Authorisation of dealings with trust property

Under s57 of the Trustee Act 1925 the court is given a wide power to authorise trustees to sell, lease, or dispose of trust property, or purchase, invest, acquire or engage in other transactions when they are not otherwise authorised to do so by the trust instrument. The statute requires that the court should consider it ‘expedient’ to undertake the transaction in the management of the trust property. Case law, in particular Re Downshire Settled Estate [1953] Ch 218, has made it clear the court may not authorise a transaction which will alter the beneficial interests given by the trusts. The court was asked by the trustees of a will trust to authorise sale of a property which the testator had directed them to hold in trust for his step-daughter for life in order to provide her with a home ( Alexander v Alexander [2011] EWHC 2721 (Ch)).