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…

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…

Beneficiary Secures Victory in Concealed Denial of Trust Claim

A beneficiary recently succeeded in a claim for breach of trust against his grandfather who, having declared that he held the beneficiary’s share as sub-trustee, continued to act as if he had retained the beneficial interest. The significance of the decision in Sheffield v Sheffield and others [2013] EWHC 3927 (Ch) is likely to be confined…

High Court Orders Disclosure of Offshore Trusts in Divorce Proceedings

The High Court in Tchenquiz-Imerman v Imerman [2013] EWHC 3627, has held that disclosure orders made against beneficiaries of discretionary Jersey trusts were justified, proportionate and necessary to support ancillary relief proceedings brought by their step mother against their father. This interesting case provides practitioners with an indication about the willingness of English Courts to…

Jersey Revives Rule in Re Hastings Bass

An amendment to Jersey’s trust law came into force on Friday 25th October 2013 to incorporate what has become known as the rule in Hastings-Bass into statute. The rule, which has emerged from nearly 40 years of case law, has traditionally allowed trustees who have made a mistake as to their dispositive powers to apply…