The deceased’s daughter (D) was contractually entitled to be refunded, out of the estate, the cost of caring for her mother (M) during her final years, the High Court has ruled. This is an unusual ruling but one practitioners should consider carefully given the implications for close family members. The decision could yet be appealed. …
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The Court of Appeal has clarified the meaning of ‘subject to a trust’ in the context of adverse possession claims against estates – and allowed a claim to proceed. On intestacy, the PRs hold the estate assets on a statutory trust under s33 AEA. If the estate includes land subject to a trust, a third …
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A decision from the Canadian court provides a useful insight into the extent to which trustees may be personal liable. It is a salutary lesson that executors and estate administrators should consider very carefully whether to engage in litigation. The PRs, as trustees, owe a fiduciary duty to the estate and the beneficiaries. In the …
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Practitioners advising charities and trustees will be interested in new regulatory guidance on paying trustees. The Charity Commission has published what is calls ‘redesigned’ guidance on paying voluntary trustees. Charity trustees, and connected persons, must not be paid by the charity unless it is clearly in the charity’s best interests, the guidance has clarified. It …
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Practitioners should note an important SC ruling upholding the long-standing no-profit rule, clarifying that it applies strictly to trustees and other fiduciaries who profit from their position. Fiduciaries owe a legal duty to act in good faith, and in the best interests of the beneficiaries when dealing with trust assets. Executors and estate administrators holding …
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Secret trusts are uncommon and the law is complex. A secret trust arises when the testator makes a will leaving, on its face, a gift to a beneficiary outright, but where that beneficiary previously agreed with the testator to hold the gift on trust for ultimate beneficiaries. In his will, T left most of his …
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