Trusts & divorce claims

Trusts are widely used by wealthy families to protect their assets and, on a couple’s separation, there is often contention over these trusts and who should benefit from them. Our trust litigation lawyers work in close conjunction with our family lawyers to attack and defend trusts on behalf of clients who may be making or facing financial claims during their divorce.

We are one of the very few law firms with a dedicated practice in litigation relating to trusts.  We have one of the largest teams of trust litigators in Europe, including individual lawyers who are highly experienced. This means we are strongly positioned to advise on both trust law and family law issues.

We act for a broad range of domestic and international clients, on behalf of either the spouse or of the trustees, whether or not the trustees are party to the financial claim.

Recent Work

  • Representing the husband in the leading divorce case of Charman v Charman, which centred on significant trust-related issues.
  • Advising the Trustees in the most recently reported case of the Truro Trust and the PF Life Interest Trust as to whether or not they should submit to the jurisdiction of the English Court in divorce proceedings between a husband and wife.  The Royal Court endorsed the decision of the Trustees not to submit to the jurisdiction and approved their stance in relation to the provision of information.