In the Matter of DD [2010] JRC 193

This recent case of the Jersey Royal Court considered the legal test for rectification and, in particular, whether suing a professional advisor who had given mistaken advice on which the settlor relied, is an alternative practical remedy to rectification.

Facts

The settlor, who at the time of the establishment of the trust was a UK resident non-domiciled individual but deemed domiciled for IHT purposes, sought specialist tax advice about the implications of transferring assets into a trust. The advice given to the settlor was that if funds were to be transferred to a trust, that it should be a trust in which the settlor and his spouse had successive life interests and not a discretionary trust.