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
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
War of the Roses is a 1989 American film based on the 1981 novel The War of the Roses by Warren Adler. The film, which co-stars Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito chronicles the demise of a marriage against the backdrop of a beautiful home that the couple, literally fight to the death over. Trust disputes can be … Continue reading
Certainty as to object, that is, who the beneficiaries of a trust are is one of the three certainties required to evidence a valid trust. See Davis v White. However, what is the position where it is clear that a person or company or trust is a beneficiary – it is just that had the … Continue reading
Mr White established the Rex White Family Trust (the Trust) in 1992 to hold an inheritance he received from his mother. The trustees of the Trust were Mr Davis and the solicitor who prepared the trust deed, Mr McNiece (together the Trustees). Mr White’s wife was not aware of the trust at the time, although she had … Continue reading
The decision in Judd v Hawkes Bay Trustee Company Limited (see Another tributary in the trickle of constructive trust cases) has been upheld on appeal. By way of background Richard Hodgkinson and Michelle Judd were married for six and a half years. Over that period they lived in a property in Lane Road, Havelock North, … Continue reading
A bare trust arises where property is held by a person (the trustee) only for the purposes to hold until transferred in accordance with the beneficiary’s directions. Bare trusts can be a commercial convenience, but can also effect a remedy in circumstances when property might otherwise be lost due to the fungible nature of the … Continue reading