A recent case involving the Marquessate of Hertford (Seymour v Ragley Trust Company Ltd & Ors [2025] EWHC 1099 (Ch)) confirmed the court’s cautious approach to removing trustees or executors.
Whilst that case concerned complex aristocratic trusts, disagreements and dissatisfaction with executors or trustees are common across all walks of life.
Master Brightwell remarked that “the fact that a beneficiary has lost trust and confidence in trustees does not, without more, lead to the removal of the trustees.”
The court requires evidence that removing an executor or trustee is necessary for “the welfare of the beneficiaries generally or for the protection of the trust.”
In this instance, the court found that removal was not justified.
Our Probate Litigation lawyers explore practical alternatives to executor and trustee removal, recognising that court intervention is often a last resort in resolving disputes within estates and trusts.
