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This blog could equally be entitled “Distribute in haste, repent at leisure”. It concerns a case about a relationship breakdown and some ill-conceived tinkering with trust property in an attempt to better protect some trust assets. The means by which this tinkering was carried out included a purported distribution of trust assets to a new trust, together with … Continue reading
The devil is in the detail. Sometimes, so is the GST. Prior to compulsory zero rating of land transactions it was common to use the GST-refund to fund the deposit. However, in the event the sale did not go ahead, the GST needed to be re-paid. So if the deposit was forfeited then, well, that … Continue reading
About half of all New Zealand registered charities are trusts. Some settled on carefully considered terms, some not so much. The problem when a Charitable Trust needs amendment as it cannot fulfil its original purposes (no matter how arcane) is that unlike discretionary family trusts, charitable trusts cannot necessarily be varied by the trustees at … Continue reading
Relationships and trusts are poor bedfellows. I have said this before. Another way of expressing the sentiment is that trustees and spouses/partners are equally poor bedfellows. The difficulty being that the dividing line between Mrs Smith – wife and Mrs Smith trustee can blur. The consequence of this blurring, and the hard cold cost, was sheeted … Continue reading
Being a trustee is a risky, and at times, costly business. This has been confirmed in the Court of Appeal decision in Spencer v Spencer, which largely upholds the High Court decision. The facts of this case are discussed in Trustees, be afraid, very very afraid. While the Court of Appeal decision does clarify some … Continue reading
The default decisioin making position with a trust is that trustee decisions must be unanimous unless there is a provision in the deed of trust that specifically permits majority decisions. Where discretionary trusts permit majority decision making, trustees can find themselves liable for decisions that they were not party to. However, where unanimity is required … Continue reading
Deeds of trust contain the rules by which trustees are to operate. However, what are trustees to do if one or more trustees acts in defiance of these rules? While hind sight is 20/20 the starting point has to be to not actually let a trust get into a position where one trustee can call … Continue reading
Other blogs have noted what poor bedfellows trusts and relationships make. This observation is supported by the recent decision in Spence v Lynch . Paragraph 3 of Priestley J’s decision in this case neatly setting the scene for the ultimate show down that could be paraphrased “bad things happen to bad trustees.” “[3] The relationship of the man and … Continue reading
Vicki Ammundsen is presenting a webinar on winding up trusts on 19 June 2013 at 10.30. The one hour webinar will be followed by 1/4 hour for Q and A. This webinar, which will include the opportunity to ask questions, refers to recent case law to canvas why, how and where trustee liability arises; and what trustees … Continue reading
Section 46(4) of the Trustee Act 1956 provided that the High Court could order the appointment of the Public Trust in replacement for another trustee without requiring the Public Trust’s consent. Such a provision is necessary to ensure that no trust can fail for lack of a trustee. However, where the trustee in question is the … Continue reading
Matters of Trust 