Digital assets: Into the ether

Sheila Rusike and Jo Summers provide an update on accessing a deceased’s digital assets ‘It would be extremely helpful if providers of digital accounts could agree on a standardised policy for dealing with accounts of a deceased.’ Personal representatives (PRs) have a duty to identify, collect and administer the assets of a deceased according to …
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Trust litigation: Data control

Robert Pearce QC discusses how the courts treat privacy in trust litigation in our information age ‘In trust litigation, the causes of action are unlikely to have anything to do with privacy, and the parties’ concerns about privacy are likely to centre on the possibility of the media reporting proceedings heard in public, to which …
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Charity commission: A question of trust

Jelena Serbic and Paul Ridout review the results of the Charity Commission’s inquiry into the Cup Trust ‘The Commission’s final report provides a fairly comprehensive account of the extent to which the law relating to charitable status meant that it simply did not have the options of refusing to register the Cup Trust or of …
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The 1975 Act: Drink, drugs and bohemia

Jamie Randall examines a case of an aristocratic family estrangement and an adult claim under the 1975 Act ‘Although the starting point is testamentary freedom, there is no escaping that the purpose of the Act is to give effect to some sort of moral obligation to provide for surviving family members and dependants.’ In Wellesley …
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Charities: Beware the reverter

Michael Fletcher, David Whittington and Clifford Woodroffe outline the implications of the reverter for charity trustees ‘Reverter occurs when the property ceases to be used for such of the purposes of the relevant Act of Parliament as are specified in the trust deed. Once it has occurred, it is irreversible.’ A potential trap for the …
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Domicile: A long-running domestic saga

HMRC enquiries and assessments into domicile can be costly and time-consuming for the taxpayer. Dominic Lawrance and Hugh Gunson report on how to deal with them ‘The last few years have seen a major change of stance. The number of domicile enquiries has risen dramatically, as has the amount of HMRC attention devoted to them.’ …
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Musings from Manchester: Burst the compliance bubble

Geoffrey Shindler has some questions of his own for the compliance professionals ‘Creating an industry that is self-perpetuating and expensive for everybody and does not lead to any appropriate result needs to be stopped.’ What, if anything, do compliance officers and parking meter attendants have in common? Not much at first thought, but in fact …
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