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When can informal agreements give rise to a constructive trust or estoppel? Sarah Bolt looks back at the decision in Culliford It does appear that the courts are taking a more liberal approach to the cases that come before them, particularly within modern cases where there are more and more people cohabiting and making informal …
Continue reading "Constructive trusts and estoppel: Is my word my bond?"
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Amanda Noyce reviews the latest cases under the 1975 Act and summarises the lessons on funding such claims With regard to adult able-bodied children, there is a need to ‘prove something more’ than just the qualifying relationship. ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way’ is a great self-motivational message – until there’s an inheritance involved. …
Continue reading "Claims by adult child beneficiaries: Is there any hope after Miles v Shearer?"
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Joseph de Lacey and Natasha Molson analyse the Supreme Court’s decision in Crown Prosecution Service v Aquila Advisory Ltd The court confirmed the approach as set out in Jetivia, namely that in proceedings by a company against its directors for breach of fiduciary duty, the fraud of the directors could not be attributed to the …
Continue reading "Fiduciary obligations and constructive trusts: Attribution of illegality"
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Catherine Pugsley and Laura Southern report on executors’ misplaced reliance on charging clauses The issue of the case was whether an executor, who was involved in a profession or business which was ‘unrelated to the administration of trusts or estates’, could rely on the professional charging clause. It is generally held that the job of …
Continue reading "Executors: When profession counts"
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Geoffrey Shindler appeals to HMRC to look to itself before criticising its customers To be insulted by HMRC as well as suffer its delays, incompetence and errors is going too far. It would be very nice, would it not, for the early part of 2022 to be full of goodness and joy to all mankind? …
Continue reading "Musings from Manchester: An unanswered call"
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Property trusts without liquid assets and no right to rent can cause difficulties for trustees facing proceedings. Nicola Phillipson analyses a case that considers these issues and more The distinction between situations where trustees have put themselves in a position of conflict and where they have been put there by the terms of the trust …
Continue reading "Contentious probate: Conflicts between trustees and beneficiaries"
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Mary Ashley reports on a rare taxpayer win Cases like Marlborough are helpful to reveal how HMRC will form its arguments when it wants a tribunal to look at the overall effect of an arrangement rather than the detail. Marlborough DP Ltd v The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs [2021] is a First-tier …
Continue reading "Trusts: Shedding light on remuneration trusts"
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Melody Munro reviews a case that exposes the delicate balance trustees have to maintain between beneficiaries’ wishes and what is best for the trust It is, quite rightly, not for the court to impose its own view of the merits of a decision but rather to consider whether the trustee’s decision is one which a …
Continue reading "Trustees: The court’s power to bless decisions"
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Laura Abbott sets out the key principles concerning costs and contentious probate proceedings Any claim should be approached on the basis that costs follow the event. Parties must therefore be willing, and able, to pay their own costs and those of their opponent if they are unsuccessful. Goodwin v Avison [2021] is a useful précis …
Continue reading "Costs: Action not to be taken lightly"
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Amy Berry provides practical points on seeking to extend time under s4 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 It is of fundamental import to remember that the divorce fiction, to which the pre-acquired/non-matrimonial asset issue relates, is only one aspect of the s3 criteria that the court must weigh when considering …
Continue reading "The 1975 Act: Applying the principles"
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