8. Additional Estate
Any additional estate or interest which comes to light after the Form of Inventory has been examined should be brought into the Curator's next Account under "Additional Estate".
(a) Bank and Building Society. A Curator may deposit Curatory funds in any institution approved under the Banking Act 1987 1 (which includes all the well known banks) or in National Savings Bank or in a building society deposit account (but not in building society share accounts). Accounts must be held in the name of the Curator as such.
(b) Investment of Estate. In terms of the Trusts (Scotland) Act 1921, a Curator is designated a Trustee and is therefore subject to the provisions of the Trustee Investments Act 1961 (as amended). This Act enabled Curators for the first time to invest in, among other things Unit Trusts, ordinary shares in a Company registered in the UK with paid-up capital of £1 million and which had paid a dividend in each of the past 5 years and building society share accounts. The First Schedule to the Act lists the investments available:
Part I lists the Narrower Range Investments not requiring advice which include investment in National Savings Certificates and National Savings Bonds.
Part II lists the Narrower Range Investments requiring advice which include UK Government Stock, Local Authority Bonds, debentures in any company that qualifies as a Wider Range Investment and Gilt Unit Trusts.
Part III lists the Wider Range Investments requiring advice which include Unit Trusts, ordinary shares in UK Companies and Building Society Share Accounts.
It is not necessary to divide the estate in terms of the Act unless it is proposed to purchase wider range investments and indeed it must be questionable whether in view of the additional administrative work involved it is worth doing so in estates of under £20,000. Where, however, a Curator wishes to take advantage of the wider powers of investment conferred by the Act the Accountant requires him/her to produce for his consideration a Scheme of Investment prepared by a person qualified by ability and practical experience of financial matters, normally a Stockbroker 2.
Curators tend to have problems with the division of the estate in terms of the Act and put in very simple terms the position may be stated as follows:
1 Judicial Factors Act 1849 Section 5 as amended by Law Reform (Misc Prov)
(Scotland) Act 1990 Section 8.
2 Trustee Investments Act 1961 Section 6
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