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An unwritten rule: The Guernsey Court of Appeal on informal trust declarations and the presumption of equality
A handwritten note, a single sentence long, with no witness, no signature block, and no mention of how property should be divided. Can such a document constitute a valid declaration of trust? The Guernsey Court of Appeal has confirmed that it can.
In Ashdown v Fraser, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against a Royal Court decision upholding the validity of a handwritten document by which a settlor declared the shares in a family company to be held for two trusts, without specifying the proportions in which each trust was to benefit. The decision offers useful clarification on the…
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