Anna-Laura Lock and Anisha Patel analyse the courts’ approach to third-party financial support and when the pressure of entering into an agreement may be considered ‘undue’ Peel J noted in WC v HC that the function of the court is to distribute the parties’ resources, rather than the resources of their wider families. In WC …
Continue reading "Nuptial agreements: Keeping it in the family"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2019 #175Following decree absolute in October 2017, the husband sought a lump sum payment from the wife, out of two discretionary trust funds of which the wife was settlor, with a combined value of £17.5m, the trustee of which was an offshore company. The beneficiaries were the ‘family members’ of the settlor. The letter of wishes directed the trustee to act on the advance of her father. The trusts were created in June and August 2015 and funded by the wife’s father, via the wife, between March and June 2016, the wife passively facilitating their funding. Although the source of the funds in the t...
In the conclusion to a two-part analysis, Bronwyn Bailey and Ethan Axelrod consider when the courts may give judicious encouragement to trustees to satisfy an order made against a party ‘The court needs to be satisfied that the trustees would be likely to respond to judicious encouragement, so that the required funds would be likely …
Continue reading "Financial provision: Out of bounds"
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Oliver Auld gives the lowdown on what happens to trusts in the event of a divorce ‘Trustees need to be aware of not only the range of orders the family courts can make in relation to trust assets, but also the strategies they should potentially be adopting in the best interest of their beneficiaries, both …
Continue reading "Divorce: A matter of trust"
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Amy Harris analyses a case involving the consideration of a resulting trust, inheritance prospects and whether support from a third party could be inferred ‘The husband did not have a beneficial interest in the former matrimonial home as it was subject to a resulting trust and therefore not a matrimonial resource available for distribution.’ In …
Continue reading "Financial provison: Behind the scenes"
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Ellen Walker considers the treatment of prospective inheritances and when they might constitute a financial resource ‘Whereas normally it would be unfair for the court to rely on a future inheritance that may not materialise, in Alireza the forced heirship laws meant that, absent any evidence to the contrary, the court was perfectly entitled to …
Continue reading "Financial provision: Looking to the future"
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Fiona O’Sullivan analyses the approach of the Court of Appeal in a case concerned with charitable trust assets ‘Quan v Bray reminds practitioners of the importance of considering family law issues at all stages of trust planning and management.’ In Quan v Bray [2017] the Court of Appeal had an opportunity to consider the status …
Continue reading "Trusts: Defined purpose"
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Claire Blakemore suggests that when dealing with trust assets, even the powers of the family courts have their limits ‘Any inconsistencies between how the trust is used or the trust documentation and the presentation to the court can have a significant impact on the outcome.’ The law on the treatment of trusts on divorce is …
Continue reading "Trusts: A safe foundation"
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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, …
Continue reading "Trusts: Finding a way"
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