Jersey Decision: Mistake Or Conscious Risk Taking?

Representation of A re the E Settlement [2022] JRC 52

Royal Court of Jersey, 28 February 2022

Sir William Bailhache, Commissioner, Jurats Ramsden and Cornish

In a recent decision, the Royal Court has expressed reluctance to grant relief on the grounds of mistake in circumstances where, rather than a settlor being unaware of and therefore mistaken as to the risks of a transaction, the settlor has taken risks in accordance with advice but misjudged the extent of those risks.

The settlor was born and raised in the UK and had an English domicile of origin. He left the United Kingdom in 1959, living in Papua New Guinea and Australia until 1993 when he returned to the UK. In 1996 the settlor applied for and in 1998 he received confirmation from HMRC that it did not regard him as being UK-domiciled at that time. He continued to reside in the UK thereafter.