“The Protector’s role is to be a “watchdog” to ensure due execution by the Trustee of the powers vested in the Trustee.”[1] Protectors are commonly used in offshore trust structures as a break stop to the Trustees’ exercise of certain powers. For example, Trustees may have to obtain the consent of the Protector to exercise … Read more

Background One of the complications in the recent Hong Kong High Court decision of Harrison Liu v Personal Representative of the Estate of Li Kwok Mi[1] concerned the large family tree of the deceased, who was a concubine of Lau Yam Shan. Lau Yam Shan had a wife and five concubines, one of whom gave … Read more

Welcome to Herbert Smith Freehills’ monthly private wealth industry updates in Asia. Every month we survey ten Asian jurisdictions for legal developments concerning trust and estate planning which are of interest to the private wealth industry, and provide a succinct summary in a table format.  The jurisdictions covered in the update are Hong Kong, Singapore, … Read more

Welcome to Herbert Smith Freehills’ monthly private wealth industry updates in Asia. Every month we survey ten Asian jurisdictions for legal developments concerning trust and estate planning which are of interest to the private wealth industry, and provide a succinct summary in a table format.  The jurisdictions covered in the update are Hong Kong, Singapore, … Read more

The fifth edition of the Herbert Smith Freehills Guide to Private Wealth in Asia provides clients, business people, lawyers and other advisors with concise information on trusts, estates, probate and mental capacity issues to assist them in mitigating risks and understanding the changing legal landscape for private wealth across 12 jurisdictions in the region (China, … Read more

In a recent judgment concerning the doctrine of mistake, Deputy Master Marsh explains the evidential hurdles a claimant will have to overcome before the Court will set aside trusts created as part of a tax avoidance scheme. In this case, the Claimants and their legal advisers failed to overcome those hurdles (and earned a relatively … Read more

Welcome to Herbert Smith Freehills’ monthly private wealth industry updates in Asia. Every month we survey ten Asian jurisdictions for legal developments concerning trust and estate planning which are of interest to the private wealth industry, and provide a succinct summary in a table format.  The jurisdictions covered in the update are Hong Kong, Singapore, … Read more