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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
The facts of FAI Money Limited v Crawley, which traverses, amongst other things, whether a trustee can be liable for a debt incurred under a power of attorney, are set out in the High Court decision discussed in 1 of 2 Trustees Personally Liable. By way of brief recap: Edward Johnston’s brother Richard Johnston who is an accountant, … 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
In the Matter of the Piedmont Trust and the Riviera Trust powers of appointment and who can exercise them are an important aspect of both the management of a trust, and the very terms on which a trust is settled. It is now generally agreed that whether the powers are held by a trustee or a … Continue reading
While foreign trusts are getting some headlines, it is useful to bring attention to a small amendment to the complying trust election regime where a trust can elect to be a complying trust. The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2015–16, Research and Development, and Remedial Matters) Act 2016 has amended ss HC 10 and HC 33 … Continue reading
New Zealand’s tax treatment of trusts has made front page headlines this week due to its taxation treatment of foreign trusts. To quote the New Zealand Herald article on the “Panama Papers”: “New Zealand’s 12,000-plus offshore trusts pay no New Zealand tax on foreign earnings. Their beneficiaries are not registered and their accounts are not filed … Continue reading
The long-awaited decision (issued in fact as two separate decisions) in Clayton v Clayton were released today (23 March 2016). The first decision relates to the Vaughan Road Property Trust (VRPT) and the second to the Claymark Trust. Background Mr and Mrs Clayton commenced a de facto relationship in 1986 and married in 1989. They … Continue reading
Work Safe New Zealand.New Zealanders are reported to have more trusts per head of capita than anywhere in the world. Whether this is true or not cannot be verified as there is no register of New Zealand family trusts. The secrecy that surrounds trusts is one aspect of why they have remained so popular. While … 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
Relationships end. Sometimes badly. Few amongst us can remember what we saw in the other. Usually we move on. Bruises are dusted. The property is divided up, each thinks the other got more than they should have. Some of us are made of stronger stuff. Relationship property assets under the control of a single party to the … Continue reading
Matters of Trust 