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Breach Of Trust: Dishonest or unconscionable?

The Starglade case casts light on the meaning of dishonesty in the context of accessory liability, as Mark Pawlowski discusses ‘In Twinsectra Ltd v Yardley [2002], the majority of the House of Lords concluded that dishonesty also required a dishonest state of mind. This approach, however, was rejected by the Privy Council in Barlow Clowes …
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Disclosure: Knowledge is power

Jonathan Hilliard provides a welcome review of information rights under trusts from Schmidt v Rosewood up to present day ‘While many jurisdictions contain statutory codes relating to disclosure, few of them are likely to be entirely exhaustive and therefore it will be necessary, at least at the fringes, to decide on the appropriate approach outside …
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Estate Planning: Accruing complexity

Helen Ratcliffe looks at Drake v Harvey, which highlights the difficulties of estate planning for partnership shares ‘Following Cruikshank v Sutherland [1922], where a partnership deed is silent as to the basis of valuation for the purposes of an account, the appropriate value is one that is fair.’Partnerships are one of the frequently chosen vehicles …
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Lifetime Gifts: The timing of execution

Singellos v Singellos marks an important extension of the Parker v Feldgate principle into lifetime gifts, explains Susi Dunn ‘The test for mental capacity to enter into a lifetime transaction is issue-specific: the degree of understanding required depends on the nature and complexity of the transaction in question.’In the summer of 2010, the High Court …
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Book Review: A thorough and concise read

Paul Davies finds Carl Islam’s Tax-Efficient Wills Simplified an excellent summary for practitioners T ax-Efficient Wills Simplified is intended to be a practical guide to an area of law that many people may find confusing or worrying: how to write a good and effective will that will ensure the maximum benefits to the testator’s heirs. …
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Fiduciary Duties: Acknowledgement is key

A recent Canadian case confirms the UK position on the scope of fiduciary obligations, as Suzana Popovic-Montag and Sarah Halsted report ‘Most significantly, the court in Galambos v Perez conceptually analysed the nature of fiduciary obligations and concluded that it is not the case that all power-dependency relationships are fiduciary in nature.’In Galambos v Perez …
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Presumed Undue Influence: When advice is neither necessary nor sufficient

Ruth Hughes reviews case law to present the up-to-date position on presumed undue influence ‘In addition to a relationship of influence, in order for the presumption of undue influence to apply to a transaction, the transaction must be such that it “calls for an explanation”.’Equity protects so that injustice may not be perpetrated. In the …
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Court Of Protection: Giving it away

Re G (TJ) has valuable lessons on the role of substituted judgment in statutory wills and gifts, as David Rees outlines ‘The judgment in Re G (TJ) is clearly important as it recognises that the old “substituted judgment” approach still has a role to play when determining P’s best interests under the MCA 2005.’The Court …
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IHT Planning: The mist has yet to clear

Vinton v Fladgate Fielder gives some indication of the current approach of the courts towards negligent IHT planning, explains Michael O’Sullivan ‘The judge in Vinton v Fladgate Fielder [2010] considered that the claim for breach of contract brought by the claimants in their capacity as executors did have a real prospect of success, citing the …
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Wills: Lost in translation

Henry Legge examines some oft-overlooked points concerning international testators ‘If a testator had non-UK nationality, the system of law applicable at the time of execution or their death will suffice. The classic case where this will crop up in English practice is where a testator is resident in England but has a non-UK passport.’In this …
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