and the order so altered shall have the same validity as if it had originally been made in its altered state.

Nothing herein shall make it obligatory on the court or a judge to act under this provision in any case in which, from the previous evidence or from any other evidence, it appears to the court or judge that there is any special reason why in the case in question such a condition is necessary or expedient.

Until the moneys can be applied as provided in section 27, the same shall be invested as the court or a judge directs, in some or one of the investments in which cash under the control of the court is for the time being authorised to be invested.

The interest and dividends of such investments shall be paid to the person who would have been entitled to the rents and profits of the immovable property if the money had been invested in the purchase of immovable property.

The court or a judge may, if it or he thinks fit, order that all or any costs or expenses of all or any parties of and incident to any application under this Act shall be a charge on the property which is the subject of the application, or on any other estate included in the same settlement, and subject to the same limitations.

The court or a judge may also direct that such costs and expenses shall be raised by sale or mortgage of a sufficient part of such property, or out of the rents or profits thereof, such costs and expenses to be taxed as the court or judge directs.