Prepared by the Olsens Litigation Team
OLSENS JERSEY LITIGATION INFORMATION NOTE
On a Judgment of the Royal Court of Jersey of 9 January 2001 In the matter of the Esteem
Settlement and the Number 52 Trust
Trusts - definition of "benefit" - whether a distribution can be made to a beneficiary’s creditor against the adult beneficiary’s wishes – whether the moral obligations of the beneficiary to his creditor should influence the trustee in that decision.
The trustee of two Jersey discretionary settlements sought direction from the Royal Court in an administrative application pursuant to Article 47 of the Trusts (Jersey) Law 1984.
The issue was whether the trustee should exercise its discretion to distribute the whole or part of the trusts’ assets to Grupo Torras S.A. ("GT") as the victim of a fraud perpetrated by (and the judgment creditor of) an adult beneficiary namely Sheikh Fahad Al-Sabah. The trustee and GT argued that it would be for his "benefit" so to do within the meaning
