The Supreme Court has declined leave to appeal the Court of Appeal decision in Kain v Public Trust. The proposed grounds of appeal were that the Court of Appeal erred in: The Court of Appeal’s views regarding trustees being able to take subsequent memoranda of wishes into account was upheld by the Supreme Court, although … Continue reading
Family trusts can raise complex considerations and perhaps none moreso than those relating to the changing of the guard as the intergenerational control aspect of family trusts is brought to bear. A contemporary consideration of these matters has been played out on the Triezenberg v Mason chronicles. The most recent iteration is the unsuccessful appeal … Continue reading
Lendich v Codilla relates to an attempt to claim a beneficial interest in property sold at an undervalue where there was an agreed element of gift. The case also raises the question as to standing of directors and shareholders of a company that has been removed from the register of companies. The issues raised by … Continue reading
Singh v Attorney General is an application under part 5 of the Trusts Act 2019 and pursuant to the High Court rules to defend the applicants’ removal as trustees of the Sikh Sangat NZ Trust (the Trust) and for a Beddoe Order. The applicants separately seek the removal of the Trust’s founding trustee and an … Continue reading
The decision in Re Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust may on first blush appear esoteric and outside the mainstream. However, the decision warrants careful reading as it is one of the few cases to date to consider default duties imposed by the Trusts Act 2019 in a practical construct. The case relates to a proposed restructure … Continue reading
Grammarist states that “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” means that it is not enough to simply mean to do well, one must take action to do well. A good intention is meaningless unless it is followed by a good action. It would be difficult to find a more comparable case as an example … Continue reading
The Estate of the Late J.D. Hanson also referred to as Cohen v Kerr relates to long-term asset and estate planning intended by the deceased to ensure that he died “neatly.” His commitment to this was such that a Neatly Board was established. However, as demonstrated in the Estate of the Late J.D. Hanson, the … Continue reading
The decision in Brkic v White considers whether Ms White has an interest in land that is “tantamount to ownership of the land”, such that the appellants can obtain a charging order that will enable the land to be sold to meet a debt owed by Ms White and her co-trustee of a separate trust. … Continue reading
O’Dea v Rutten serves as reminder of the importance of respecting the legal framework of estates and trusts. For reasons that make no legal sense notwithstanding wills that provided for the residue of two estates to be distributed to trusts, the executors took the position that the trusts should be wound up and the trust … Continue reading
By way of background in Vincent Family Corporate Trust Limited (as trustee of the ET and P Vincent Trusts) as noted by Van Bohemen J (above and below): In Vincent Family Corporate Trustee the parties were urged to find resolution. When this was not possible the court was required to determine matters. Helpfully, Van Bohemen … Continue reading