Chan Yun Cheong v Chan Chi Cheong: Trustees' Retirement & Interpretation of Trust Instrument

In Chan Yun Cheong v Chan Chi Cheong, the Singapore Court of Appeal addressed a dispute between two trustees of a will, Chan Yun Cheong (Appellant) and Chan Chi Cheong (Respondent), regarding their retirement from the trust. The court considered whether the conditions of the Trustees Act must be met when a trustee seeks to retire under an express power in the trust instrument. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that the court cannot compel a co-trustee to consent to the Deeds.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

Court of Appeal of the Republic of Singapore

1.2 Outcome

Appeal allowed; the court cannot compel a co-trustee to consent to the Deeds.

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Judgment

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Singapore Court of Appeal case concerning the validity of trustees' retirement under a will and the applicability of the Trustees Act.

1.7 Decision Date

8 April 2021

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Chan Yun Cheong	Appellant	Individual	Appeal Allowed	Won	Lau Wen Jin of Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP Shivam Ahuja of Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP
Chan Chi Cheong	Respondent	Individual	Orders Set Aside	Lost	Hui Choon Wai of Wee Swee Teow LLP Giam Chin Toon SC of Wee Swee Teow LLP Ho Si Hui of Wee Swee Teow LLP

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Judith Prakash	Justice of the Court of Appeal	Yes
Chao Hick Tin	Senior Judge	No
Belinda Ang Saw Ean	Judge of the Appellate Division	No

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Lau Wen Jin	Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP
Shivam Ahuja	Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP
Hui Choon Wai	Wee Swee Teow LLP
Giam Chin Toon SC	Wee Swee Teow LLP
Ho Si Hui	Wee Swee Teow LLP

4. Facts

The appellant and respondent were appointed as two out of three trustees of a trust arising out of the will of their late grandfather.
The respondent sought to retire as a trustee pursuant to s 40 of the Trustees Act.
The appellant refused to give his consent to the respondent’s deed of retirement.
The appellant sought himself to resign by way of a letter of resignation, claiming that such mode of retirement was authorised by the terms of the will.
The High Court Judge ordered the appellant to give his consent to the respondent’s retirement.
The appellant appeals against the entirety of the Judgment.

5. Formal Citations

Chan Yun Cheong (trustee of the will of the testator) v Chan Chi Cheong (trustee of the will of the testator), Civil Appeal No 63 of 2020, [2021] SGCA 33

6. Timeline

Date	Event
1947-02-05	Will executed by Chan Wing (Testator)
1973-01-01	Chan Kat Cheung purported to retire as trustee by way of a letter of resignation.
2003-06-01	The trust had three trustees: Chan Chee Chiu, Chan See Chuen and Chan Fatt Cheung.
2009-03-01	Chan Fatt Cheung resigned as trustee.
2017-04-01	Chan See Chuen passed away.
2017-06-01	Chan Chee Chiu appointed the respondent and appellant as co-trustees.
2019-01-10	Respondent's solicitors informed CCC's solicitors of the respondent's intention to retire.
2019-01-15	CCC's solicitors advised the respondent that CCC had no objections to the retirement.
2019-01-16	Respondent's solicitors informed the appellant of the respondent's intention to retire.
2019-02-01	Appellant wrote a letter resigning as trustee.
2019-02-19	Respondent's solicitors asserted that the appellant was still a trustee.
2019-02-22	Appellant replied contesting this, citing an express provision in the Will.
2019-03-06	Respondent executed the Draft Deed.
2019-04-25	CFC signed a Deed of Retirement and Confirmation.
2019-05-01	Respondent's solicitors informed the appellant that CFC had signed a Deed of Retirement and Confirmation.
2019-01-01	Originating Summons No 703 of 2019 filed.
2020-11-20	Hearing date.
2021-04-09	Judgment reserved.

7. Legal Issues

Trustees' Retirement
- Outcome: The court held that the conditions in s 40 of the Trustees Act do not have to be met if a trustee can use a retirement mode provided by the trust instrument.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Validity of retirement
  - Conditions for retirement
  - Interpretation of trust instrument
Compelling Consent
- Outcome: The court held that it has no legal basis upon which it can compel a co-trustee to consent to the Deeds.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Court's power to compel consent
  - Reasonableness of withholding consent

8. Remedies Sought

Order to compel the appellant to sign the Deeds

9. Cause of Actions

Application for order to compel consent to retirement of trustee

10. Practice Areas

Trusts
Estate Planning
Civil Litigation

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Chan Chi Cheong (trustee of the will of the testator) v Chan Yun Cheong (trustee of the will of the testator)	High Court	Yes	[2020] SGHC 43	Singapore	Reasons for the decision of the High Court Judge.
Yeo Guan Chye Terence and another v Lau Siew Kim	High Court	Yes	[2007] 2 SLR(R) 1	Singapore	Cited regarding the court's power under s 14 of the SCJA to order the execution of a transfer of assets.
AQR v AQS	High Court	Yes	[2011] SGHC 139	Singapore	Cited regarding the court's power under s 14 of the SCJA to order the execution of a transfer of assets.
Rajabali Jumabhoy and others v Ameerali R Jumabhoy and others	High Court	Yes	[1997] 2 SLR(R) 296	Singapore	Cited regarding the conditions in s 40 of the Trustees Act.
Foo Jee Seng and others v Foo Jhee Tuang and another	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2012] 4 SLR 339	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the overriding aim of the court is to give effect to the testamentary intention as expressed by the testator.
Cheong Wei Chang v Lee Hsien Loong and another matter	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2019] 3 SLR 326	Singapore	Cited for the conditions that must be met in order for the court to exercise its inherent power.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
Rules of Court (Cap 322, R 5, 2014 Rev Ed)

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap 322, 2007 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Trustees Act (Cap 337, 2005 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Trustees Ordinance (Cap 59, 1936 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Trustee Act 1949 (Act 208 of 1978)	Malaysia
Trustee Enactment (Cap 61, Act 36 of 1933)	Federated Malay States

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Trustee
Retirement
Trust instrument
Deed of retirement
Consent
Express power
Trustees Act
Will
Resignation
Trusteeship

15.2 Keywords

trust
trustee
retirement
will
consent
deed
trustees act

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Trust Law	90
Wills and Probate	85
Equity	60
Succession Law	50

16. Subjects

Trusts
Retirement of Trustees
Interpretation of Wills