Where a person has effected a policy under the Married
Women’s Property (MWP) Act 1882, or the MWP (Scotland) Act
1880 and no trustee has been appointed the policy vests in that
person as trustee.
In England if the policy was not effected under the MWP Act
1882 the person who effected the policy should be treated as if
they had expressly declared themselves a trustee.
In Scotland, to effect a valid transfer two trustees are
required or some form of delivery or its equivalent, for example
intimation. Having a sole trustee is not sufficient to create a
valid trust in Scotland except in policies effected in terms of the
MWP (Scotland) Act 1880.
