“The family has one head in whom is vested the control of the estate. The head is generally a man, but in some cases, a woman. The head of the family holds that part of the estate which is not his property in trust for the younger... more
“The family has one head in whom is vested the control of the estate. The head is generally a man, but in some cases, a woman. The head of the family holds that part of the estate which is not his property in trust for the younger members.” It is believed that the role of the head of the family is quite coterminous with the role of a trustee under the English law so it is apt to categorize the family head as a trustee. However, the other school of thought have opined that the term, “trustee” goes beyond duties and includes so much more. Thus, categorizing the family head as a trustee because they are both fiduciary relationships that share some duties is nothing short of fallacious. Finally, there is another school of thought who have deemed the whole concept of this categorization laughable as they have opined that this not be an issue as a family head may be regarded as a trustee in his powers in so far as he is expected to exercise not to his own benefit but for the benefit of others. This school of thought are of the opinion that it’s not only under the English law that the concept of trust exists. They further accept that the family head is not a trustee in strictu sensu. This work seeks to analyze these school of thoughts and give a clearer view on the nexus between a trust relationship and that of a family head.
