A trustee may in his discretion deliver to an infant, or to the guardian or any of the guardians of an infant, any chattels absolutely vested in the infant, and the receipt of the infant or guardian shall be a complete discharge to the trustee for any chattels so delivered.

The powers conferred by this section are in addition to the powers conferred by section 41 of this Act and, for the purposes of paragraph (a) of the proviso to that section, the value of the chattels delivered pursuant to this section shall not be taken into account in any way.”

Where a power to pay or apply any property for the maintenance, education, advancement, or benefit of any person, or for any one or more of those purposes, is vested in a trustee, the trustee when exercising the power shall have, and be deemed always to have had, authority to impose on the person any condition, whether as to repayment, payment of interest, giving security, or otherwise. At any time after imposing any such condition, the trustee may, either wholly or in part, waive the condition or release any obligation undertaken or any security given by reason of the condition.

In determining the amount or value of the property which a trustee who has imposed such a condition may pay or apply in exercise of the power, any money repaid to the trustee or recovered by him shall be deemed not to have been so paid or applied by the trustee.

Nothing in this section shall impose upon a trustee any obligation to impose any such condition; and a trustee, when imposing any condition as to giving security as aforesaid, shall not be affected by any restrictions upon the investment of trust funds, whether imposed by this Act or by any rule of law or by the trust instrument (if any).

A trustee shall not be liable for any loss which may be incurred in respect of any money that is paid or applied as aforesaid, whether the loss arises through failure to take security, or through the security being insufficient, or through failure to take action for its protection, or through the release or abandonment of the security without payment, or from any other cause.”

Without limiting any other powers of the Court, it is hereby declared that where any property is held on trusts arising under any will, settlement, or other disposition, or on the intestacy or partial intestacy of any person, or under any order of the Court, the Court may if it thinks fit by order approve on behalf of—

any arrangement (by whomsoever proposed, and whether or not there is any other person beneficially interested who is capable of assenting thereto) varying or revoking all or any of the trusts, or enlarging the powers of the trustees of managing or administering any of the property subject to the trusts:

“Provided that, except by virtue of paragraph (d) of this subsection, the Court shall not approve an arrangement on behalf of any person if the arrangement is to his detriment; and in determining whether any such arrangement is to the detriment of any person the Court may have regard to all benefits which may accrue to him directly or indirectly in consequence of the arrangement, including the welfare and honour of the family to which he belongs:

“Provided also that this subsection shall not apply to any trust affecting property settled by any Act other than the Administration Act 1952.

Any rearrangement approved by the Court under subsection (1) of this section shall be binding on all persons on whose behalf it is so approved, and thereafter the trusts as so rearranged shall take effect accordingly.

In this section—

Subsection (2) of section 64 of the principal Act is hereby consequentially repealed.

The Court may, out of the property subject to any trust, allow to any person who is or has been a trustee thereof or to that person’s personal representative such commission or percentage for that person’s services as is just and reasonable:

“Provided that the aggregate commission or percentage so allowed in respect of all persons who are or have been trustees shall not exceed five per cent.

No such allowance shall be so made except on the termination of the trust, unless the Court otherwise orders.

Where the Court allows a commission or percentage under this section in any case in which two or more persons are or have been the trustees, whether acting at the same time or at different times, the Court may, in its discretion, apportion the total amount allowed among the trustees in such manner as it thinks fit, and, in particular, may divide the amount in unequal shares or may make the allowance to one or more of the trustees to the exclusion of the other or others.

Rules may from time to time be made in the manner prescribed by the Judicature Act 1908 for carrying the provisions of this section into effect. The Executors Commission Rules 1935 and the Executors Commission Rules 1935, Amendment No. 1, so far as they were in force on the thirty-first day of December, nineteen hundred and fifty-six, shall continue and have effect as if they had been made under this subsection and as if this section had been in force when they were made, and may be amended or revoked accordingly.”

Where any property is held by a trustee and the property or any part thereof cannot be distributed because the trustee does not know Whether any person who is or may be entitled thereto is or at any material date was in existence, or whether all or any of the persons who are members of any class who are or may be entitled thereto are or at any material date were in existence, or because the trustee does not know whether any such person is alive or dead or where he is, the trustee may publish such advertisements (whether in New Zealand or elsewhere) as are appropriate in the circumstances calling upon every such person and every person claiming through any such person to send in his claim within a time to be specified in the advertisements, not being less than two months in any case from the date on which the advertisement is published. Where the trustee is in doubt as to what advertisements should be published under this subsection, he may apply to the Court for directions in that regard.

Where the trustee has received (whether as a result of the advertisements or not) any claim to be a person to whom any such advertisement relates, or any notice that any person may claim to be such a person, but the trustee is not satisfied that the claim is or would be valid, the trustee may serve upon the claimant or the person of whom the trustee has notice as aforesaid, a notice calling upon him, within a period of three months from the date of service of the notice, to take legal proceedings to enforce the claim, if he wishes to pursue it, and to prosecute the proceedings with all due diligence; and advising him that, if he fails to do so, his claim may be disregarded and application may be made to the Court without further notice for an order authorising the distribution of the property. Nothing in this subsection shall make it necessary for the trustee to serve such a notice on any such person; and the Court may make an order under this section, whether or not such a notice has been served on any such person, if it is satisfied that the information supplied to the trustee by that person or otherwise in the possession of the trustee indicates either that the person is not one of the persons specified in the advertisements or that he is not likely to be one of those persons.

Upon proof by affidavit of the circumstances, and of the inquiries that have been made, and of the results of the inquiries and advertisements, and of the claims of which the trustee has received notice, and of the notices that the trustee has given to claimants under subsection (2) of this section, and of the action (if any) which the claimants have taken to enforce their claims, the Court may order that the trustee may distribute the property or part thereof, subject to such conditions as the Court may impose,—

In making any order under subsection (3) of this section, the Court may—

Any such order may be made notwithstanding that there has not been strict compliance with any directions as to advertisements previously given by the Court, or that an error has been made in any advertisement (whether or not any directions have previously been given by the Court) if the Court considers that the error would not be likely to have prejudiced or misled the persons to whom the advertisement relates.

Where the Court makes an order under this section that the trustee may distribute any property or part thereof as if every person and every member of any class of persons specified in the order (not being a person expressly excluded from the operation of the order) is not in existence or never existed or has died before a date or event specified in the order, and the trustee distributes in accordance with the order, the trustee shall be exonerated from any further liability to any such person or to any member of any such class:

“Provided that nothing in this subsection shall prejudice any remedy which any person may have against any person other than the trustee, including any right which he may have to follow the property and any money or property into which it is converted.

The Court may make one or more orders under this section in respect of the same property.

Any order made under this section may direct how the costs of the order and of advertising under or for the purposes of the order shall be borne.

It shall not be necessary to serve notice of an application for an order under this section upon any person, unless the Court otherwise orders.

Nothing in this section shall prejudice the right of the trustee (if he so desires) to distribute under any other law or statutory provision or prejudice the protection thereby afforded when he makes distribution pursuant to any such law or provision.”

Any notice, application, or order that is to be served in accordance with section 75 or section 76 of this Act, or in accordance with any order made pursuant to section 76 of this Act, may be served—

Where a notice is sent by post as aforesaid it shall be deemed to be served at the time at which the letter would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post.”