InHouse Wills & Probate
STEP Provisions
My Will includes a reference to the STANDARD PROVISIONS OF THE SOCIETY OF TRUST AND ESTATE PRACTITIONERS
- what does that mean?
STEP Provisions
Lots of Wills have a clause (perhaps headed ‘Administration’) which says
The Standard Provisions of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (1st Edition) shall apply with the deletion of paragraph 5. Section 11 Trust of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (consultation with beneficiaries) shall not apply.
Why is this in the Will? This is the standard way of providing the executors with technical and routine provisions they need to administer the estate properly. In particular, this authorises professional executors or trustees to charge for their work.
Using these standard provisions the Will writer can ease the work of the executors when they administer your estate, without having to clutter up your Will with lots of technical provisions that might otherwise confuse the lay reader.
The provisions have been put together by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (normally abbreviated to STEP) which is an organisation of the best technical specialists in this aspect of the law. As such they provide an effective starting point for dealing with the technical needs of your Will.
If you have not been provided with a copy of the provisions, you can download a copy here.
There is also a commentary available, which explains some of the details within the provisions.