McElroy v McElroy [2023] WTLR 647
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2023 #191On 18 February 2011, Ray McElroy passed away, survived by his wife of five months, Lynne, and his brother, Paul. Prior to his marriage to Lynne, Ray had made a will pursuant to which Paul was his sole beneficiary. After marrying Lynne, Ray did not execute a further will. On 24 August 2011, Lynne was granted letters of administration in respect of Ray’s estate, having sworn that Ray was domiciled in England and Wales and was intestate. Lynne proceeded to administer Ray’s estate and distribute the assets, including selling a property within the estate in part exchange for a new residence i...
Rehman v Hamid [2021] WTLR 663
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2021 #183The deceased was born in pre-partition India in 1942, later living in Pakistan. She moved to England in 1965 where she married her husband who was also living in England. In 1986, the couple purchased an English property where they lived until the husband’s death in early 2015. Later in 2015 the deceased returned to Pakistan to live with her nephew. The deceased died in hospital in 2017 three weeks after making her final will which left her estate entirely to her nephew’s son. This was a significant departure from the mirror will she had executed with her husband in 1993, und...
Investec & anr v Glenalla & ors [2019] WTLR 95
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2019 #174The Background
The Privy Council heard eight appeals arising from the management of the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust (“TDT”) between March 2007 and October 2008.
The TDT is a discretionary trust governed by the law of Jersey; in the period in question it had two trustees which were governed by Guernsey law: Investec Trust (Guernsey) Limited (“Investec”) and Bayeux Trustees Limited (collectively “the Trustees”). In July 2010 the Trustees were replaced as trustees of the TDT by Rawlinson & Hunter Trustees SA (“R&H”), a company incorporated in Switzer...
Vucicevic & anr v Aleksic & ors [2018] WTLR 1545
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Winter 2018 #170The claim was a claim dated 5 September 2016 by the claimants as personal representatives of the late Mr Veliko Aleksic (the deceased), who died on 24 October 2014, for construction of parts of the deceased’s last will. He acquired a house in London in 1960 and a house in Cardiff in 1971.
He left a holographic will, which was undated save for bearing the year ‘2012’. It was signed but there was no attestation clause. It did not provide for the appointment of an executor. The deceased’s estate was valued at £2,750,753, including three houses, one in Montenegro, one in Cardiff, and ...
Akers & ors v Samba Financial Group [2014] EWCA Civ 1516
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | July/August 2015 #151The claimants appealed a decision to stay their claim on the ground of forum non conveniens.
The fourth claimant (C4) was a Cayman company and was massively insolvent, owing US$2.815bn plus interest to a syndicate of banks including the defendant (D). The first (C1), second (C2) and third claimant (C3) were the liquidators of C4. A winding up petition was presented to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands on 30 July 2009, commencing the winding up of C4. On 18 September 2009, the winding up order was made.
The claim was brought by C1, C2 and C3 pursuant to s127 of the I...
Tadros & anr v Barratt & ors [2014] EWHC 2860 (Ch)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | 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...
Re Dion Investments Pty Ltd [2013] NSWSC 1941
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | October 2014 #143The Dion Family Trust was set up by deed as a discretionary trust in Papua New Guinea in August 1973 when Papua New Guinea was an external territory of Australia. It contains the following clause:
’15 [all potential beneficiaries] or any of them may at any time with or without the consent of the Trustee by deed revoke all or any of the trusts hereby declared and declare other trusts of the settled property and income derived therefrom in favour of such person or persons the said [potential beneficiaries] or any of them shall in their absolute discretion determine with or wi...
Re Foote Estate [2011] ABCA 1
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | September 2012 #122Eldon Foote, the deceased (D) was born in Alberta and lived there for the first 43 years of his life. He married and had five children there. When he died in 2004, his estate was worth approximately $130m. He also controlled a charitable foundation worth approximately $80m and had other assets worth approximately $10m. The bulk of his assets were held through corporations in the British Virgin Islands, and he had some investments and investment properties in Norfolk Island and a cabin in Alberta. D had left Alberta in 1967 to start his business in Australia and, over the next three years...