The boundaries of blessing applications – Re XYZ Trusts [2022] SC (Bda) 10 Civ – Wilberforce Chambers

Posted April 7th, 2022 in chambers articles, families, news, trusts by sally

‘The hearing dealt with a blessing application made by trustees in connection with the restructuring of the trust funds. of some 23 settlements between sub-funds in which separate branches of a larger family would then be beneficially interested. By the time of the hearing, the objections were limited to part of one of the three branches (“the Objectors”) on the basis that the new structure would not have sufficient liquidity.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 31st March 2022

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

Supreme Court agrees to hear case where town council sold land subject to statutory trust without complying with statutory requirements – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 29th, 2022 in appeals, local government, news, planning, sale of land, trusts by sally

‘The Supreme Court has granted permission to appeal in a dispute over what happens when a local authority disposes of land subject to a statutory trust for public recreational purposes without complying with the relevant statutory requirements.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 29th March 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Punter Southall Governance Services Ltd v Benge [2022] EWHC 193 (Ch) – Wilberforce Chamber

Posted February 11th, 2022 in chambers articles, news, pensions, trusts by sally

‘This decision of Chief Master Shuman concerns the circumstances in which the Court might refuse to bless a decision of pension scheme trustees, with particular reference to the meaning of “necessaries of life”, the conflicted position of member-trustees, and the relevance of disputed matters of fact. It will be important both for those considering the payment of discretionary benefits from pension schemes, including the interrelationship of scheme rules and the authorised payments regime under the Finance Act 2004, as well as more generally in relation to the robust approach the Court should take to beneficiaries seeking to oppose the blessing of trustee decisions.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 7th February 2022

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

Vicarious liability for sexual abuse again: Hugh Kennedy – Law & Religion UK

Posted December 16th, 2021 in clergy, news, Scotland, sexual offences, teachers, trusts, vicarious liability by sally

‘In Hugh Kennedy against (First) The Right Reverend Paul Bonnici, (Second) The Right Reverend James Warren Cuthbert Madden and (Third) Denis Alexander [2021] ScotCS CSOH 106, the pursuer brought an action for personal injury as a consequence of alleged sexual and physical abuse which, he averred, he had suffered while he was a boarder in the mid-1970s at Fort Augustus Boarding School. The school, which was run by a Benedictine community, had closed nearly 30 years ago, the trust associated with the community’s Abbey had been wound up some ten years ago and the then trustees may have been discharged. The trustees at the material time were all dead. The pursuer averred that, nevertheless, the then trustees had held indemnity insurance in respect of his claim and he sued the two surviving trustees for the purposes of meeting his claim from the trust estate comprised of the (presumed) right of indemnity under that insurance [1]. He claimed that the third defender, Denis Alexander, a monk and teacher at the school, had been his principal abuser and that he had also been abused by two lay teachers, both now dead [2]. In July 2021, Alexander had been convicted inter alia of lewd and libidinous conduct against the pursuer [4] and sentenced to four years and five months imprisonment.’

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Law & Religion UK, 14th December 2021

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Judicial decision-making: case studies from Biblical times and now: The Rt Hon. Lady Rose of Colmworth DBE – Supreme Court

Posted December 14th, 2021 in human rights, Judaism, judiciary, lectures, reporting restrictions, trusts, wills by tracey

‘Judicial decision-making: case studies from Biblical times and now – The Rt Hon Lady Rose of Colmworth DBE”

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Supreme Court, 1st December 2021

Source: www.supremecourt.uk

When is an order under s48 AJA appropriate? That’s a matter of opinions – Wilberforce Chambers

Posted November 2nd, 2021 in interpretation, legal advice, news, trusts, wills by sally

‘S48(1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1985 empowers the High Court to authorise personal representatives or trustees to take action on the basis of counsel’s opinion where any question of construction has arisen out of the terms of a will or trust. The opinion must be given by counsel with a minimum of 10-years High Court qualification. If so authorised, the personal representative or trustee will be protected from liability for mismanagement of the estate or breach of trust.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 21st October 2021

