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On 17 July 2016 the Sunday Star Times reported about a family at war over a mansion with an opening quote that read “Lawyers say the judiciary are increasingly overturning wills in family disputes.” The dispute ended up in the High Court, firstly regarding an application for the removal of the trustees and secondly a … Continue reading
Trusts can be many things. Well run trusts can provide long-term inter-generational asset protection. When the pie does not get split on the death of each generation, there can be greater potential for wealth generation. Trusts are also generally very private. Trust ownership is not noted on land titles or in the Companies Office. But will this … Continue reading
When embarking on asset and estate planning, an important but often overlooked enquiry is as to how the next generation will manage the assets (and what those assets might be) and who sensibly should be in charge. Consider the case of Frickleton v Frickleton. In this case one of four sons ends up as the sole executor … Continue reading
The Court of Appeal decision in Erceg v Erceg has provided the Court of Appeal’s view of the correct approach to the disclosure of trust information to beneficiaries. Prior to this Court of Appeal decision in Erceg v Erceg it was settled law in New Zealand that beneficiaries had a rebuttable right to trust information pursuant to the … Continue reading
Family trusts can generally run for up to 80 years. That puts quite an onus on the settlor to get it right. It also means that where beneficiaries are defined by reference to children and grandchildren there can be a significant number of beneficiaries over time. Jones & Ors as Trustees v Collings & Ors there … Continue reading
Beneficiaries of a trust – including a testamentary trust are entitled to information relating to the trust. In the Goodman v Campbell a minor beneficiary’s mother sought appointment as a litigation guardian following an executor’s refusal to provide information about the estate of which her minor son was the sole beneficiary. The trustee of the … Continue reading
Professor Frances Moran has been attributed with lecturing her mainly male equity students at King’s Inns that “There are three roads to ruin in life, wine, women and becoming a trustee. The first two are at least enjoyable.” Not wishing to enter into a debate of the relative strengths of either sex to mislead and … Continue reading
It can be a tricky thing being a beneficiary. All those rights – but how to enforce them? The court has an inherent right to enforce trusts – can that can entitle beneficiaries to trust documents so that the beneficiaries can ensure the trust is (or is not) being properly managed. However, there are limits … Continue reading
In New Zealand the Law Commission has recommended that there not be a register of trusts in New Zealand. See Review of the Law of Trusts: A Trusts Act for New Zealand at 18.28. The Law Commission view that this is too blunt an instrument to use to improve accountability to beneficiaries. While the privacy … Continue reading
Dealing with trust owned assets following the demise of the settlors’ relationship can be tricky. Many of the traps and pitfalls that can befall trustees who have diffficulties differentiating between the rights as beneficiaries and the obligations they owe as trustees are highlighted in the cases that comprise the back story to Irvine and Taylor … Continue reading
Matters of Trust 