The BVI Court of Appeal has recently allowed an appeal concerning a trustee's failure to account and breach of trust.[1] The breach of trust arose as a result of the trustee making an appointment of the trust assets without considering all relevant circumstances. In overturning the decision, the Court noted that if a settlor transfers … Read more
The Court of Appeal of Hong Kong has recently upheld a decision appointing a son to be the Committee to take care of his incapacitated mother's affairs[1]. This was despite protest from the son's sibling, who claimed the son was an inappropriate person to be the Committee. The sibling also contested that their mother did … Read more
The County Court at Cardiff has recently ordered a solicitor to comply with the Legal Ombudsman's direction to complete the administration of an estate.[1] Failure to do so would result in imprisonment for 14 days. The case re-enforces the importance of complying with the Legal Ombudsman's directions in relation to estate administration and illustrates how … Read more
The Royal Court of Jersey has recently heard the second application under the Foundations (Jersey) Law 2009 (the “Foundations Law”). The Application was from a trust company in its capacity as the sole council member of a set of foundations (the "Foundations"). The trust company sought directions as to whether it could amend certain provisions … Read more
In a recent case, the Singapore High Court has held that a plaintiff's agreement to the setting-up of a trust to protect a family's wealth (including the assets of a deceased family member) was a valid defence for a defendant facing claims of breach of duty as executrix and breach of trust.[1] The case illustrates that the … Read more
The English High Court has recently found that a father could not change his Will so as to prevent his son receiving sole ownership of a family farm. [1] The farm had been promised to the son over the course of many years. It was held that these promises created an equitable interest in the … Read more
The Hong Kong High Court has recently held that Eric Hotung had not imposed a trust in his favour when he gave HK$2,000,000 to Ho Yuen Ki in 1961 for the purchase of shares in a Macau gambling business.[1] Whilst the Court declined to characterise the transfer of the funds as a gift or loan … Read more
In JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshlenniy Bank and Another v Pugachev, [2016] EWHC 248 & 258 Ch (sentence) and [2016] EWHC 192 (Ch) (liability), the English High Court sentenced Russian businessman Sergei Pugachev to two years in prison for contempt of court. The Court found Mr Pugachev had breached several worldwide freezing orders made by the English … Read more
