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Wallace v Wallace relates to a decision of the trustees of the Ione Wallace Trust (the Trust) to bring forward the Trust’s vesting date. As set out at [4]: “The trustees wish to bring forward the vesting date and distribute the funds they currently hold to the six final beneficiaries named in the Trust. One … Continue reading
The Trusts Act 2019 introduced a presumption that trustees will provide basic trust information to every beneficiary and will provide further information on request. Before doing so, trustees must consider the factors set out in section 53 of the Trusts Act. Importantly, there is a procedure in section 54 of the Trusts Act where no … Continue reading
Alan O’Donoghue (Alan) and Marc Comia (Marc) married in 2016. They subsequently separated and later entered into a settlement agreement dated 6 April 2020 (the Agreement) recording the division of relationship property. It was common ground that the Agreement did not meet the formal requirements of an agreement to contract out of the Property (Relationships) … Continue reading
The fundamental question in Swanwick v Bostock, which relates to claims pursuant to the Law Reform (Testamentary) Promises Act 1949, is whether any estate subject to the claim has been finally distributed. Mr Swanwick, who died in 2008 and Mrs Swanwick who died in 2021 left their respective half interests in a farm to their … Continue reading
Where an executor has concern as to a will-maker’s capacity, the appropriate course of action is to seek probate in solemn form. Public Trust v The Cancer Society of New Zealand, Otago and Southland Division Incorporated provides a useful example of the importance of contemporary evidence of capacity (where incapacity was not identified by the person taking … Continue reading
McLauglin v McLauglin relates to claims regarding the management of a family trust and the cost consequences of the proceeds, which are significant. The background of the matter is summarised by French J, who delivered the Court of Appeal’s decision as follows: The trust that is the subject of these proceedings, the Ashely Trust (the … Continue reading
Kain v Public Trust relates to an application for disclosure of a deed that brought forward the distribution date of the Te Mata Property Trust (the Trust). This deed distributed the entirety of the Trust’s assets and had the effect of terminating certain beneficial interests. The background of the matter is set out in [4] … Continue reading
The introduction to the interim judgment in Jin v Luo at [3] sets the scene for the 489 paragraph judgment as follows: By way of background Jin v Luo relates to a break down in a business relationship that was complicated by the lack of documentation regarding the purchase of a number of properties. The … Continue reading
It is not uncommon for will-makers to specify the age at which beneficiaries are to benefit. The question is, if the beneficiaries have capacity, must they wait? Telford v Telford answers this question by reference to the rule in Saunders v Vautier, and more latterly section 121 of the Trusts Act 2019. By way of … Continue reading
Section 8 of the Trusts Act 2019 confirms the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court to supervise and intervene in the administration of a trust (except to the extent that the Trusts Act provides otherwise). Te Whanau Tupu Ngatahi O Aotearoa Playcentre Aotearoa relates to application for approval of changes to the a charitable trust incorporated … Continue reading
Matters of Trust 