Un-Tainting Protected Settlements – A Cure When Prevention Fails?
Important changes were made to the UK’s deemed domicile regime in 2017 which are now a significant area of risk for offshore trustees with UK resident settlors.
Bust Trusts – Court of Appeal Declares Principles of Trustee Liability
Guernsey’s Court of Appeal has declared, for the first time, the meaning and effect of the key provision in Jersey’s law concerning the liabilities of trustees to third parties to the trust in Investec Trust (Guernsey) Limited & Ors V Glenalla Properties Ltd & Ors. 41/2014 Background Facts The proceedings concerned the administration of the Tchenguiz…
Principles of Secret Trusts Reviewed in Freud Estate Dispute
The High Court has held in Rawstron and Anor v Freud [2014] EWHC 2577 (Ch) that a gift in the last will of the artist Lucian Freud took effect as an absolute gift to two named individuals in their personal capacities absolutely and was not given to them on trust under the will. However, the court heard…
Supreme Court Declares Constructive Trust Over Bribes & Secret Commissions
On 16th July 2014 the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in FHR European Ventures LLP and others v Cedar Capital Partners LLC [2014] UKSC 45. This decision settles a long-running argument in English law as to whether a principal has a proprietary or a merely personal claim against an agent who takes a bribe…
Jersey Royal Court Declares Limitation Period for Dishonest Assistance Claims
The Jersey Royal Court has finally laid to rest the long-standing debate concerning the jersey limitation period for claims in dishonest assistance. In the extremely lengthily decision (at 519 paragraph) of Nolan & Ors v Minerva Trust Company Limited and Ors [2014]JRC078A the Royal Court held that the relevant prescription period is 3 years from…
Royal Court asked to release whole discretionary trust from saisie judiciaire
The Royal Court has very recently clarified the principles to be applied as to whether assets of a discretionary trust fall to be considered as ‘realisable property’ of a person who is a discretionary beneficiary of such a trust. In Tantular v HM Attorney General [2014] JRC 128 the beneficiaries of a Jersey discretionary trust,…
Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014 receives Royal Assent
The long awaited Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014 (ITPA) received Her Majesty’s Royal Assent on 14th May 2014 and will make important changes to: the intestacy rules, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975; and sections 31 and 32 of the Trustee Act 1925 A commencement date has not yet been announced…
Parliament Votes For EU-wide Trust Transparency
The EU Parliament has voted to introduce a trust registry as part of recent amendments to the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive. It is striking the amendments are included in legislation directed at tackling money laundering. Until recently, AML initiatives have been about compelling financial intermediaries to hold information about their clients – the well known…
Chancellor Widens ATED Tax Net in Budget 2014
The Chancellor in his 2014 Budget has announced an extension of the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (“ATED”). ATED imposes an annual tax charge on residential property worth £2m or more held within corporates. The Chancellor has announced the charge is to be extended to a broader range of residential property, so that as of…
UKSC Decision Curtails Limitation Period for Secondary Liability Claims – Williams v Central Bank of Nigeria [2014] UKSC 10
The UK Supreme Court has decided (in a somewhat long judgment which is worth reading to appreciate some of its subtleties) that the indefinite limitation period for actions under s 21(1)(a) Limitation Act 1980 in cases of “any fraud or fraudulent breach of trust to which the trustee was party or privy” does not apply…
Guernsey Court Opens Door to Personal Liability for Trustees
The recent Guernsey decision in Investec Trust (Guernsey) Ltd & Bayeux Trustees Ltd v Glenalla Properties Ltd (2014) has far reaching consequences for Channel Island trustees administering foreign law trusts or entering into transactions not governed by the same law as their trust. As a matter of English law, trustees are personally liable to the…
