Butler & anr v Butler & anr [2016] EWHC 1793 (Ch)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | November 2016 #164The parties were siblings who jointly owned 502 items of 17th century Chinese porcelain gifted to them by their father between 1987 and 1993 (the Butler Family Collection (the BFC)).
In 2012 the defendants and their father formed a partnership to own and merchandise another 208 such items (formerly owned by their father).
After their father’s death disagreement arose as to what should become of the BFC. The claimants sought to have it distributed. The defendants wished to keep it in tact and made available for scholarly study and exhibition and to exploit certain items comm...
Frame v Rai [2012] BCSC 1876
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | November 2015 #154The case concerned a dispute over ownership of a property. The property was registered in the name of the deceased, his sister (the plaintiff) and his wife (the defendant) as tenants in common. The plaintiff claimed that she was an owner of a one-half interest in the property based on an agreement entered into between her, the deceased and other family members at the time of purchase of the property in 1994. The defendant asserted that she and the deceased’s estate were solely the beneficial owners of the property, claiming that the reason the plaintiff was included as an owner on ...
M v M & ors [2013] EWHC 2534 (Fam)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | December 2013 #135The transcript of this judgment is reported in part from para 164 onwards and starts with a discussion of the law. No part of the report provides a factual narrative.
Held (allowing the wife’s claim for financial relief):
The court had power on divorce to order a party to the marriage to transfer to the other party such property as may be so specified to which that party was entitled, either in possession or reversion. In this case almost all the wealth created by the husband during the course of the marriage was held through offshore company structures and the ques...
Prest v Petrodel Resources Ltd & ors [2013] WTLR 1249
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | September 2013 #132Michael Prest (husband) and Yasmin Prest (wife) were married for 15 years and had four children before the wife petitioned for divorce in March 2008. During the marriage the matrimonial home was in England, though for most of the time the husband was found to be resident in Monaco and there was also a second home in Nevis. Petrodel Resources Ltd (PRL), which was incorporated in the Isle of Man, was the legal owner of the matrimonial home and five other residential properties in the United Kingdom. PRL was part of a group of companies, one of which was the legal owner of two more resident...
Bingham v HMRCC [2013] UKFTT 110 (TC)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | June 2013 #130The appellant (Mr Bingham), a sole practitioner, was a solicitor practising under the style of Bingham & Co. His practice, predominantly based on property transactions, prospered to such an extent that Mr Bingham was able to amass substantial sums of personal funds, which he deposited in a number of bank and building society accounts. These were subsequently consolidated in a money market account held jointly with his wife, to which were later added their children. Mr Bingham believed that the beneficial ownership of the funds could be changed by making them account holders and signa...