Q: Can a trustee of a church that is incorporated be replaced without his consent ?
In 1990 the trustee of a church purchased 5.4 acres of land currently valued at close to one million dollars. In 2000 the trustee was removed without his consent. In 2006 a quitclaim was entered by the removed trustee transferring ownership to the new trustee, again without his consent. Was this done legally?
A: The trust instrument generally provides for the grounds and mechanisms of removing a trustee, plus there are statutory provisions that also apply in certain circumstances. Whether removal was done properly would require a review of the trust and circumstances of removal. However, the time to challenge the removal in court likely expired many years ago, so it is probably too late to object now. Transferring title of real property owned by a trust is done by the acting trustee. The trustee only holds the deed in the name of the trust, not personally. Whether a title company would have an issue with a deed transfer by a successor trustee who was not the trustee named in the deed is a matter of speculation, but I imagine that so long as the current trustee’s appointment is proven, there would not be an issue.
Bruce Alexander Minnick agrees with this answer
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