Modernising trust law for a global Britain: a scoping study

This is a joint web event hosted by STEP and the Law Commission of England & Wales on the Law Commission’s 14th Programme of Law Reform.

Description:

The Law Commission is embarking on its 14th Programme and would like to highlight the key areas of the programme that may affect STEP members. The programme includes picking up the Wills Project, paused in 2017, which is reviewing the Wills Act 1837 in order to give it a radical overhaul including consideration of reform of key principles of the legislation, modernising the language and reforming any ambiguities therein. The programme will also include a project on modernising English trust law, an area which hasn’t been comprehensively reviewed since 1925.

The panel will discuss the current limitations with the UK’s trust law and how it could be updated to enhance the competitiveness of trust services in a global market. The Law Commission’s project will look at alternative trust and trust-like structures available in other jurisdictions and consider whether similar structures could be used in the UK. The project will also review the law governing certain categories of statutory trust and identify technical trust law issues that may be in need of updating and reform.

We invite attendees from across the world to join the panel to learn more about this upcoming reform project.

Moderator:

  • Emily Deane TEP, STEP Technical Counsel

Speakers:

  • John Riches TEP, RMW Law LLP
  • Samantha Morgan TEP, RMW Law LLP
  • Professor Nick Hopkins, Law Commissioner for England and Wales for Property, Family and Trust law
  • Matthew Jolley Law Commission Head of Legal and Head of the Property, Family and Trusts team
  • Spencer Clarke, Law Commission Property, Family and Trusts lawyer
  • Charlotte Black, Law Commission Property, Family and Trusts lawyer