Changes Of Trustees And Protectors In Contentious Circumstances In Jersey

Most modern trust instruments will contain provisions which grant to certain individuals the power to effect a change of trustee or protector. It is well established in Jersey law that such a power is a fiduciary one. The legal principles as a matter of Jersey law that will apply to the exercise of these fiduciary powers of appointment of new trustees and protectors have been the subject of a number of Royal Court decisions. However, a case of particular note in recent times, in terms of the issues to be addressed when appointments are challenged, and the costs of those proceedings, was the Royal Court's decisions in: Representation of Jasmine Trustees Limited and In the Matter of the Piedmont Trust and In the Matter of the Riviera Trust. The first decision provided useful guidance with regard to the test and approach that the Court will apply when judging whether the exercise of a power of appointment was lawful. The second decision provided an analysis of the