ET v JP & ors [2018] WTLR 109
Spring 2018 #171The adult beneficiaries of a trust had consented to a proposed variation of the trust. Since the variation affected the position of beneficiaries who were minors and unborn and unascertained beneficiaries, the approval of the court under s1 of the Variation of Trusts Act was required. One of the minor beneficiaries (X) was severely autistic and lacked capacity to consent.
Section 1(1)(a) of the Variation of Trusts Act 1958 provides that the court may approve an arrangement on behalf of any person who by reason of infancy or other incapacity is i...
Wood v HMRC [2016] UKUT 346 (TCC)
October 2016 #163In June 2010, Michael Wood admitted to under-declarations of income tax for the years 2002-03 to 2007-08 amounting to £743,424 and made a payment of tax of £352,983. This was made with a view to taking advantage of an HMRC disclosure opportunity for medical professionals called the ‘Tax Health Plan’, with a fixed tax geared penalty of 10% of the amount of tax under-declared. HMRC argued that the disclosure fell within the Tax Health Plan and opened a Code of Practice 9 investigation into his affairs. Michael Wood agreed to provide a disclosure report (the disclosure report) into his affa...
Van der Merwe v Goldman & anr [2016] EWHC 790 (Ch)
June 2016 #160The claimant and first defendant were husband and wife and joint freehold owners of a property in the UK where they lived. Up until March 2006 the claimant and first defendant were treated as domiciled in South Africa. However, from 6 April 2006 they would be treated as domiciled in the UK for inheritance tax purposes. In November 2005 the claimant took advice on mitigating the consequences of being treated as domiciled in the UK for the purposes of inheritance tax. He was advised that his position would be improved if he placed the property into an interest in possession settlement.
...Herbert v Doyle & anr [2010] EWCA Civ 1095
November 2015 #154The appellant (Mr Herbert) owned the freehold of a house and a large garden. The respondents (Mr Doyle and Mr Talati) owned the freehold of an adjacent property comprising a dental surgery with nine parking spaces. They also leased part of the ground floor in the main house from Mr Herbert. They carried on a practice as dental practitioners from the freehold and leasehold premises and they and their clients used the parking spaces. Mr Herbert wished to develop the former walled garden of Mansfield House and to build mews houses, but to do so he needed Mr Doyle and Mr Talati to exchange s...
V v T & anr [2014] EWHC 3432 (Ch)
January/February 2015 #146The claimant was the settlor of three trusts and applied, under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958, for approval of similar arrangements for the benefit of minor beneficiaries under the trust and for future, yet unborn, beneficiaries under the trust.
The principal defendants were the trustees, the adult beneficiaries (who consented to the proposed arrangements) and the minor beneficiaries, acting through their litigation friend.
Before the hearing the parties had contact Chancery Listing and obtained agreement that the cases would be listed for hearing with initials ...
Tadros & anr v Barratt & ors [2014] EWHC 2860 (Ch)
December 2014 #145Wedad Tadros (the deceased), a Dutch national, died on 26 October 2006 leaving a number of wills in several jurisdictions. The wills forming the basis of these proceedings were an English will dated 13 September 2010 but purportedly signed on 14 May 2011, and a Dutch will dated 27 May 2011 which created a foundation to benefit orphans (the foundation). The foundation was formally set up on 6 November 2013 under Dutch law. Both wills were drafted as though the deceased’s husband were alive at the time, although he had died on 23 September 2010. There were concerns over the validity of the...
Drakeford v Cotton & anr [2012] EWHC 1414 (Ch)
September 2012 #122Ernest Cotton (Mr Cotton) and Mary Cotton (Mrs Cotton) won about £107,000 on the National Lottery and made mirror image wills on 16 May 1997 that provided for the survivor to take the entire estate of the first to die and, on the death of the survivor, for it to pass equally to their three children, who were the claimant and defendants. When Mr Cotton died on 7 February 2008 there were two jointly-held accounts (respectively a deposit and current account) with the Coventry Building Society containing £49,186.98 and £2,622.08 (Accounts). Both were thenceforth owned legally and beneficiall...