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Commentators have been divided as to whether it is correct for gifts made by a person’s spouse or partner to be taken into account when assessing that person’s entitlement to a residential care subsidy. The question, which revolves around the correct interpretation of s 9B of the Social Security (Long-Term Residential Care) Regulations has been answered … Continue reading
The thorny subject of the informality that can occur with family arrangements involving loans and trusts and the resultant lack of accord when relationships sour is not new. See Is it a bird, is it a plane, is it a loan? The issue has arrisen again in the context of a statutory demand issued by the purported … Continue reading
In this month’s Offshore Investment magazine Vicki Ammundsen observes how New Zealand foreign trusts are able to minimise taxation in New Zealand due to the design and purpose of the trust rules in the New Zealand income tax legislation. She explores the legitimacy of New Zealand trustees of foreign trusts and explains how the tax-free … Continue reading
Vanity Fair is an unlikely source of interest for people whose minds turn more often to trusts than trust fund babes. However, a line in Vanity Fair’s recent interview with Ned Lambton, the seventh Earl of Durham, after whose ancestor Wellington’s Lambton Quay was named (the first New Zealand connection), warrants further consideration. Discussing his … Continue reading
Although liquidation is generally thought of in the context of companies, it may be possible for a trust to be liquidated. In what appears to be the first proceedings of their kind the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) has made an application for liquidators to be appointed to two insolvent trusts. As a starting point … Continue reading
Trustees contract personally. This means that unless the trustee’s liability is limited by agreement, a trustee is, in most circumstances, personally liable for any losses that arise. This is the case whether or not the trustee can benefit from the trust. “… if the trustees meant to limit their liability, it was for them to … Continue reading
The terms minutes and resolutions are used interchangeably in the context of trusts. Minutes and resolutions are used to record trustee decisions. Whether these terms are in fact interchangeable and if there might be implications arising from the use of one or the other is not clear. The major texts consulted are silent on the … Continue reading
It is commonly believed that professional or independent trustees operate in a different capacity than trustees who can benefit from the trust; and that liability, if it arises, should only be borne by trustees who can benefit from the trust (see Rubber stamp alert). This is not the case. A professional trustee was recently bankrupted … Continue reading
A trust can run for up to 80 years at present. While the odd relationship clocks up similar tenure, like trusts many are brought to an end sooner than death does them part. Some settlors of trusts, or their canny advisers, consider the possibility of the relationship not lasting the distance and draft the deed … Continue reading
Trustees are personally liable to meet trust debts. However, difficulties can arise when a trustee has concerns regarding the bona fides of creditors. This issue was considered by the Court in Public Trust v Conway Madison Group Limited (In Liquidation). Background The Public Trust was appointed as a trustee of the Madison Family Trust (the Trust). Following … Continue reading
Matters of Trust 