Trusts: Clamping down

Emma Jordan and Patricia Boon assess the impact of the US’s FATCA on trusts ‘The introduction of FATCA may be seen as part of the continued development towards achieving a “white list” standard of tax compliance internationally’.The US government published the final regulations under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in January. The following …
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Trusts: Trust issues

Huw Miles analyses issues of evidence regarding complex trust and corporate entities as highlighted in the decision of CR v MZ ‘It was the conveyancing solicitors who apparently advised that it would be “more efficient” to put the property into a company. The file contained no explanation of that advice and it did not in …
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Trusts: Welcome change

Kate Buchanan reviews the key points of the Trusts (Capital and Income) Act 2013 The reforms introduced by the Act address areas of law that have long been problematic to trust practitioners and are therefore to be welcomed.The Trusts (Capital and Income) Act 2013 (the Act) received royal assent on 31 January 2013. The Act …
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U Ltd v B & ors [2011] JRC 131

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | April 2013 #128

B had created the W Settlement (the trust) in 1989 as one of a number of settlements created for the benefit of B, his three sisters, their issue and their remoter issue. As the settlor, B and any wife of his were expressly excluded from benefit under the trust (but not from the other family settlements).

B and his wife Q had been involved in divorce proceedings before the Family Division of the High Court (the English court) for three years. It was considered that the trust’s value (some £2.5m based on publicly available information) greatly exceeded the other settlements&#...

Helmsman Ltd & anr v Bank of New York Trust Co (Cayman) Ltd [2009] CILR 490

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | January/February 2013 #126

The defendant Bank of New York Trust Co (Cayman) Ltd (BNY Cayman) was sole trustee of the Beverley and Howden Settlements from June 1999 until February 2005 and trustee of the London Settlement from March 2000 until November 2002. The first plaintiff, Helmsman Ltd (H(1)), is a Bermudian company and now the sole trustee of the Beverley and Howden Settlements. The second plaintiff, the Hotham Trustee Co Ltd (H(2)), is an English company and the sole trustee of the London Settlement. The Beverley and Howden Settlements (the UK settlements) provide that the proper law of the settlement is th...

Vimercati v BV Trustco Ltd & ors [2012] EWHC 1410 (Ch)

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | January/February 2013 #126

The claimant, Ambra (A), who had been a beneficiary under the MBV Trust, disputed the price obtained by BV Securities for its 20% shareholding in Air Italy in view of certain subsequent transactions involving Meridiana and Air Italy Holdings, a company in which the third defendant and protector of the trust (G) had an interest through his investment holding company. A also threatened breach of trust proceedings against the trustees. G and the fourth and fifth defendants, his wife and son, remained beneficiaries under the trust but A’s interest had been severed under a deed of appoi...

Trusts: Distinguishing characteristics

Jo Summers summarises the key points of HMRC’s consultation on vulnerable beneficiary trusts The current system of tax reliefs for vulnerable beneficiary trusts is overly complex. How do you define vulnerability? That is the question raised by HMRC’s recent consultation on vulnerable beneficiary trusts. It may be easy to spot vulnerability but it is harder …
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Re D 576 of 2005

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | December 2012 #125

Mrs D had lost her mental capacity and a committee of guardians was appointed by the court to look after her financial affairs including her interest as primary beneficiary of a Cayman Islands family trust. Before she lost capacity Mrs D entered into a settlement agreement (the peace accord) with her family, settling many years of litigation in the Cayman Islands. Two of the committee of guardians (the other members of the committee were conflicted by reason of their own interest in the settlement agreement) applied to the Grand Court under the Mental Health Law (1997 Revision) ...

Trusts: Can we trust trusts?

Duncan Bailey explores the truth behind the media perception of trusts ‘In the current climate of huge bonuses and reports of millionaires paying low rates of tax, is the lambasting of trusts as a means of tax avoidance or even evasion fair, or are trusts getting a bad press?’ The publicity offices of organisations such …
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Trusts: Offshore assets and the divorce pot

Leela Hemmings examines the approach of the UK divorce court to offshore trusts and trustees in BJ v MJ ‘Relying on the court’s authority pursuant to the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the judgment reviewed the various forms of trusts and discussed how each would be treated in divorce proceedings.’ Often the biggest unknown in financial …
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