INLAND REVENUE
http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/

ihta84/s271.- Property of corporations sole.

[1975 s.51(5); 1982 Sch.17 para.6.]
271. References in this Act (except section 59) to property to which a person is beneficially entitled do not include references to property to which a person is entitled as a corporation sole.

Charity Commission for England and Wales
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/supportingcharities/ogs/g038a001.asp#a5

5. Types of corporation
Corporations are of two main kinds, both of which are likely to be encountered by caseworkers. The most common corporations are those where collections of persons are incorporated - corporations aggregate. However, a corporation can be constituted in a single person - a corporation sole.

Companies incorporated under the Companies Acts are usually corporations aggregate, but may now also be corporations sole.

• Corporations aggregate, consist of several members at the same time. Examples include municipal corporations (such as local authorities where, under the Local Government Act 1972, a council is created and then incorporated).
• Corporations sole, consist of only one member at a time, with the corporate character being kept up by a succession of solitary members over time. Corporations sole are always holders of a particular office; one example is the Official Custodian for Charities. The holders of certain offices in the Church of England (eg vicars) are also corporations sole (though their equivalents in the Church in Wales and the Roman Catholic and non-conformist churches are not). The Public Trustee is another example of a corporation sole. Further information on the role of the Public Trustee may be found at OG-38-C3. Property (which includes not only land and buildings, but also cash and investments) which the member holds by virtue of his or her office passes on retirement, resignation or death to his or her successor.

When dealing with the latter it is important to be clear if we are dealing with the individual as a person or the office that they hold.

Ministers: Appointments, Titles, Powers and Responsibilities
This government document refers to certain British Ministers being 'corporations sole.'

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