Provision of accounting information to beneficiaries

Trustees, especially Trustees of Discretionary Trusts, are often relieved by the trust instrument from the obligation to provide beneficiaries with the reasons for the decisions they make. They must, however, provide beneficiaries with accounts. Most recently, in RNLI v Headley and Another [2016] EWHC 1948 (Ch) Master Matthews explained that the purpose of this was to provide the beneficiaries with the information they needed to appreciate, verify and if necessary vindicate their rights against the trustees. In that case he confirmed that it was only necessary for them to be provided with information relevant to their interests so that, as in RNLI v Headley, the remainderman who would only be entitled to capital on the death of the life tenant would not be entitled to details of the income.