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Inland Revenue has issued a QWBA (QB 15/11) regarding whether a trustee exercising a discretion to distribute trustee income (that would be taxed at the trustee rate of 33% if retained by the trustee) to a beneficiary on a lower tax rate, a beneficiary with tax losses or a beneficiary to whom the income will … Continue reading
Some cases seem to have eternal existence. The original matter of Spence v Lynch is one of these. The are now at least 9 recorded decisions by my count named either White v Spence or Spence v Lynch. The first case was written up in this blog as Dominant trustee architect of loss. The name was apt then, … Continue reading
I write a lot about trustee liability. The reason for that is simple – there is lots to write about. Being a trustee is a risky business, and sadly many trustees are not sufficiently aware of the risks of trusteeship. For trustees or advisers who want to be better informed I have written a book … Continue reading
SWL Trustee Company Limited (SWL) is a trustee that acts together with two other trustees as trustees of a family trust. As is commonly the case, two of the trustees (the instructing trustees) are also settlors of the trust. The trust owns a number of properties. All is fine, until it is not. The trust owns a number of properties. … Continue reading
While recent headlines might lead one to belive that trusts are falling down in the face of relationship failures, closer inspection would suggest that in fact this is not commonly the case. There appears to be a significant distinction between trusts where both spouses or partners are settlor/trustees and cases where only one spouse or partner … 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
When assets are transferred to a trust by a settlor the transfer is generally by way of gift or sale. Where assets are sold there is a gift back that can be forgiven immediately, progressively or at some future date, if at all. Prior to the abolition of gift duty gifting programs were common and … Continue reading
The long awaited Court of Appeal decision on the subject of illusory trusts should make unsettling reading for many a settlor, and perhaps their advisers too. The decision, which runs to 96 pages is substantial. The message is mixed. While the trust in question was found to be valid (illusion it turns out, is just … Continue reading
I talk a lot about all the things that go horridly wrong for trustees and all the mistakes they make and how they can do better, try harder. But the difficulty for many trustees is that even if they know they are not doing a great job, they don’t actually know how to pick up … Continue reading
The early signs of dementia can be subtle. Although dementia can occur at any age, it is far more common amongst the older demographic. Accordingly, while lawyers and accountants, and trustees generally are rarely mental health experts, it is important to say alive to the early signs of dementia so that risks can be identified … Continue reading
Matters of Trust 