Divorce Proofing Trusts - A Step Too Far?

Representation re The V Trust The W Trust The X Trust and The Y Trust [2021] JRC 208

Introduction

The trustees of four trusts, known as the Y, V, W and X Trusts (together the Trusts) approached the Jersey Royal Court (the Court) to seek its blessing in respect of a momentous decision to (i) exclude from the beneficial class the future spouses, widows and widowers of beneficiaries of the Trusts and (ii) to establish a separate trust in which spouses, widows and widowers would be included in the beneficial class. The Trusts had been subject to a history of litigation involving wider family members and it was in this context that the trustees of the Trusts (the Trustees) sought the Court's blessing for its decision to amend the terms of the Trusts to mitigate the risks of further litigation for the benefit of current and future beneficiaries.