Overview

The accumulation rule, which limits the period for which income can be retained within the trust, dates back to the Thellusson Act of 1800 and has been modified and extended by a number of subsequent statutes. The Commission considers that the resulting legislation is complex, uncertain and not well understood; it can easily catch out the unwary and can prevent reasonable settlements from being made. In addition, the Commission considers that the original justification for the 1800 Act no longer holds good. The Commission also examines rules which prevent property being tied up by the current owner for too long a period. The main rule is that which governs the creation of successive liferents. Again, this rule has a long history, but today it appears complicated, unclear and capable of producing arbitrary results. The Commission believes that it is in need of reform. The Commission seeks views on its proposals to repeal the existing rules and to replace them with a new power for the Court of Session to alter the terms of a long-term trust if, after a minimum period of time has elapsed (say, 25 years), it is clearly expedient to do so. In order to exercise the power (which is modelled on the existing cy-pras jurisdiction in relation to public trusts), the court would need to be persuaded that a significant change in circumstances had occurred since the trust was set up and that the alteration was justified by that change of circumstances.

Full Product Details

9780108882449

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available