Re Twah [2019] WTLR 1405
Winter 2019 #177Allied Services Trust (A), a registered charity and authorised trust corporation, applied to be appointed as deputy for property and affairs of an incapacitated adult, TWAH. A filed evidence of its authority to act as a trust corporation, and articles, details of the regulation from the Charity Commission, and its insurance policy. The court considered the application and gave guidance on the appointment of trust corporations linked to a charity.
Held, allowing the application and appointing A as TWAH ‘s deputy:
1) Applying the guidance in Various Incapacitated Persons and ...
In the matter of Various Lasting Powers of Attorney [2019] WTLR 1443
Winter 2019 #177In 15 separate applications under s23(1) Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), the Public Guardian (PG) asked the court to determine the effect of language used in lasting powers of attorney which he was asked to register. Some were withdrawn, leaving 11. The common theme was that each instrument expressed an intention that the attorney use the donor ‘s assets to benefit someone other than the donor.
PS: Under the heading ‘Preferences ‘, the donor entered the words ‘The needs of [LS] before anyone else ‘. Under the heading ‘Instructions ‘, she entered the words ‘The attorney [SS] must e...
Cowan v Foreman & ors [2019] WTLR 707
Autumn 2019 #176The appellant appealed from an order of Mostyn J by which he refused her permission pursuant to s4 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the 1975 Act) to bring an application out of time for reasonable financial provision out of the estate of her late husband (the deceased), who had died in 2016 leaving an estate of £29m. By his will the deceased left all his business assets qualifying for 100% business property relief on a discretionary trust (the business property trust) for a class of beneficiaries (the discretionary beneficiaries) including the appellant,...
David Roberts Art Foundation Ltd v Riedweg [2019] WTLR 741
Autumn 2019 #176The claimant was a registered charitable company and the owner of 15a and 37 Camden High Street, London, SW1 7JE (the property). In or around November 2016 the claimant’s directors decided to sell the property and instructed Robert Irving Burns (RIB) to market it. Following a targeted marketing campaign, the defendant made a formal bid to buy the property for £8,000,000. Heads of terms were agreed on 22 December 2016.
On 10 January 2017, the claimant instructed Mr Bryn Williams of DTZ Tie Leung Ltd (trading as Cushman & Wakefield) (CW) to prepare a report. A report was provide...
Duke of Somerset v Fitzgerald & ors [2019] WTLR 771
Autumn 2019 #176Shortly after he came of age, the 19th Duke of Somerset, claimant in this action, established a Settled Land Act settlement dated 30 September 1971 (the settlement). Under the terms of the settlement, the claimant was tenant for life and one of the trustees. The other trustees were independent professional trustees and were joined as first and second defendants. The rest of the defendants were all of the adult beneficiaries interested under the trusts of the settlement (all of whom supported the application), there being no existing minor beneficiaries nor any lacking capacity. The settl...
Gaskin v Chorus Law Ltd & anr [2019] WTLR 785
Autumn 2019 #176The claimant ‘C’ and second defendant ‘D2’ were two of the children of the deceased, who appeared to have died intestate in 2012. They appointed a probate company ‘D1’ to administer the estate, who took a grant under a power of attorney from D2 in 2013. By 2016, the estate had not been administered and C believed D2 was living in the deceased’s property, so C issued a claim to remove Ds as administrators and for D2 to pay an occupation rent. D1 consented to be removed, but on terms that its fees would be paid. D2 agreed to D1 being removed, but not to her own removal or to payment of occ...
Group Seven Ltd & anr v Notable Services LLP & anr [2019] WTLR 803
Autumn 2019 #176These appeals arose from the a ‘brazen fraud’ by which Allseas Group SA was defrauded of €100 million. After the fraud took place, there was an attempt to launder the proceeds through the client account of a London firm of solicitors, Notable Services LLP, whose partners included Mr Landman. Police intervention secured the return of €88 million – the present proceedings concerned attempts to recover the remainder of this sum from Notable, Mr Landman, Mr Louanjli (a bank employee who provided information to Notable) and LLB Verwaltung, the bank who employed him (”the Bank”).
In add...
Howarth v HMRC [2019] WTLR 869
Autumn 2019 #176The Appellant was the settlor of a family trust based in Jersey which, following the merger of two companies, held shares in TeleWork Group plc. Ordinarily a capital gains tax charge would arise on the disposal of the shares but, on the basis of legal advice, it was suggested that this could be avoided if new trustees were appointed before the disposal in a jurisdiction which had no capital gains tax and a double taxation treaty with the UK. In June 2000 the Jersey trustees retired in favour of new trustees resident in Mauritius, in August 2000 the shares were sold in the course of a flo...