Express trust meaning

Existence and validity of trusts Provincial Equity Finance Ltd v Dines (née Breda) [2023] EWHC 103 (Ch) News Analysis: A literary epigraph—‘By prosperous voyages I often made… and the great care of goods at random left’—introduces a consideration of resulting trusts and the scope of express trusts. The decision underscores the practical obstacles in proving a resulting trust where a disorganised deceased ran bank accounts for mixed ends, and confirms that an express trust can override the presumption of a resulting trust even if the contributor of funds is not a party to the express trust. Author: Nicholas Holland, McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP Jurisdiction: England & Wales Attorney General v Zedra Fiduciary Services (UK) Ltd and others [2022] EWHC 102 (Ch) News Analysis: The court sanctioned a cy près scheme for a £600m charitable trust to be used towards reducing the National Debt, addressing the suitable application of the National Fund. The judgment considers...

Trustees Verify who the present charity trustees are. Examine historic appointment and retirement deeds to validate earlier changes to the board. Consider whether any current trustees have obvious conflicts of interest. Trust instrument Review the trust instrument and identify the powers it grants. Record any express limits on exercising those powers. Note whether any of the charity’s land is functional, designated, or held in specie. Land and leases Identify the charity’s property holdings and carry out the following checks: Confirm that title to all land is current, checking whether required deeds or transfers were executed after trustee changes, or reliance is placed on statutory vesting; verify proper execution of all documents. Confirm that appropriate restrictions have been entered on the title register. Confirm, so far as possible, that the land was duly authorised on acquisition, and review every lease where the charity is landlord or tenant; note any onerous obligations, and check whether required notices were served after...

Aston Martin MENA Ltd v Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd [2023] EWHC 3285 (Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision offers clear, detailed guidance on: construing competing readings of commercial contracts, and the extent and substance of express and implied duties of good faith Commercial lawyers should resist any analysis that isolates a single provision. The court undertook a meticulous review of each clause alongside the relevant definitions and related provisions to ascertain the parties’ true shared intention, particularly where ambiguity arose. As for implied terms grounded in business efficacy or good faith, the governing yardstick remains the test in Marks and Spencer plc v BNP Paribas Securities Services Trust Co (Jersey) Ltd [2015] UKSC 72. In a professionally drafted commercial contract, a term will not be implied unless it is both necessary and obvious to achieve commercial or practical coherence. Finally, the court delivered a firm caution against parties seeking to rely on an expansive reading...

Original news Taylor v Taylor [2017] EWHC 1080 (Ch) In June 2012, a father, Mark, and his son, Boyd, acquired a transfer of a modest hotel with a campsite, together by way of conveyance. It was undisputed between both sides that this made them joint tenants at law at the time. The conveyance concerned part only of a wider tract of land within a larger holding. In May 2013, Mark served a notice to sever the joint tenancy which, on its very face, converted the beneficial joint tenancy (assuming that was its nature) into a tenancy in common in equal proportions. Nonetheless, Mark asserted a four-fifths share of the beneficial interest, citing his larger contribution to the purchase price. By contrast, Boyd maintained he was due one-half of the beneficial interest, on the basis of a promise to that effect and his reliance: he entered the deal, permitted funds he was entitled to be applied, and worked (with his wife) at the hotel and campsite. What are the practical...

In this issue: Practice and procedure Relationship breakdown Financial provision Public children Court of Protection LexTalk®Family: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New content Updated content New Q&As Useful information Practice and procedure Changes to HMCTS Cloud Video Platform and the Video Hearings Service In July 2024, HM Court and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) announced plans to upgrade the systems behind the Cloud Video Platform (CVP) and the Video Hearings Service (VHS) (see: LNB News 12/07/2024 10). The update requires organisations to check, and possibly change, their firewall settings. Accordingly, organisations should review—and, where needed—adjust their firewall configurations. The revisions affect any area of practice that may involve attending a court hearing, and HMCTS has stated that these network changes must be in place by 28 September 2024. There is no requirement to delete existing IP addresses from current configurations (also known as the whitelist). Before joining a VHS hearing,...

This table summarises all completed investigations by Singapore’s competition authority (the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore—the CCCS) into alleged cartels, anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant positions since 2018. Note—only investigations that have been made public are included in this table. 2025 Investigations under section 34 of the Competition Act Remittance services — ZGR Global; Hanshan Issues: Restrictive agreement—information exchange Developments: Decision finding infringement—31/07/2025; penalties totalling $5.36m imposed Contracting — Trust-Build Engineering & Construction Pte. Ltd; Hunan Fengtian Construction Group Co. Ltd Issues: Restrictive agreement—bid rigging Developments: Decision finding infringement—23/05/2025; penalties totalling $4.6m imposed Investigations under section 47 of the Competition Act The CCCS has not yet issued any decisions under section 47 in 2025 2024 Investigations under section 34 of the Competition Act Remittance services — ZGR Global Pte Ltd; Hanshan...

Although the trusteeship is, in theory, held for life, a trustee can step down in several ways: by relying on a clause in the trust instrument if a successor can be found, retirement may proceed under section 36 of the Trustee Act 1925 (TA 1925) by using the statutory authority in TA 1925, s 39 through the beneficiaries’ written direction under section 19 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA 1996) with the beneficiaries’ agreement under the rule in Saunders v Vautier by an order of the court under TA 1925, s 41 Express provision in the trust instrument that a trustee may unilaterally retire A trust instrument may confer on a trustee an express, unilateral power to retire. That said, some view such a term as encouraging a less diligent trustee to choose ‘the easy way out’. The instrument might also provide for automatic retirement once a stated age is reached. ...

