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The Charities Commission was established pursuant to the Charities Act 2005. Since establishment the Charities Commission has been responsible for the registration of charities together with a responsibility to promote public confidence in the charitable sector. To date the Commission’s views have been upheld in 10 of the 11 challenges against the Commission’s registration decisions to the High Court. Any … Continue reading
A bare trust arises where property is held by a trustee who can only act on the direction of the trust’s beneficiary. Bare trusts can arise inadvertently or by design. The recent decision in Mudgway v Tetra House Trustee Limited, which considers the sustainability of a caveat involves some consideration of whether the trust in question was a bare trust. See paragraphs … Continue reading
Approximately 19,000 New Zealanders in long-term residential care receive a residential care subsidy (RCS), that is financial assistance with long-term care once a person is no longer able to be cared for at home. To qualify for a RCS a person must first be able to show a limited level of assets. However, if a … Continue reading
Costs decisions could be considered pretty dull reading. However, if you are a trustee of a trust, you might be wise to upskill on how you might fare on the costs front if involved in court proceedings, regardless of whether you are pursuing or defending. While in some circumstances the trustee may be able to recover … Continue reading
A trustee has come out on top against liquidators when the liquidators attempted to recover payments relating to investments made without that trustee’s knowlege. However, whether the beneficiaries will be as sanguine about matters as the court is not clear. See https://mattersoftrust.wordpress.com/trust-law-update/rea-and-sargison-v-russell-trustee-liability-in-the-context-of-voidable-transactions/
Being a trustee is not all honour and glory and can often entail liability and misery. For some of the questions to consider if you are asked to be a trustee see https://mattersoftrust.wordpress.com/trustees-101/ive-been-asked-to-be-a-trustee/.
Historically, absent a specific anti-avoidance provision, trustees have been unclear as to whether resident withholding tax (RWT) credits must be allocated in proportion to interest income or if the credits could be “streamed” for better effect. A recent amendment to the Income Tax Act 2007 has clarified the position and now provides that a trustee can … Continue reading
Gifts made when insolvent can be voided, that is the gift is reversed. This means that if a person is bankrupted any gifts made within the 2 years prior to bankruptcy are voidable as against the Official Assignee (this means that any gifts must be paid back to the bankrupt’s “estate” and can be used … Continue reading
The words “breach of trust” are frequently bandied around in the context of trusts. It is generally accepted that such breach is bad and is to be avoided. However, the full cost of a breach of trust is not always fully appreciated. While it is understood for the best part, that if a trustee does … Continue reading
It is not often appreciated that trustees act personally. This means that if a trustee defaults on a financial obligation, if the trustee is a natural person, that person can be bankrupted. This point was considered by the High Court in the recent decision in the Bankruptcy of Thomas Joseph Brown where the Court confirmed that a … Continue reading
