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This blog might just as easily be entitled “No-one ever said if only we hadn’t documented that loan agreement”. Zhang and Li v Li relates to an advance of $335,500 from Ms Li’s parents to Ms Li and her husband. After Ms Li and her husband separated her position was that the advance was a … Continue reading
Corporate trustees are a common feature of modern trading trusts. The basic rationale is that the use of a company means that any liability that would otherwise accrue – say to a natural person trustee – accrues instead to the company and provided the directors do not breach the duties owed under the Companies Act … Continue reading
It is generally accepted that while beneficiaries are the recipients of trust assets at the trustees’ discretion, beneficiaries have relatively little in the way of enforceable rights. Beneficiaries can request trust information and can ask, but not compel, the trustees to distribute trust assets to them. It is not always appreciated that beneficiaries’ access to the … Continue reading
Following the Supreme Court decision in Clayton v Clayton (Claymark Trust) fresh light has been shed upon the scope of s 182 of the Family Proceedings Act 1980 in the case of Da Silva v Da Silva. By way of background s 182 gives the Court the discretion following divorce (the section does not apply to de facto relationships) … Continue reading
When settling a trust it can be useful to consider what happens next. In this regard the settlement of a trust can be likened to that moment in the pet shop where this adorable puppy all paws and nose and licky tongue and waggy tail and soulful eyes uses its artillery of cuteness to attack … Continue reading
It can be hard enough to deal with being de-friended on Face Book. But what about when your mother favours the sibling who lived with her for her whole life over you? Rule and Belcher v Rule and Charles Whata J grappled with this reality when an elderly mother entered into a new will days after suffering … Continue reading
The transfer of a family home to a trust is a relatively routine occurrence. The general order of events is: settle trust execute agreement for sale and purchase carry out any gifting get bank consent register transfer What happens if the last step does not occur? Has the sale in fact been effected? Particularly in … Continue reading
One of the stated purposes behind the proposed new Trusts Act (currently in the form of a draft bill) is to make trust law clearer and more accessible. Laudable, but is it realistic? The naysayers need not go much further than the decision in NZ Natural Therapy Limited (in Liquidation) v Little. A little bit of background … Continue reading
This blog, which might just as easily be entitled “Flat earth Society members need not apply”, considers the charitable status of cryogenics research. “[1] The possibility of life after death is, perhaps, one of humanity’s oldest preoccupations. Resurrection is at the heart of Christian ideology. And from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, HG Welles’ When the Sleeper … Continue reading
The harsh reality of math of asset and estate planning is that sometimes 3 into 1 just will not fit. Consider Talbot v Talbot. The residual estate comprised: 1 farm interest worth approximately $4m $2m cash, and 3 beneficiaries. One son had worked on the farm from the age of 17. The two daughters enjoyed a … Continue reading
Matters of Trust 