Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Jersey Royal Court blesses trustee’s variation adding female beneficiaries to dynastic trusts, overriding male-line wishes: guidance on discriminatory clauses, public policy, human rights and Public Trustee v Cooper.

Published on: 14 February 2024

Published by a LexisNexis Private Client expert

Legal News

Article summary

Representation of Zedra Trust Company (Suisse) SA re C and D Trusts [2023] JRC 213

What are the practical implications of this case

Although resolved on its own facts, the court offered broadly useful guidance for trustees managing dynastic trusts intended to support multiple generations.
As a family’s philosophy evolves, trustees should assess whether the trust still embodies that shift and, if not, consider whether substantive modifications are required.
The ruling will interest practitioners as it confronts public policy and human rights considerations within the framework of trust deed provisions and settlors’ expressed wishes.
It underlines that letters of wishes are not binding on trustees, and certainly not on the court, and demonstrates judicial backing for a trustee departing from a settlor’s clear wishes to prevent family discord, here arising from the exclusion of the female line from benefitting from the Trusts.

In short, the decision encourages trustees of long‑running family trusts to think carefully about alignment with changing family principles and supports reasoned departures from settlors’ wishes where necessary to avoid disharmony within the family...

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