Grosskopf v Grosskopf & anr [2024] WTLR 530
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2024 #195The parties were siblings and beneficiaries of a trust established by their parents. In addition, the defendants were also the trustees. The claimant applied to appoint a judicial trustee in place of the defendants on the basis that the defendants had engaged in conduct that appeared to have been in breach of their duties as trustees or may have been dishonest. The parties had previously entered into an arbitration agreement before the Beth Din of the Federation of Synagogues. The court and the tribunal had previously determined that the tribunal had jurisdiction to consider the claim. T...
Executors of the estate of Linington & anr v Commissioners for HMRC [2023] WTLR 917
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Autumn 2023 #192The deceased had made certain inheritance tax planning arrangements which involved the assignment of the reversionary interest of the reversionary beneficiary in MTrust (a 150-year Isle of Man trust) to the deceased, who was then granted an option to become the income beneficiary of the MTrust. Prior to the exercise of the option, the deceased transferred his reversionary interest to the KTrustees in 2010 (prior to the enactment of s74A-C Finance Act 2012).
HMRC issued two notices of determination under s221 of the Inheritance Act 1984 against the executors of th...
Larsen & anr v Annan [2023] WTLR 1023
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Autumn 2023 #192The deceased, George, was the father of the three parties. He died leaving a will dated 26 March 2013. It made a gift of £10,000 to each of his three children, with the residue being left to his wife Lilly. In the event she predeceased him (as happened) it was left to his daughter Heather, the defendant, absolutely. It also appointed Heather as executrix. The estate was valued at approximately £480,000.
It was clear from the attendance notes surrounding the drawing up of the will that the deceased did not regard the claimants as having behaved well. Wayne had killed his niece’s pa...
Brookman & anr v Potts & anr [2022] WTLR 37
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2022 #186By his will dated 17 January 2011 (the will), Arthur Brookman (the deceased) appointed his wife, Sandra Brookman, together with her children and brother to be the executors and trustees. The deceased placed his beneficial half share in the matrimonial home at 49 Hemsby Road, Castleford (the property) in a discretionary trust for the benefit of a class of potential beneficiaries that included his wife, his children by a former marriage, his stepchildren and six named grandchildren. Subject to the power of appointment, the capital and income were held on trust for such of his children and ...
Clarke-Sullivan v Clarke-Sullivan [2021] WTLR 109
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2021 #182The claimant and the deceased, who both originated from New Zealand, were married. They lived in London from 2006-10 and in Dubai from 2010-15, returning to London before the deceased’s death in 2019.
In 2014, the claimant and the deceased created a discretionary trust under the laws of New Zealand, with New Zealand being the initial forum of administration (the trust). The beneficiaries included the claimant and the deceased, their future issue and organisations that were deemed to be charitable under New Zealand law. The trust was established to hold property intended to be purc...
Sofer v SwissIndependent Trustees SA [2020] WTLR 1075
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Autumn 2020 #180The claimant was the intended beneficiary of the Puyol trust (the trust) which was created in discretionary form by Hyman Sofer (the settlor) in July 2006. The defendant was a professional trustee company based in Switzerland. The settlor was added as a ‘specified beneficiary’ while the claimant and other issue of the settlor became ‘general beneficiaries’. The trust included a power for the trustee to lend any money forming part of the trust assets to any beneficiary and there was a prohibition on the trustee paying any part of the capital to any beneficiary prior to the death of the se...
Daga v Bangur [2019] WTLR 455
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2019 #175Following decree absolute in October 2017, the husband sought a lump sum payment from the wife, out of two discretionary trust funds of which the wife was settlor, with a combined value of £17.5m, the trustee of which was an offshore company. The beneficiaries were the ‘family members’ of the settlor. The letter of wishes directed the trustee to act on the advance of her father. The trusts were created in June and August 2015 and funded by the wife’s father, via the wife, between March and June 2016, the wife passively facilitating their funding. Although the source of the funds in the t...
Investec & anr v Glenalla & ors [2017] WTLR 205
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | March 2017 #167The plaintiffs were the former trustees of the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust (the ‘trust’), which had been established in Jersey by Declaration of Trust dated 26 March 2007 for the benefit of a class of beneficiaries comprising Robert Tchenguiz and his children a remoter issue. The Trust was funded initially by an appointment from the Tchenguiz Family Trust which had previously been established in the British Virgin Islands. Subsequently, the trustee of this trust entered into a loan agreement for borrowing of monies from Kaupthing Bank (the ‘bank’) and then made an appointment of assets...
Clayton v Clayton [2016] NZSC 29
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | July/August 2016 #161Mr and Mrs Clayton were married in 1989, had two daughters who were born in 1990 and 1994, separated in 2006 and were divorced in 2009. By the time of the separation Mr Clayton had built up a significant saw milling and timber processing business, which operated from land and buildings in Vaughan Road, Rotorua. By declaration of trust dated 14 June 1999 (VRPT) Mr Clayton settled the land and buildings, with himself as sole trustee, on discretionary trusts for the benefit of a class of beneficiaries that included Mr Clayton as ‘principal family member’, Mrs Clayton as his wife or former w...