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

CFA costs payable as part of maintenance award, CoA rules – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 18th, 2021 in appeals, costs, debts, fees, news, trusts, wills by tracey

‘The Court of Appeal has ruled that a judge was correct to include some costs in a maintenance-based award, after the claimant had successfully secured part of her father’s estate.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th October 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

New world order for trusts?: The meaning of ‘prior interest’ in section 32 – Wilberforce Chambers

Posted July 2nd, 2021 in chambers articles, news, trusts by sally

‘The statutory power of advancement conferred by section 32 of the Trustee Act 1925 is a valuable tool for trustees given them as an aid to enable trust property to be used for the fullest benefit of a beneficiary with an interest in capital: see Lord Inglewood v IRC [1983] 1 WLR 366, 372–3 per Fox LJ, a judgment which contains a useful catalogue of ways in which the power has been exercised.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 24th June 2021

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

Axminster: Limitation and forfeiture revisited after Lloyds – Wilberforce Chambers

Posted July 2nd, 2021 in chambers articles, forfeiture, limitations, news, pensions, trusts by sally

‘The High Court (Morgan J.) has delivered judgment in Punter Southall Governance Services Ltd v Hazlett [2021] EWHC 1652 (Ch), concerning the Axminster Carpets Group pension plan. It is now the leading judgment on limitation in claims by pension scheme beneficiaries for arrears. It also gives key guidance on the court’s power to award interest on such claims and on the interpretation and exercise of forfeiture clauses, and makes certain findings on the scope of s.37 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993. This summary only scratches the surface of a detailed 347-paragraph judgment covering several different areas of pensions and trusts law. A more flippant title might have been: “The Axminster Carpets case: a pile of issues…”’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 24th June 2021

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

Court refuses to approve tainted fiduciary decision making (Schumacher v Clarke) – New Square Chambers

Posted February 18th, 2021 in charities, conflict of interest, fiduciary duty, news, trusts, wills by sally

‘The court was faced with a category 2 and 3 Public Trustee v Cooper application principally for the approval of a momentous decision. The court was initially asked to approve the entirety of a settlement reached between four trustees split into two camps but later asked to approve only the dispositive elements of the settlement. The settlement unusually resolved disputes between the trustees rather than between trustees and beneficiaries or third parties. The court was concerned with mutual allegations of inappropriate action as fiduciaries and the failure of both sides to manage conflicts of interest in arriving at a settlement. After stressing that such factors could impair the decision reached and which the court was asked to approve, the court refused its approval of part of the settlement. Written by James Saunders, barrister, at New Square Chambers.’

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New Square Chambers, 11th February 2021

Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk

The modern family – the interpretation of children, spouses and civil partners in older trust deeds – Wilberforce Chambers

‘It has become cliché to say that modern familial arrangements are vastly different now to how they were 50 years ago, but that does not make it any less true. In 2019, almost half of all births were outside of a marriage or civil-partnership, and 3,440 children were adopted from local authority care. With the passage of the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013, and the Civil Partnership (Opposite Sex Couples) Regulations 2019, the range of relationships that can be legally recognised, and the form that this recognition takes are also very different. Given the age of many settlements, traditional definitions of “children” or “spouse” can cause real difficulties.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 17th February 2021

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

Law firm ordered to pay £1m for registration error – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has ordered a defunct Manchester law firm which failed to register a restriction against a house at the Land Registry to pay over £985,000 in damages for professional negligence.’

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Legal Futures, 15th February 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Time to act: the UK Trust Register and the Fifth Money Laundering Directive – Wilberforce Chambers

Posted January 22nd, 2021 in chambers articles, EC law, HM Revenue & Customs, news, trusts by sally

‘HMRC’s registration requirements for trusts may not have been the focus of many practitioners’ attention during 2020, but the 31 January deadline for Trusts Registration Service notifications is likely to focus minds not just on annual compliance requirements, but also on the myriad of changes that have taken place over the past year.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 19th January 2021

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

Univar UK Ltd v Smith [2020] EWHC 1596 (Ch): rectification of pension schemes after FSHC – Wilberforce Chambers

Posted June 25th, 2020 in indexation, news, pensions, rectification, trusts by sally

