Bhaur & ors v Equity First Trustees (Nevis) Ltd & ors [2023] WTLR 851
Autumn 2023 #192In March 2007 Safe Investments Management UK (Safe), an unlimited company, transferred its shares in Gooch Investment (Gooch) to Equity Trust (BVI) Ltd, a trust company (2007 transfer), to be held on the terms of a settlement for the benefit of qualifying employees of Safe (First Staff Remuneration Trust). This transfer followed the transfer of interests in UK business assets (the estate) from the first and second appellants (Mr and Mrs Bhaur) to Safe and from Safe to its subsidiary Gooch. All these transfers took place as part of a tax scheme (scheme) promoted by Mr O’Toole, who operate...
Etroy & anr v Speechly Bircham LLP [2023] WTLR 885
Autumn 2023 #192The first claimant (the settlor), who was then non-domiciled in the UK, established the Helios April Trust (HAT) in Jersey in 2002. As events then stood, the trust held excluded property for inheritance tax purposes and in which the settlor had an interest in possession. The Finance Act 2006 significantly changed the tax regime for trusts, principally by removing many of the differences between the tax treatment of life interest trusts on the one hand and discretionary trusts on the other. In particular, any additions of UK-situs assets to interest in possession trusts were treated as ‘r...
Executors of the estate of Linington & anr v Commissioners for HMRC [2023] WTLR 917
Autumn 2023 #192The deceased had made certain inheritance tax planning arrangements which involved the assignment of the reversionary interest of the reversionary beneficiary in MTrust (a 150-year Isle of Man trust) to the deceased, who was then granted an option to become the income beneficiary of the MTrust. Prior to the exercise of the option, the deceased transferred his reversionary interest to the KTrustees in 2010 (prior to the enactment of s74A-C Finance Act 2012).
HMRC issued two notices of determination under s221 of the Inheritance Act 1984 against the executors of the deceased’s estat...
James v Scudamore & ors [2023] WTLR 961
Autumn 2023 #192The deceased died on 21 June 2010. His will, dated 6 March 1998, gave a life interest in the matrimonial home to his second wife, with remainders to the claimant and his brother, who were children of the deceased’s first marriage. A codicil, dated 26 December 2002, replaced the life interest with an absolute gift to the second wife. The deceased’s second wife obtained probate, relying on a copy of the codicil as the original could not be found, and administered the estate. The second wife made a will by which 70% of her residuary estate went to her sister, and 30% to the claimant’s three...
Larsen & anr v Annan [2023] WTLR 1023
Autumn 2023 #192The deceased, George, was the father of the three parties. He died leaving a will dated 26 March 2013. It made a gift of £10,000 to each of his three children, with the residue being left to his wife Lilly. In the event she predeceased him (as happened) it was left to his daughter Heather, the defendant, absolutely. It also appointed Heather as executrix. The estate was valued at approximately £480,000.
It was clear from the attendance notes surrounding the drawing up of the will that the deceased did not regard the claimants as having behaved well. Wayne had killed his niece’s pa...
Naidoo v Barton & anr [2023] WTLR 1047
Autumn 2023 #192Nirmalathevie Naidoo (Mrs Naidoo) died on 10 February 2016. Her husband, Dr Govindarajaloo Naidoo (Dr Naidoo), had predeceased her on 12 January 1999. They had two daughters and five sons. The first defendant, David Barton (Mr Barton) (formerly known as Ramamurthie Naidoo), was one of their children, and his wife (Mrs Barton) was the second defendant. The claimant was another of their children.
By this claim, the claimant sought:
(1) an order pronouncing in solemn form for the validity of Mrs Naidoo’s will dated 21 July 2015 (the 2015 will), by which he was appointed sole exe...Pead v Prostate Cancer UK & ors [2023] WTLR 1089
Autumn 2023 #192James Murray McKay (the deceased) left a will dated 3 August 2016 (the will).
Clauses 4.1 – 4.3 of the will were pecuniary legacies to a number of the deceased’s family members (the family members). Clause 4.1 gifted £50,000 each to the deceased’s stepson and wife, clause 4.2 gifted £10,000 to the deceased’s step great-granddaughter, and clause 4.3 gifted £20,000 each to three step grandchildren.
Clauses 4.4 – 4.8 were legacies to a number of charities (the charities). Clauses 4.4 and 4.5 each gifted £2,000 to Macmillan Cancer Support for the benefit of stated causes, claus...
Pride v Commissioners for HMRC [2023] WTLR 1109
Autumn 2023 #192The appeal was brought by Mr Pride in his capacity as executor of the estate of Geraldine Jill Price (deceased) (Mrs Pride) against notices of determination issued by HMRC on 18 October 2018. Immediately before her death Mrs Pride was the principal beneficiary of a family trust established on 10 October 2002 (the property trust). Immediately prior to Mrs Pride’s death the property trust:
(1) held a property in Poole (the flat), which was leased to an unrelated party; (2) was the provider of an indemnity to St James’ Place Corporate Nominee Ltd (the nominee), which had issued certain...Sleight v Callin [2021] WTLR 1147
Autumn 2023 #192A deceased was survived by his widow and the defendant, his daughter. Although he had been a successful businessman during his lifetime, during the economic downturn that began in 2007 the deceased’s business empire collapsed, and he died heavily indebted. The defendant obtained a grant of probate of the deceased’s will and began to administer his estate with the assistance of professional advisers. More than six years after the death of the deceased, when she realised that the estate was insolvent, the defendant applied to the County Court for an insolvency administration order under th...
Tolley v No Defendant [2023] WTLR 1187
Autumn 2023 #192Caroline Fisher was an only child and her parents were deceased. In September 2020 she made a will appointing the claimant, her friend, as her executor. In January 2022, she drove into the sea and had not been seen since. The claimant issued a CPR Part 8 claim under the Presumption of Death Act 2013 for a declaration of presumption of death before the will had been proved. Section 1(5) of the 2013 Act provides that the court must refuse to hear the application if:
(a) it is made by someone other than a missing person’s spouse, civil partner, parent, child or sibling; and (b) the cou...