The court may direct a. settlement to be made of the property of a lunatic or defective, or any part thereof or any interest therein, on such trusts and subject to such powers and provisions as the court may deem expedient, and in particular may give such directions—
The court may direct the committee or receiver of the lunatic or defective, or any trustee for him, to execute any vesting instrument, trust instrument, conveyance (including a disentailing assurance) or other instrument, and to do any other act or thing which may be required for giving effect to the settlement, in the name and on behalf of the lunatic or defective, and, for that purpose, may make a vesting order or appoint a person to convey; and any settlement approved by the court shall be as effectual and binding on all persons interested as if the same had been made by the lunatic or defective while of full capacity.
This section applies whether or not the lunatic or defective has executed a testamentary disposition and notwithstanding that it is not known whether he has executed such a disposition or not, but does not apply when he is an infant.
Any person who under the Administration of Estates Act, 1925, has, or if that Act, or any enactment which it replaces, had not been passed would have had, a spes successionis (whether under any testamentary disposition which is known to exist or in the event of the intestacy of the lunatic or defective) or an interest in the property of the lunatic or defective or in any part thereof, as well as the committee or receiver and any other person who may be authorised by rules made under this section, shall have power to apply to the court-for an order under this section.
Subject to making due provision for the maintenance of the lunatic or defective in accordance with his station in life, whether out of the capital or income of the property settled or other property or partly in one way and partly in another, and to providing, by means of a power of appointment or revocation, or otherwise, for the possibility of the lunatic or defective recovering full capacity, the court may, in making any order under this section, have regard to—
In this section, " testamentary disposition " means an instrument executed by the lunatic or defective while of full testamentary capacity, which, if unrevoked, might, on his death, be proved as a will or codicil; and the court may act on such evidence as to the existence or absence of a testamentary disposition as it thinks fit.
At any time before the death of the lunatic or defective, the court may, as respects any property remaining subject to the trusts of a settlement made under this section, on being satisfied that any material fact was not disclosed to the court when the settlement was made, or on account of any substantial change in circumstances, by order vary the settlement in such manner as it thinks fit, and give any consequential directions.
For the purposes of this section, " the court " means the Judge in Lunacy, or, in such cases as may be prescribed by rules of court, the High Court.
Rules in lunacy or, as respects cases within the jurisdiction of the High Court, rules of court, may be made for giving effect to the provisions of this section, and in particular for compelling information to be furnished respecting, and production of, testamentary dispositions, and the lodgment thereof in court, for prescribing what notices, if any, of the proceedings are to be served, for dispensing with such notices and, when necessary, for making representation orders.