Public Trustee (Amendment)

(1) There may be appointed a deputy or deputies to assist the Public Trustee.

(2) The act of appointment of any Deputy Public Trustee shall specify whether he is appointed as such for the whole of Sri Lanka or any part thereof (the area for which such Deputy Public Trustee is appointed being hereinafter referred to as “the area of his appointment”).

(3) Any Deputy Public Trustee appointed under subsection (2) shall, subject to the general or specific orders of the Public Trustee within the area of his appointment be competent to discharge any of the duties and exercise any of the powers of the Public Trustee, and, when discharging such duties or exercising such powers, shall hare the same privileges and be subject to the same liabilities as the Public Trustee.

(4) There may be appointed such legal officers and other staff as may be necessary to assist the Public Trustee or any Deputy Public Trustee in the administration of this Ordinance.’.

(1) Any Sri Lankan citizen proceeding for employment outside Sri Lanka may, register with the Public Trustee, the names of the persons to whom any compensation shall be payable in the event of his death while being so employed.

(2) Where a Sri Lankan citizen dies while being employed outside Sri Lanka, his employer may transmit to the Public Trustee, any sum payable as compensation in respect of such death, to be paid by the Public Trustee to the persons entitled thereto.

(3) On receipt of any sum under subsection (2) the Public Trustee may, distribute such sum to the persons nominated by the deceased under subsection (1) or in the absence of such nomination, to the persons entitled thereto.”.

(1) Where the Public Trustee makes an application for probate or letters of administration in respect of the estate of the deceased person, he may at the same time make an application for an order authorising him to take provisional possession of the movable and immovable property of the estate (in this section referred to as an ” order for provisional possession “).

(2) The court may make an order for provisional possession of an estate at the stage when it enters an order nisi in the application by the Public Trustee for the issue of probate or letters of administration in respect of that estate. If the court at any stage discharges such order nisi, it shall also cancel the order for provisional possession.

(3) Where the Public Trustee takes possession of the movable and immovable property of an estate of a deceased person by virtue of an order for provisional possession, he shall hold such property in trust for the heirs of the estate.

(a) directing the removal of any trustee;

(b) directing accounts and inquiries ;

(c) declaring what proportion of the trust property or of the interest therein, shall be allocated to any particular object of the trust;

(d) authorizing the whole or any part of the trust property to be let, sold, mortgaged or exchanged ;

(e) settling a scheme for the management ‘ of the trust;

(f) directing the specific performance of any act by any trustee;

(g) appointing the Public Trustee as the sole trustee; and

(h) granting such other or further relief as the nature of the case may warrant.’.

(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance, the Public Trustee may

(2) In this section, the expressions “trustee”, “Controlling Viharadhipathi” and ” temple ” shall have the same meanings respectively, as in the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance.

(3) The provisions of this section shall come into operation on such date as may be appointed by the Minister, by Order published in the Gazette.’.