Equity Trust (Jersey) Ltd v Halabi [2022] WTLR 55

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2023 #190

The Privy Council determined appeals from the Jersey Court of Appeal (the Jersey appeal) and from the Guernsey Court of Appeal (the Guernsey appeal) concerning the rights of indemnity of successive trustees against the assets of trusts governed by Jersey law, whose assets were insufficient to meet in full the liabilities incurred by their trustees.

The Jersey appeal

The original sole trustee of two Jersey trusts settled by the late Madam Intisar Nouri was Equity Trust (Jersey) Ltd (Equity Trust). Equity Trust was later replaced as sole trustee by Volaw Corporate Trustee L...

Re Piedmont Trust and Riviera Trust [2022] WTLR 1403

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Winter 2022 #189

The trustees of two Jersey trusts known as the Piedmont Trust and the Riviera Trust made a Public Trustee v Cooper Category 2 type application for a ‘blessing’ of their decision to make distributions that would exhaust the funds of those trusts.

Detailed background to the trusts and of disputes that had previously arisen in relation to them was set out in Re Jasmine Trustees Ltd and Piedmont Trust [2015] (the 2015 judgment) and Re Piedmont Trust and Riviera Trust [2018] (the 2018 judgment).

The Piedmont Trust was a revocable discretionary trust es...

Rawlinson & Hunter Trustees SA v Chiddicks & ors [2022] WTLR 1475

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Winter 2022 #189

The late claimant was the settlor of eight family trusts of which Equity Trust (Jersey) Ltd was the original trustee. Two of the trusts, ZII and ZIII, both Jersey discretionary trusts, were relevant to the proceedings.

In 2006, Equity Trust retired as trustee and was replaced by Volaw Trustees Ltd. Equity Trust had the benefit of an indemnity. In 2008, a property crash led to the trusts becoming insolvent. In 2012, a company owned by ZII and in compulsory liquidation issued proceedings against its director and Equity Trust, which notified Volaw of its intention to rely on the inde...

Re May Trust [2022] WTLR 637

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2022 #187

The trustee of a Jersey trust known as the May Trust made a Public Trustee v Cooper Category 2 application for a ‘blessing’ of its decision to make a distribution to a beneficiary (B). The primary purpose of the distribution was to allow B to benefit a charity, which was also a beneficiary of the trust. The application was uncontentious.

The trust had been declared in 2000 by a deed of appointment. The appointing trust had been settled by B’s father in Cayman in 1982. The governing law of the May Trust was changed from Cayman law to Jersey law. The assets of the appointing trust w...

Jersey trusts: To submit – or not?

Katherine Neal and Damian Evans investigate whether trustees can take comfort from a recent Jersey decision on involvement in foreign proceedings Only in exceptional circumstances would the Royal Court direct a trustee to take part in foreign proceedings where the assets of the trust could be recovered by a third party. In a world of …
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