The States of Jersey have finally approved reforms to the
Island's customary law and rules regarding the governance and
administration of property belonging to minors by approving the
adoption of the Children's Property and Tuteurs (Jersey) Law
2016 (the New Law). The New Law is now in
force.
In this briefing we discuss the current regime of
Tutelles and how the New Law proposes to change this
regime.
What is the current regime?
The current regime regarding the governance and administration
of properly belonging to minors dates back to 1862. In summary, the
current regime provides that, in respect of minors (those under 18)
who are not considered legally competent to manage their own
property, that in the event the minor inherits, acquires or is
gifted property, that the 1862 law requires a mechanism called a
Tutelle to be formed (a form of guardianship) to manage
the minor's property. A Tutelle (a form of
guardianship committee) consists of seven individuals
