Yvonne Evans
Yvonne is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Dundee, specialising in Scots trusts and succession and tax law, particularly capital taxes. She became a full-time lecturer in 2013, having tutored revenue law at the University of Edinburgh since 2004.
Before she became a full-time academic, Yvonne trained as a solicitor at Brodies in Edinburgh. She then worked as a solicitor in the Private Client department at Anderson Strathern, progressing to Associate with a Professional Support Lawyer role.
Yvonne authored the reissue of the Trusts, Trustees and Judicial Factors section of the Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia of the Laws of Scotland published in 2016. She is a member of the Law Society of Scotland's Tax Law and Trusts & Succession Law sub-committees. She has given evidence to the Scottish Parliament Finance and Constitution committee regarding its devolved tax powers. She represented the Law Society of Scotland at the House of Commons APPG on Inheritance and Intergenerational Fairness and has given evidence to the House of Lords Finance Committee. She has also advised the Scottish Government on trusts for vulnerable recipients of compensation awards, and The Scottish Charity Regulator regarding charitable legacies.
From 2014 to 2019, Yvonne was a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners' Scotland branch committee and founded the STEP Dundee Discussion forum. She is currently the examiner for the STEP Diploma, Trust Law (Scotland) module.
Practice Area
Panel
- Scottish Panel
Qualified Year
- 2006
Experience
- Brodies (2005 - 2007)
- Anderson Strathern (2007 - 2013)
Membership
- Law Society of Scotland's Tax Law and Trusts & Succession Law sub-committees
- Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners 2014 - 2019
Qualification
- Bachelor of Laws (2004)
Education
- University of Edinburgh (2000-2005)
6 Contributions by Yvonne Evans
PRACTICE NOTES
Beneficiaries’ rights and remedies in Scottish trusts: personal rights, tracing in insolvency and mixed funds, liferent/discretionary interests, annuities, and the Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024
FORTHCOMING CHANGE :
The Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 obtained Royal Assent on 30 January 2024, signalling the first major overhaul of Scottish trusts law in more than a century since the Trusts (Scotland) Act 1921. Most trust provisions will commence only when Scottish Ministers implement the required secondary legislation. By contrast, certain succession measures and aspects concerning the removal of trustees are already in operation. A summary of the key modernising reforms is set out in News Analysis: Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Bill passed. Practice Notes dealing with Scottish trusts and succession will be revised to reflect the new regime in due course.
General nature of beneficiaries’ rights
Under Scots law, beneficiaries are generally regarded as holding personal rights against the trustees, although in some situations their rights resemble a real right in property. Notably, the beneficiaries’ interest outranks the claims of a trustee’s personal creditors where the trustee is sequestrated. In the same vein, trust assets are insulated from the diligence of a trustee’s personal...
Private Client
PRACTICE NOTES
Claims by surviving cohabitants on intestacy in Scotland: scope, procedure and remedies under FL(S)A 2006 s29, and changes introduced by the Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024
FORTHCOMING CHANGE :
The Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 gained Royal Assent on 30 January 2024, representing the first overhaul of Scottish trusts law in more than a century since the Trusts (Scotland) Act 1921. Certain provisions on succession began on 30 April 2024, while others have yet to commence. The principal updates to modernise the regime are set out in News Analysis: Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Bill passed. Practice Notes dealing with Scottish trusts and succession will be further revised to reflect this new legislation. This Practice Note considers section 29 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 (FL(S)A 2006), concerning the right of a surviving cohabitant to ask the court for an order for payment from an intestate estate in Scotland. The court retains discretion as to whether to make an award when asked. These provisions cover couples of the same or different sex, but operate only where there is intestacy or partial intestacy. A surviving cohabitant has no entitlement where the deceased left a valid Will, irrespective of that Will’s contents. Succession legislation: general...
Private Client
PRACTICE NOTES
Creation and constitution of trusts in Scotland: formalities, parties, delivery/intimation, and trusts arising by operation of law; includes note on Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024
FORTHCOMING CHANGE :
The Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 obtained Royal Assent on 30 January 2024, representing the first overhaul of Scots trusts law in more than a century since the key statute, the Trusts (Scotland) Act 1921, was enacted. Provisions on trusts will only commence following secondary legislation by Scottish Ministers, while the succession measures took effect on 30 April 2024. A summary of the principal modernising reforms appears in News Analysis: Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Bill passed.
Express creation of trusts
An express trust arises where the owner of assets (the truster) conveys property to trustees to hold for specified purposes for the benefit of the beneficiaries. The trust’s constitution is finalised by delivery of the trust property or the trust deed to the trustee.
Trust deed
‘Trust deed’ is defined in the Trusts (Scotland) Act 1921 (T(S)A 1921) as referring to:
any deed or other writing, private or local Act of Parliament, royal charter, or resolution of any corporate or ecclesiastical body, establishing any trust, and
any decree, deed, or other writing appointing a judicial factor
A trust is commonly constituted expressly inter vivos by a declaration to that effect under Scots law as described herein above...
Private Client
PRACTICE NOTES
Scots trust law: civilian origins, feudal conveyancing, public/charitable trusts, English influences, commercial uses, and reforms in the Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024
FORTHCOMING CHANGE :
The Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 received Royal Assent on 30 January 2024, signalling the first significant overhaul of Scottish trust law in more than a century since the Trusts (Scotland) Act 1921. The trust provisions still require secondary legislation from the Scottish Ministers before full commencement, whereas the succession elements took effect on 30 April 2024. The headline reforms aimed at modernisation are outlined in News Analysis: Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Bill passed. Practice Notes addressing Scottish trusts and succession will be updated further to reflect this new legislation...
Civilian origin of Scots trust law and fideicommissum
Scottish trust law differs from the English law of trusts in several notable respects, though Scots law has absorbed certain English concepts and terminology. A concise overview of the historical foundations of the Scots law of trust may aid understanding. In Scotland, trust law embraces both administrative and property aspects, aligning with civilian legal systems. In common with many such systems, Scots law has never acknowledged a doctrine of legal...
Private Client
PRACTICE NOTES
Trusts in Scotland: nature, dual patrimony theory and classification, with IHT treatment and forthcoming reforms under the Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024
FORTHCOMING CHANGE
The Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 obtained Royal Assent on 30 January 2024, representing the first comprehensive reconsideration of Scottish trust law in more than a century, since the principal Trusts (Scotland) Act 1921 was enacted. The trusts elements will only operate once Scottish Ministers make the necessary secondary legislation to commence them, whereas the provisions on succession took effect on 30 April 2024. A synopsis of the principal reforms designed to modernise the law appears in News Analysis: Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Bill passed.
Definitions
Arriving at a fully adequate definition of a ‘trust’ is challenging, given the breadth of contexts in which trusts arise, and a trust itself has no separate legal personality. For practical purposes, a ‘trust’ can be viewed as a legal arrangement whereby legal title to property passes from the truster to one or more trustees (the trustee/s), who do not obtain an unfettered entitlement to that property but hold it subject to a duty to deploy it in line with the truster’s express or implied directions, for the benefit of specified persons (the beneficiaries). In essence, trustees must administer the property in accordance with those directions...
Private Client
PRACTICE NOTES
Variation of Scottish trusts: common law, court-sanctioned arrangements and statutory powers (1921, 1961, 2024), including alimentary liferents, beneficiary approvals, procedure, divorce, and public/charitable cy-près and OSCR reorganisations
FORTHCOMING CHANGE :
The Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 obtained Royal Assent on 30 January 2024, representing the first comprehensive re-examination of Scottish trust law in more than a century, since the cornerstone Trusts (Scotland) Act 1921 was enacted. As regards trusts, a substantial proportion of its provisions will only operate once Scottish Ministers make further secondary legislation to commence them. By contrast, most succession provisions took effect on 30 April 2024, with a handful of minor trust-related points commencing on 26 June 2024. See News Analysis: Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Bill passed. Practice Notes dealing with Scottish trusts and succession will be updated further to reflect, and align with, this new legislation. At common law, once a trust has taken effect, the scope to vary its terms or purposes is very narrowly confined. Where an inter vivos trust is revocable, the truster may adjust its terms at any time, provided they are sui juris. However, the majority of inter vivos trusts are irrevocable once the trust has been constituted by delivery, and all testamentary trusts are irrevocable because they take effect only after the testator has died, at which point alteration by the truster is impossible under the common law position...
Private Client
If you expected to see yourself on this page, click here.
