Inheritance Tax Act 1984 section 45

Trustee

Section 45 provides a fallback definition of "trustee" for inheritance tax purposes where a settlement has no formally appointed trustees.

• This section applies only where a settlement would otherwise have no trustees.
• In such cases, the "trustee" is defined as any person who currently holds the settled property or has responsibility for managing it.
• This ensures that inheritance tax provisions relating to trustees can still operate even where no formal trustee appointment exists.
• The definition looks at the practical reality of who controls or manages the settled property, rather than requiring a formal trusteeship.