Peter Steen and Robert Hines examine firewall legislation and the tension between legal fairness and economic expediency ‘It is evident that provisions of firewall legislation will prevail over questions of comity in circumstances where action by the trustees would result in them exceeding their powers under the trust.’ Asset protection, rather than legitimate tax mitigation, …
Continue reading "Trusts: Finding a way"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | September 2016 #162The wife applied to join the trustees of the A trust and the B trust as parties to the litigation between the husband and wife. The husband was the settlor of both trusts. At one point husband and wife had been beneficiaries. They have now been irrevocably excluded from benefit. The wife was applying to vary both trusts.
One trust was subject to BVI jurisdiction and the other to the jurisdiction of the Swiss courts. The trustees of each trust were not submitting to the jurisdiction, and were intending to apply to the foreign courts for directions as to what to in respect of the l...
Charlotte Conner outlines the challenges when dealing with cases involving trusts ‘This is an area fraught with difficulty as the court is being asked to deal with assets which are not legally owned by either party to the proceedings.’ The recent Court of Appeal decision in P v P [2015] brings into focus key issues …
Continue reading "Trusts: Available assets"
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Antonia Barker outlines P v P, which sheds light on the circumstances in which a trust will be considered a nuptial settlement ‘Practitioners should be aware that even where the ultimate trust is not a nuptial settlement, any individual settlement of an asset into that trust, or even the right to occupy a trust property, …
Continue reading "Nuptial Settlements: Break it up"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | January/February 2015 #146This was an application for ancillary relief following the wife’s divorce petition of October 2012, upon which decree nisi was pronounced on 17 April 2013. At the time of these proceedings the wife was 44 years of age, and the husband was 41. On paper, the husband had almost no assets and a modest income. However, the husband came from a family of great wealth with substantial lands in Pembrokeshire which they had owned for generations. His financial security was therefore absolutely assured.
The wife and the husband had first met in 1999. They had married in February 200...
Ruth Abrams considers the interrelationship between nuptial settlements and trusts, the procedure for permission to appeal and the significance of new relationships ‘The trustees’ specific powers to advance all of the property to the husband during his lifetime was a decisive factor that led the court to conclude that the settlement as a whole, and …
Continue reading "Financial Provision: Issues of trust"
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Fiona Wood outlines the courts’ approach to assets acquired prior to marriage and the factors to be taken into account Need cannot be assessed in isolation of the factors that are the key to the performance of the sharing principle such as pre-acquired wealth. The issue of pre-acquired assets arises in many divorce cases. While …
Continue reading "Pre-Acquired Assets: Setting apart"
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Claire Blakemore provides a practical guide for trustees in the event of divorce div class=”pullquote”>’Trustees must consider carefully what position they will need to take in the context of the case and in particular on disclosure and enforcement.’ The American preacher Lorenzo Dow famously said ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’ and …
Continue reading "Divorce: Stuck in the middle"
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Vicki McLynn considers the question of the interests of third parties in financial remedy proceedings ‘When the family court is determining a dispute between a spouse and a third party it must be approached on the same basis as if it were being determined by the Chancery Division.’ The issue of third-party interests in financial …
Continue reading "Third Parties: To join or not to join?"
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Prest emphasises that it is unfeasible for the Family Division to take a differing approach to other divisions when piercing the corporate veil. Suzanne Todd explains ‘The recent decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Prest has far-reaching effects, way beyond the boundaries of the Family Division.’ Most people are familiar with Jane …
Continue reading "Divorce And Trusts: Trusting Prest"
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