Hadkinson Orders: Harsh realities

Rayden Solicitors | Family Law Journal | December 2017/January 2018 #172
Rachel Nicholl highlights a remedy available where a litigant wilfully fails to comply with a court order ‘Hadkinson orders are draconian, should not be commonplace and are a case management order of last resort in substantive proceedings where a litigant is in wilful contempt.’ In Assoun v Assoun [No 1] [2017] and Assoun v Assoun …

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Trusts: Finding a way

Mishcon de Reya | Family Law Journal | December 2016/January 2017 #162
Peter Steen and Robert Hines examine firewall legislation and the tension between legal fairness and economic expediency ‘It is evident that provisions of firewall legislation will prevail over questions of comity in circumstances where action by the trustees would result in them exceeding their powers under the trust.’ Asset protection, rather than legitimate tax mitigation, …

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Asset Protection: Unauthorised access

Peter Steen and Bethan Byrne consider firewall legislation and analyse the continued conflict with the English Family Division ‘This article explores what chinks there are in the armour of offshore jurisdictions and considers how efforts are increasingly being made to sidestep the firewall rules.’ The current buzzwords of the offshore worlds are ‘transparency’ and ‘accountability’. …

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Enforcement: A rare bird

Weightmans LLP | Family Law Journal | March 2016 #154
Lottie Tyler considers whether a court-appointed receiver may be an overlooked method of enforcement, not an unjustifiable expense ‘The possibility of an order appointing a receiver can be a substantial threat to wield against a respondent who is used to enjoying autonomy and control in all aspects of their life.’ The decisions in Sharland v …

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Law Reform: Quicker and cheaper

Law Commission | Family Law Journal | June 2015 #147
Spencer Clarke and Rebecca Huxford outline the aims and objectives of the Law Commission’s consultation on the enforcement of family financial orders ‘There is room for improvement, in our view, in the provision of both written and online information to litigants in person and the general public about the enforcement of family financial orders.’It is …

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Divorce: Stuck in the middle

Withers LLP | Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal | May 2014 #156
Claire Blakemore provides a practical guide for trustees in the event of divorce div class=”pullquote”>’Trustees must consider carefully what position they will need to take in the context of the case and in particular on disclosure and enforcement.’ The American preacher Lorenzo Dow famously said ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’ and …

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Prest v Petrodel Resources Ltd & ors [2013] WTLR 1249

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | September 2013 #132

Michael 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...

DR v GR & ors [2013] EWHC 1196 (Fam)

Wills & Trusts Law Reports | July/August 2013 #131

A post-nuptial settlement (being a Jersey discretionary trust) was created by a husband and wife in 1986. The trust owns a Liberian company, which in turn owns a UK company that owns two UK companies. The main company assets are two UK retirement villages. The beneficiaries included the husband and wife and two minor children.

During divorce proceedings the wife applied for a variation of the settlement.

Over the course of proceedings the trustees of the Jersey trust and the companies were all joined as parties. In both cases no application was made for joinder and no not...

Trusts: Offshore assets and the divorce pot

Gowling WLG | Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal | July/August 2012 #138
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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