Bermuda

A LAW

01 Under Re Hasting v Bass [1975] Ch 25, trustees were seen as being given a second bite of the cherry following mistakes they made. Consider and assess the impact of the recent Court of Appeal decision in Futter v Futter [2011] EWCA Civ 197 on ill-informed decisions taken by trustees which result in losses to the trust.

02 In the absence of specific express statutory rules on the matter, to what extent can a settlor safely reserve powers and rights to himself (or another party) under Bermuda law without compromising the integrity of the trust? Consider in light of any recent case law on the issue.

B ACCOUNTS AND ADMINISTRATION

01 Comment upon the records that trustees are required to maintain with particular regard to the reasons for them and who may see them.

02 Discuss what steps you would advise trustees to take on the creation of a trust as regards the identification of the settlor, beneficiaries and source of funds. Detail what documentation should be obtained and retained.

C TAXATION

01 Discuss the stamp duty implications in Bermuda of additions to trusts, change of trustees and ancillary trust documents and comment on any stamp duty planning allowable under the Stamp Duties Act 1976 of Bermuda in relation to trusts.

02 Discuss the differences between tax evasion and tax avoidance and comment on Bermuda’s approach to eradicating tax evasion.

D INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

01 CBEG Prize topic: You’re approached by a married couple, both British citizens of Greek descent, who own a house in an affluent area of London, which is their only residence and a small IT business that makes an annual profit of around £1 million, which is their main source of income. The wife has taken up property development as a hobby and has one or two small properties across the Southeast of England at any time, which she works on on weekends and aims to sell within a year of purchase. The husband has recently inherited some land in Northern Cyprus and the couple would like to have new Wills to take this into account, naming their son and two daughters as equal beneficiaries of their shared property. Give a detailed analysis of the issues that a conscientious will writer should take into account at each stage of the will writing process, from taking instructions to delivery of the completed documents.

02 Comment upon the significance of and the effect of the proper law of a trust and how this is determined and explain the circumstances when this might be changed.