‘On 19 June 2020, Mr Justice Trower handed down judgment granting rectification of the Univar Company Pension Scheme (1978), in the first pension rectification claim decided after a full trial since the landmark decision of the Court of Appeal in FSHC Group Holdings Ltd v GLAS Trust Corp Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 1361.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 22nd June 2020

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

100 years on the Statute Book but only one contested case…until now…. – Tanfield Chambers

Posted June 4th, 2020 in charities, Christianity, enfranchisement, leases, news, trusts by sally

‘There was no dispute about the facts. The Claimant church is a charitable company limited by guarantee, which took a 30 year lease of a former industrial unit from the Defendants and converted it into a Church and community centre. That was the permitted use under the lease.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 22nd May 2020

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

A dog’s breakfast; defective trust instruments rescued – Bowack v Saxton [2020] EWHC 1049 (Ch) – New Square Chambers

Posted June 1st, 2020 in chambers articles, documents, news, trusts by sally

‘In 2013 the Claimants paid £750,000 to establish two discretionary trusts containing AXA offshore bonds in the Isle of Man. In a meeting with a financial planner from Hargreaves Lansdown, they both executed standard form declarations of trust intended to appoint themselves and their daughter as trustees, and their daughter as principal beneficiary.’

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New Square Chambers, 26th May 2020

Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk

Business and Property: ToLATA update May 2020 – St Ives Chambers

Posted May 28th, 2020 in appeals, chambers articles, land registration, news, trusts, valuation by sally

‘By way of observation, the principle set out in Bagum-v-Hafiz [2015] EWCA Civ 801 whereby a beneficiary under a trust of land may effectively buy out the others interests appears to be increasingly applied and it has been recently considered in the Court of Appeal case of In the matter of the Estate of Roger Kingsley sub nom (1) Karim Sophie Kingsley (2) Aaron Richard Playle (as Executors of the Estate of Roger John Kingsley) v Sally Margaret Kingsley [2020] EWCA Civ 297. There, the Court of Appeal rejected the appeal that in a farming partnership case the judge had not been entitled to make an orderforsale at a court-assessed price rather than ordering a sale on the open market. Unlike a trustee, the court was not required to get the best price for the property. The Court rejected the notion that Bagum required some sort of valuation threshold to be overcome. On the contrary, Bagum was authority for the proposition that valuation (and the risk that the court-assessed value would not necessarily be the same as the price in an open market sale) was clearly a discretionary matter.’

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St Ives Chambers, May 2020

Source: www.stiveschambers.co.uk

An Introduction to Cryptocurrency – New Square Chambers

‘The first thing to say is that you should learn as much about holding and transacting with cryptocurrencies as you have time for.’

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New Square Chambers, March 2020

Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk

Will construction—failure of trust (Jeffreys and others v Scruton and others) – Wilberforce Chambers

Posted March 17th, 2020 in chambers articles, news, trusts, wills by sally

‘The Will established a discretionary trust for the testatrix’s issue with a standard power to add any person as an additional beneficiary during the 80-year trust period and wide powers to appoint and apply capital and income. It directed that ‘in default of and subject to any exercise of’ those powers, the trustees should hold the trust fund (i) on expiry of the trust period for her issue (if any) then living and (ii) ‘if at any time the trusts declared by the foregoing provisions fail’ on trust for her nephews and nieces absolutely (subject to attaining age 18 or previously marrying). The testatrix had one child, who predeceased her. The question raised by the trustees was whether the power to add a beneficiary remained exercisable, or whether the trust fund was held exclusively for the nephews and nieces. The court held that upon the testatrix’s death the discretionary trusts had failed—that the power to add was not exercisable—and that the trust fund was accordingly held on trust for the class of nephews and nieces entitled under Clause 5(c)(iii) of the Will.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 12th March 2020

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

Co-ownership and declarations of trust – Family Law

Posted March 12th, 2020 in land registration, news, trusts by tracey

‘Where a client owns or plans on owning a property jointly with someone else, there are a number of things that should be considered.’

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Family Law, 11th March 2020

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk