TRUST ASSETS IN DIVORCE ACCRUAL CLAIMS: PITFALLS
M v M (332/2015) [2017] ZASCA 5 (9 March 2017)
A trust is a distinct legal concept. Its assets belong to it and not to the trust founder, the trustees or even the beneficiaries. But founders and trustees often misunderstand or ignore these underlying principles and treat the trust assets as their own, the trust becoming an alter ego. On divorce, this scenario is often contentious as a claimant will seek to ‘pierce the veil’ of the trust entity so that its assets are considered assets of the spouse in his or her personal capacity, and hence subject to the accrual calculation. This judgment illustrates many of the considerations that arise and highlights the impact of carefully crafted antenuptial agreements and decisions to hold assets and property in trusts.
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The Judgment
Summary of the Judgment
STBB’S STSMA REFERENCE GUIDE
In this, the seventeenth set of notes for your STSMA Reference Guide, regulation 1 of the Act is discussed.
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Regulation 1 & Annexures (Forms)
(N.B. Print in landscape)