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Trustees: Self-dealing – rigours and risks

Brudenell-Bruce offers salutary lessons about the self-dealing rule, as Simon Atkinson explains ‘Brudenell-Bruce provides a restatement of the law relating to estoppel by deed and applies principles of construction to deeds and consent orders.’ For chancery practitioners Brudenell-Bruce (Earl of Cardigan) v Moore and Cotton [2012] provides valuable guidance in a number of areas. The …
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Wills: An unresolved question

David Schmitz considers whether the will must be present when a testator acknowledges their signature to witnesses ‘The existence of a perceived danger of substitution in some cases, and the desirability of reducing the need for oral evidence in consequent litigation, can justify the inference that the draftsman did intend to impose a requirement for …
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Executor’s Costs: Neutrality is key

Sian Hodgson gives the lowdown on executor’s costs in litigation, with reference to the recent case of Taylor v Saunders ‘An executor who has been involved in the preparation and execution of a will, in which he is also appointed executor, may naturally wish to “defend” that will’ The issue of an executor’s costs in …
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Quistclose Trusts: Clear segregation

Lynsey Oakdene and Camilla Dalzell discuss the definition of a Quistclose trust and the circumstances in which a court will find that one exists, following Tuthill ‘A Quistclose trust arises in circumstances where a transferor transfers money to another with the intention that the money is to be used for a specific and exclusive purpose.’ …
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Residuary Gifts: Intention not precedent

Spurling v Broadhurst confirms the court’s current approach in placing emphasis on the intention of the testator rather than strict rules of will construction. Daisy Boulter investigates ‘The court in Spurling took a broad range of evidence into account, including the testator’s characteristics, in deciding how to construe the gift in remainder clause.’ In Spurling …
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Trustees: Back on the right course?

Marilyn McKeever discusses the implications of the Supreme Court decision in Futter v Futter and Pitt v Holt ‘The Hastings-Bass jurisdiction applies where the trustee or other person has failed to take into account any relevant considerations or took into account irrelevant considerations and would not have taken the action they did but for that …
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Tax Planning: Curtailing abuse

Imogen Buchan-Smith sets out the key points of the much-anticipated GAAR ‘While the GAAR’s purpose is “the counteraction of tax advantages arising from tax arrangements that are abusive”, and the taxes included within its scope are clear, the actual arrangements that the government intends will fall within its ambit may be less so.’The introduction of …
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Trust Protectors: Above and beyond the call of duty

Dawn Goodman and Geoffrey Kertesz discuss a case that clarifies the grounds upon which protectors can be removed, and also sounds a note of caution for a common practice in the trust industry Protectors who engage in conduct that is beyond their remit (and perhaps trustee-like in nature) may be placing the entire structure at …
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Mental Capacity: Safeguarding adults at risk

Sharon Kenchington analyses a case that affirms the existence of a judicial ‘safety net’ to protect vulnerable adults who retain capacity so do not fall under the MCA 2005 or the Court of Protection ‘In the Re F decision, Lord Donaldson of Lymington MR affirmed the use of the common law as a ‘great safety …
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Good Practice: Holding the purse strings

Jo Summers examines new guidance for banks on controlling money for someone else ‘The framework is not binding and it is not a formal code of conduct. It uses a mixture of legal summary and guidance to help banks determine best practice, although some issues are left unresolved.’ After many years’ negotiation, ‘a framework for …
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