Back Issue Archive
STEP Journal: March 2014
- From the Editor - Hannah Downie introduces STEP Journal March 2014 issue
- Family offices: a British futureCompared to the US and continental Europe, family offices are rare in the UK. But, argues Martyn Gowar, with wealth increasingly less dependent on land, and the principle of primogeniture on the wane, that could soon change.
- Sporting Lisbon and yellow cardsRichard Frimston considers power-sharing in the EU since the Lisbon Treaty.
- Italy’s drive for trust transparencyLuigi Belluzzo and Alessandro Belluzzo discuss Italy’s new reporting obligations for trustees and beneficiaries.
- A business families manSTEP Board and Council member John Lawrence balances a family office practice in the Bahamas with expansion of the Society in Latin America. Here, he tells Hannah Downie about the challenges and rewards of establishing family businesses and STEP chapters in new jurisdictions.
- Held to account - keeping trust accounts when there are underlying companiesJohn Harper looks at some of the issues relating to keeping trust accounts when there are underlying companies.
- Settlor loans and liabilitiesAmanda Edwards on the perils of settlors making loans to their settlements.
- From Azerbaijan to Zambia: Successful online courses broaden STEP’s horizonsHannah Downie caught up with Rob Rowe, Course Director at CLT International, to hear about online provision of STEP courses to jurisdictions with a small or fledgling need for succession-planning training.
- Handle with careOmonike Robinson-Pickering on how to deal with the shares of a deceased sole shareholder under BVI law.
- No place like homeAlex Potts reviews the Supreme Court of Bermuda’s jurisdiction over trust disputes with a foreign angle.
- Ready for the REITLiza Harridyal-Sodha on the introduction of real estate investments trusts in Barbados.
- Funds in the sunJerome Dwight explains why Latin American families intent on diversifying their holdings outside of their home countries are looking to the Caribbean for solutions.
- Offshore crackdown Helena Mendes reviews changes in the tax landscape affecting Brazilian investors.
- Exceptions to the golden ruleRecent cases have raised questions over the ‘golden rule’ on assessing testamentary capacity. STEP’s UK Practice Committee plots a course through the apparently conflicting case law to provide clarity on practitioners’ duties.
- The state of disabled trustsLynne Bradey reviews the changes made to disabled trusts following amendments to the Inheritance Tax Act 1984.
- A voice for the vulnerableKarl Dowling discusses the implications of Ireland’s new mental capacity legislation.
- Attorney and deputy, beware!Alex Elphinston provides a timely reminder of the duties of an attorney under a property and financial affairs lasting power of attorney, and a deputy under a deputyship order, when it comes to investment and general management of money, following Senior Judge Lush’s comments in Re Buckley.
- Statutory wills and litigation friendsSteven Appleton comments on a case that demonstrates the unique challenges involved in acting as litigation friend for a person lacking mental capacity in England and Wales.
- Divorce without capacityChristine Smyth discusses the factors a third party must establish in order to succeed in a divorce application for an incapacitated adult in Australia.
- The gold standard for willsMichael Young TEP, Chair of STEP’s Professional Standards Committee, speaks to Hannah Downie about the Society’s recently launched Code for Will Preparation in England and Wales.
- Estate planning: the new eraJulian Washington discusses some of the issues posed by 21st-century families.
- IP tax planning in the age of anti-tax avoidanceJames O’Neal and Michael Ng Ping Ching look at current anti-tax avoidance trends and their impact on select EU IP tax regimes.
- Broken stalematesDawn Register assesses HMRC’s alternative dispute resolution procedure.
- Death before completionKatie de Swarte outlines the practical steps to be taken when a vendor or buyer dies after exchange but prior to completion.
- The family office redefinedAndrew Nolan considers the changing role of the family office.
- Book Review: A Modern Approach to Wills, Administration and Estate Planning (with Precedents) (2nd edition)
