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The decision in Van Uden v CIR highlights the importance of recognising when a property owned by a trust can comprise a permanent place of abode. The significance of a property being a permanent place of abode is that a person who is otherwise non-resident for tax purposes, will be treated as resident in New Zealand … Continue reading
Para 438 in the decision of MezhProm Bank v Pugachev refers to a phenomenon in patent law known as the Angora cat problem first identified by Professor Franzosi, an eminent academic expert in the field: “Professor Mario Franzosi likens a patentee to an Angora cat. When validity is challenged, the patentee says his patent is … Continue reading
Some disputes have the plots of a war movie. Everything starts fine until the hostilities begin and everything gets messy. Sometimes this just leads to someone carrying out an attack that doesn’t make sense… The defendants in the case of Triezenberg and Dodd v Mason, Alexander and Wendy Mason, were married in 1959 and had three … Continue reading
Disclosure of trust information to beneficiaries is commonly considered. However, what of disclosure to the trustees? Consider the case of Daniel v Cundall. In this case Mr Daniel and Mr Cundall were the trustees of a trust. Mr Daniel, a lawyer, says that he left the day-to-day trust administration to Mr Cundall. After a long period of … Continue reading
The roles of trustees and trust administrators can be a rewarding but difficult role. With the prospect of a Trusts Act in the foreseeable future (see Trusts Bill released 1 august 2017) trustees and trust administrators need to be match fit. Increased reporting obligations under CRS, AML/CFT and FATCA are another matter for consideration. For … Continue reading
This blog should be read together with the subsequent Court of Appeal decision. See Rights to information prevail. As noted by Woolford J in para [1] Addleman v Lambie Trustee Limited relates to “an unfortunate dispute between sisters as to what level of disclosure is appropriate for the affairs of the Lambie Trust (the Trust)…” … Continue reading
What costs can trustees be indemnified for if their term as trustee has expired without the trustee realising? If future appointments and other actions of the trust have been done invalidly and require the assistance of the court to validate, can the trustees be indemnified for their reasonable costs from the trust fund? Apparently yes. Background The … Continue reading
The moral dimension of trusteeship arises in many contexts. The recent New Zealand court decisions concerning information obligations to beneficiaries, and the way this is dealt with in the new Trusts Bill, highlight the difficulty of judging what information is too much or too little to disclose. However, general principles on disclosure bypass the consideration … Continue reading
Editor’s note: The Court of Appeal decision was released on 19 April 2018. See Artist in stoush over mother’s will ordered to pay after accusing lawyers of dishonesty. High Court Decision In Sandman v Giboney, Mr Sandman claims that a law firm knowingly assisted a breach of trust by taking will instructions and assisting in … Continue reading
Dr Love, was the Executive Chairman and a trustee of the Wellington Tenths Trust (the Trust). The Trust manages assets for the Maori people of the Wellington and Taranaki regions. The trustees of the Trust developed a “partnership” business model whereby the Trust retained ownership of Trust land, but that development was carried out by third party property developers. … Continue reading
Matters of Trust 