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Trusts For Disabled Beneficiaries: Purpose is paramount

The case of Barclays Bank Trust Co Ltd v HMRC is a rare examination of the workings of trusts for disabled beneficiaries, as Mark Lindley explains ‘A draftsman tasked with advising on succession planning where “disabled persons” (within the meaning of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984, or otherwise) are the intended beneficiaries, is faced with …
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Residence: Welcome clarity

Tim Gregory discusses the proposed simplification of the residence test ‘A statutory residence test is long overdue as the current law often relies on principles established in the 1920s and 1930s, when business practices overall were very different from those of today.’ As promised in the 2011 Budget, on 17 June the government issued its …
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Wills: The right to spite

Fiona Campbell-White assesses whether we are still at liberty to leave our property to whomever we choose, however irrational ‘A testator can be unreasonable when making their will, provided that they are not deluded at the same time. Similarly, a will can be irrational, provided that the testator is capable of making a rational, fair …
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Update: News round-up

Zahra Kanani sets out recent developments in anti-money laundering, enforcement and BPR From 1 April 2011, equitable liability was replaced by a new statutory, special relief. Special relief is a form of overpayment relief that can only apply to amounts charged in HMRC determinations for income tax self-assessment or corporation tax self-assessment where no other …
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Forfeiture: Sins of the fathers

Ruth Moore sums up planned changes to the Forfeiture Act ‘The Forfeiture Act 1982 formalised case law and worked on the principle that you should not be able to benefit from your crime. If you were named as a beneficiary in a will or on intestacy then the Act operated to deny murderers a right …
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France: All change

Caroline Cohen outlines the pros and cons of French tax reform for the non-resident investor ‘From 2011 taxpayers with a net value of assets below €1.3m are fully exempt from wealth tax; and taxpayers with a net value of assets below the threshold of €3m will no longer have to file a wealth tax return.’On …
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Book Review: Collective thinking

Joseph Jaconelli finds Constructive and Resulting Trusts an invaluable guide for practitioners This volume consists of 12 essays: six each on constructive and resulting trusts. Its origins are in a conference held in April 2009 at King’s College London. There already exist specialist treatments of the two types of trust in question: Oakley’s Constructive Trusts, …
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Trustees: Bare necessities

Christopher Kerr-Smiley sets out the powers and duties of bare trustees ‘The duty to preserve trust property may require bare trustees to continue legal proceedings that are ongoing at the time they become trustees, as demonstrated by CGU Insurance Ltd v One.Tel Ltd (in liquidation) [2010].’All trusts can be categorised as either special or simple. …
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Opinion: Talking heads

Sofie Hoffman argues for a flexible model of mediation to avoid costly litigation ‘For many clients, mediation, while not suitable for all cases, can often provide a more satisfactory outcome than a trial in both financial and emotional terms.’The following phrase was recently uttered: ‘once we start irreparable damage may be done’. Not the words …
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Trusts: Section 57 clarified

Shân Warnock-Smith QC examines the partitioning of ‘Freeston’ trusts in the recent case of Southgate v Sutton ‘The US beneficiaries and the trustees were put in a difficult position as a result of the decision at first instance: the beneficiaries because of their continued exposure to penal US tax and the trustees because they could …
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