Section 36 can be used to remove a trustee and appoint another in their place where the trustee:
- Wants to retire
- Is dead
- Remains out of the United Kingdom for more than 12 months
- Refuses to act
- Is an infant
- Is unfit to act, for example a trustee convicted of fraud, or
- Is incapable of acting, for example where a trustee lacks mental capacity.
However, there are limits on who can remove a trustee under section 36. The person nominated by the trust document can rely upon section 36, or if the trust document is silent and the person nominated to have the power is unable or unwilling to act, the other trustees can do so. If there are no trustees alive then the personal representative(s) of the last surviving trustee can appoint a new trustee.
Section 36 is therefore not automatically available to beneficiaries of a trust, at least not in that capacity.