The framework governing trusts in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) is set out in the Trustee Act (as amended) (Cap 303, Laws of the BVI) together with the Virgin Islands Special Trusts Act 2003, as amended (the VISTA Law). Trusts formed under the VISTA Law (VISTA Trusts) commonly hold shares, whether directly or through holding structures, in operating companies rather than purely passive investment vehicles, often trading in fields unfamiliar to the trustee and regularly located at a distance from the BVI. Addressing such demanding circumstances was the very reason the VISTA Law was designed and enacted, which in turn makes VISTA Trusts a highly effective tool within international wealth structuring. This Practice Note considers selected aspects of the management and administration of VISTA Trusts. Separation of trust and corporate governance The VISTA Law acknowledges that trustees are seldom natural entrepreneurs...

Date [ date ] Parties [ name of first joint tenant ] of [ address ] [ name of second joint tenant ] of [ address ] [ name of third joint tenant ] of [ address ] (together, the Joint Tenants) background Under [ a [ conveyance OR transfer ] dated [ date ] between (1) [ names of sellers/transferors ] and (2) the Joint Tenants OR a settlement dated [ date ] between [ parties ] OR an assent dated [ date ] between [ name(s) of personal representative(s) ] ] and the Joint Tenants [ and in the events which have happened ], the property described in the Schedule (the Property) is held by the Joint Tenants in fee simple as beneficial joint tenants. [ Up to the date of this Deed, the rents and profits of the Property have been received, paid and applied in accordance with the directions of, and...

Date [ date ] Parties [ name of husband ] of [ address ] (Husband) [ name of wife ] of [ address ] (Wife) (together referred to as Joint Tenants) background By a transfer bearing the same date as this Deed, but executed beforehand, entered into by (1) [ name of seller ] (Seller) and (2) the Joint Tenants, the property identified in the Schedule (Property) was conveyed to the Joint Tenants free of incumbrances. Under a mortgage (Mortgage) of the same date as this Deed, also completed earlier, the Joint Tenants created a charge over the Property in favour of [ name of lender ] (Lender) to secure the sums payable to the Lender under the Mortgage...

[ Insert in para 6.1 of response form ET3: ] It is [ accepted OR not accepted OR denied ] that the Claimant worked for the Respondent as [ insert job title, eg ‘a financial analyst’ or ‘an insurance sales manager’ ] from [ insert start date of employment ] until [ end date of employment ] [ at its [ insert details of particular office or location, eg ‘London Headquarters in Canary Wharf’ ] ]. It is [ accepted ] that the Respondent is [ insert brief description of the nature of the Respondent, eg a global investment bank ]. The Respondent disputes that the Claimant was constructively unfairly dismissed [ and/or wrongfully dismissed ], as alleged or at all. [ [ EXAMPLE A (Response to alleged breach of term of trust and confidence): ] It is acknowledged that the Claimant’s contract of employment, dated [ insert date ], contained an implied term that the Respondent would not, without reasonable and proper cause, act...

Acquisition or appropriation of remainderman's interest Under a life interest trust, the life tenant is entitled to live in the property or take the income it produces. The scenario assumes the life tenant might acquire the remainderman’s interest in the property, thereby converting their position into an absolute interest. In such a case, the remainderman would receive cash in exchange for their reversionary interest. Where the Will trust does not confer an express power on trustees to reallocate or modify beneficial interests, the life tenant and the remainderman may agree a variation pursuant to the rule in Saunders v Vautier, so long as they are both of full age and have capacity. This route is unavailable if any minors or unborn persons have, or may have, an interest under the trust. If there are potential beneficiaries of that kind, an application can be made to the court to approve the arrangement under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958. For further guidance, see: Termination of trusts—overview...

Joint ownership and severance Whether the pair are married or merely cohabiting is not stated; what is clear is that the house is their home and that title is held jointly. It is possible that, on transfer, an express declaration of trust was included to the effect that they were to hold upon trust for themselves as beneficial joint tenants or, in the alternative, as tenants in common in agreed shares which need not be equal. If an express declaration of trust exists, it would be conclusive of the extent of their interests. Should it provide that they are to hold as beneficial joint tenants, that would mean neither owns a divided portion of the property; but if the joint tenancy were to be severed, they would, from that point, hold as tenants in common in equal shares. Section 36 of the Law of Property Act 1925 sets out the position on severance of a beneficial joint tenancy...

When two or more people jointly own land together, it is held on a trust of land. Under a trust of land, the legal and equitable estates are distinct and separate. The legal title must be held by the co-owners as joint tenants. The beneficial interest may, however, be held by the co-owners beneficially either as: joint tenants tenants in common If they are joint tenants in equity, each holds an indivisible, concurrent interest in it: every owner is entitled to the whole, not an identifiable fraction. The rule of survivorship operates so that, on the death of a joint tenant, the deceased’s interest passes automatically to the other(s). Where the equitable interest is taken as tenants in common, shares can be unequal, and a deceased owner’s portion does not pass to the survivor but instead forms part of the deceased’s estate. A tenancy in common may arise on the original transfer or conveyance where there is an express declaration...