Mourant Guernsey Trusts Forum
Our annual Mourant Guernsey Trusts Forum was held on Tuesday 26 May at the St Pierre Park Hotel.
Members of our leading International Trusts and Private Client team joined industry experts in delivering insights on key topics and trends in the trusts and private wealth sector via a series of panel discussions. Our focus was on providing an overview of recent developments within the industry, including the most significant judicial decisions and their potential implications.
Keynote speaker information
Tim Shipman, the Chief Political Commentator of the Sunday Times, was the keynote speaker for the Guernsey Trusts Forum 2022 - more details in the agenda below.
An event attended by Guernsey trustees and private wealth client advisers, the forum provided an overview of recent developments within the industry, including the most significant judicial decisions and their potential implications, followed by networking drinks and canapés.
The Forum was chaired by Paul Hodgson, Deputy Group Head of Trust, Butterfield.
Forum Agenda
9:00am - 9:25am - Registration and coffee
9:25am - 9:40am | Welcome from Mourant and Chairman's welcome
Paul Hodgson, Deputy Group Head of Trust | Butterfield
9:40am - 10:20am | A more corporate stance on structuring for private client
The panel will compare structuring trends they are seeing with HNW and UHNW private clients comparing typical structures, trends, planning considerations and tax treatment of each.
Speakers:
- Gilly Kennedy-Smith, Partner | Mourant
- Frances Watson, Partner l Mourant
- Mark Savage, Tax Director | BDO
10:20am - 11:00am | Who said being a trustee was easy….
We have all heard about crypto and NFTs, but how should a trustee respond when asked to consider investing in them, much less managing them? Similarly, ESG is an ever more prominent consideration, but to what extent can and should trustees factor that in to their decision making?
Moderator:
• Chris Edwards, Partner | Mourant
Speakers:
• Phil Radford, Director | Saffery Champness
• Nick Holland, Partner | McDermott Will & Emery
• Giles Neville, Chief Executive Officer, Channel Islands l Cazenove
11:00am - 11:25am - Coffee Break
11:25am - 12:05pm | A rise in the power of exclusion?
The speakers will discuss the challenges faced by trustees who decide to exclude a beneficiary under a discretionary trust in light of recent court decisions.
Moderator:
- Sandra Duerden, Counsel | Mourant
Speakers:
- Ros Hetherington, Senior Associate | Maurice Turnor Gardner
- Jonathan Arr, Partner | Macfarlanes
- Peter Gillis, Senior Associate | Stephenson Harwood
12:05pm – 12:45pm | Is your trust suitable for the modern era?
Our panellists will discuss the legal and fiduciary issues they frequently encounter when establishing trusts in the modern era, including the impact of the complexities of the modern family and advances in reproductive technology and how, in light of recent judicial developments, protectors can be used to promote the smooth operation of dynastic trust structures.
Moderator:
- Jeremy Wessels, Partner | Mourant
Speakers:
- Emily Osborne, Partner l Stephenson Harwood
- Robert Ham QC | Wilberforce Chambers
- Michael Heyworth, Director | Ocorian
12:45pm - 1:45pm - Lunch
1:45pm - 2:25pm | Case Round Up
At this session, the speakers will discuss recent cases concerning trusts, providing an overview of the decisions and the potential implications for the trusts industry.
Speakers:
- Richard Wilson QC | Serle Court
- Mark Savage, Tax Director | BDO
2:25pm – 3:05pm | Financial Sanctions and their Impact on Trust Structures
This session will consider the operation of financial sanctions regimes and explore some of the pressing issues faced by trustees when responding to the imposition of sanctions on persons or entities associated with the trust.
Moderator:
- Justin Harvey-Hills, Partner | Mourant
Speakers
• Abel Lyall, Partner | Mourant
• Tom Roscoe | Wilberforce Chambers
3:05pm – 3:30pm - Coffee Break
3:30pm – 4:10pm | Successful blessing applications – and how to avoid refusal:
This session considers blessing applications, their purpose and value for trustees and a possible recent trend in blessing application refusals. We analyse this trend and consider the level of scrutiny applied by courts in reaching their decision and how this co-exists with the principle of non-intervention. The panel will also outline steps trustees can take to improve their prospects of successful outcomes.
Moderator:
- Gordon Dawes, Partner | Mourant
Speakers:
- Roberta Harvey, Partner, Head of Contentious Trusts and Estates | Forsters
- Alison Parry, Head of Private Wealth | Intertrust
- Tiffany Scott QC l Wilberforce Chamber
4:10pm – 5:00pm | Keynote Speaker: Tim Shipman, the Chief Political Commentator of the Sunday Times
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Reporting from Westminster since 2001, he has covered six general elections, three referendums, three wars and countless leadership contests. He has also reported on four US elections.
Tim is one of the most decorated political journalists of the last few years, with fourteen nominations for major awards, including ten in the last seven years at the British Press Awards. Known as the newspaper industry’s Oscars he was named their "Political Reporter of the Year" and "Political Commentator of the Year" in 2018.
5:00pm - 5:10pm - Chair's closing remarks
Gilly Kennedy-Smith, Partner | Mourant
5:10pm - 6:30pm - Drinks & Canapés Reception
Thank you to our sponsors
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