Stephen Boyd analyses Watts v Watts, a case that demonstrates the importance of having independent trustees ‘The judge found that “it was inherently improbable, in the extreme, that Arthur would have wanted to give his money away; he had substantial commitments and, at the time, no gainful employment.”’As Gutman said to the Generalissimo in Tennessee …
Continue reading "Trusts: Too close for comfort"
This post is only available to members.
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | January/February 2015 #146The appellants appealed against decisions by the respondent that income of certain non-UK entities (including settlements established in the Isle of Man) could be attributed to them pursuant to s739 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (ICTA), which concerns the prevention of avoidance of income tax by individuals ordinarily resident in the UK by means of transfer of assets abroad.
The appellants owned three companies which carried on the trade of providing residential care to the elderly in the UK (the UK companies). The UK companies operated from four p...
Sheffield v Sheffield clarifies liability for historic breaches of trust. Douglas Rhodes explains ‘There could be no real doubt that the true effect of the 1983 declaration was deliberately concealed from the claimant, as the true effect of the declaration was never explained to him.’ At its core, the facts of Sheffield v Sheffield [2014] …
Continue reading "Trusts: Anything to declare?"
This post is only available to members.
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | December 2014 #145This was an appeal from notices of determination by HMRC which held that dispositions in the will of Beryl Coulter (the deceased) did not fall within s23 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984, and were therefore not exempt from inheritance tax. The deceased died on 9 October 2007 domiciled in Jersey. Her final will was dated 1 October 2004 and probate was granted in the probate division of the Royal Court of Jersey on 25 October 2007. The will made several legacies totalling £210,000 and the residue passed to her executors to be held on the terms of the Coulter Trust for the purpose of the pro...
Roadchef is a straightforward application of Hastings Bass to an EBT, finds Marilyn McKeever ‘This sorry tale is a reminder to the trustees of employee benefit trusts, pension schemes and, indeed, family trusts that they have onerous duties which they must exercise in the interests of their beneficiaries.’ In the case of Roadchef (Employee Benefit …
Continue reading "Trusts: Trust comes first"
This post is only available to members.
Mary Ashley examines the lessons from Jersey case In the Matter of the Strathmullan Trust [2014] ‘It was not in dispute that the representor had chosen to create the trust in order to avoid attracting a liability to IHT. His affidavit confirmed that he moved to the Isle of Man and established the trust with …
Continue reading "Trusts: Dealing with mistakes"
This post is only available to members.
Jason Nickless describes how trusts were applied to resolve the dispute in Wise v Jimenez [2013] ‘Mr Jimenez gave a number of different accounts as to precisely how [the] moneys had been invested. After analysing the evidence, the court was satisfied that the purpose behind the investment of the moneys had not been fulfilled’. On …
Continue reading "Trusts: In the commercial sphere"
This post is only available to members.
Anna Moore discusses the pros and cons of the recent HMRC consultation paper on the simplification of tax for trusts ‘It is clear that trusts where the settlor has relatively straightforward arrangements are more likely to benefit from the changes and that the calculation in relation to older trusts or more complicated arrangements is more …
Continue reading "Trusts: ‘Relaxing’ the HMRC way"
This post is only available to members.
Martyn Frost discusses an important point on reserved instrument activities arising from the Legal Services Act 2007 ‘My conclusion is that the provision of trust deeds was intended to be a reserved legal activity and that the Legal Services Act achieved that aim.’ There is a puzzling, but important, issue on the interpretation of a …
Continue reading "Trusts: Who prepares the trust deed?"
This post is only available to members.
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | October 2013 #133The claimants purchased a property in Cornwall in 1999. Their intentions were to create a discretionary trust of which they were to be the initial trustees, in favour of a class of beneficiaries consisting of their children and grandchildren and any further person or class of person nominated by the trustees. It was also intended that they should both be excluded from any possibility of benefit under the trust for inheritance tax reasons. In particular, they were concerned that there should be no reservation of benefit within the meaning of s102(1)(b) of the Finance Act 1986...
