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15 - Abuse of Trust

from Part II - The Changing Legal Context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 December 2022

Richard Nolan
Affiliation:
University of York
Hang Wu Tang
Affiliation:
Singapore Management University
Man Yip
Affiliation:
Singapore Management University
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Summary

The trust can be an instrument of great power and influence in managing and maintaining wealth and creating vital rights and obligations. Settlors are given significant freedom as to when and how they create a trust, with few restrictions on the provisions they can include in the trust instrument. But with this conspicuous freedom comes responsibility to ensure that the trust is not abused. Equity will not allow such abuse, and if a trust is considered to have been abused, it may be void or unenforceable. But when will a trust be considered to be abused? Surprisingly, little attention has been paid by commentators or judges to the notion of abuse of trust, although there are particular doctrines that can be analysed as being triggered by an abuse of trust, which have received a significant amount of attention. These include the doctrine of sham trust, illusory trust, defrauding creditors, illegality and fraud on the power. All of these doctrines are examined, common principles are identified and the chapter concludes that it is possible to synthesise from these doctrines a distinct doctrine of abuse of trust which should be expressly recognised.

Type
Chapter
Information
Trusts and Private Wealth Management
Developments and Directions
, pp. 285 - 306
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Abuse of Trust
  • Edited by Richard Nolan, University of York, Hang Wu Tang, Singapore Management University, Man Yip, Singapore Management University
  • Book: Trusts and Private Wealth Management
  • Online publication: 08 December 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009049399.017
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  • Abuse of Trust
  • Edited by Richard Nolan, University of York, Hang Wu Tang, Singapore Management University, Man Yip, Singapore Management University
  • Book: Trusts and Private Wealth Management
  • Online publication: 08 December 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009049399.017
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Abuse of Trust
  • Edited by Richard Nolan, University of York, Hang Wu Tang, Singapore Management University, Man Yip, Singapore Management University
  • Book: Trusts and Private Wealth Management
  • Online publication: 08 December 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009049399.017
Available formats
×