Jersey trustees are currently having to spend a lot of time
complying with international reporting requirements, such as FATCA
and CRS. However, two recent cases demonstrate that the long
standing issue of disclosure of information to Beneficiaries of
trusts can still cause difficulties and should not be
overlooked.
Under Jersey trust law, there is a strong presumption that many
categories of Beneficiaries should be provided with a copy of trust
documents and accounts if these are requested, unless there is a
good reason to refuse.
A question that has recently arisen in an English case is
whether advice provided by lawyers to the trustee is privileged and
therefore exempt from this requirement to disclose to
Beneficiaries. In the case of Blades –v- Isaac and
Alexander the Beneficiaries wished to see legal advice
provided to the trustees. Although acknowledging there is no
absolute right for Beneficiaries to see trust documents, if legal
advice is a trust
