Sarah Aughwane

Sarah and Paul Hewitt advised the nominated representative of the former employees of Zaha Hadid Limited in Schumacher v Clarke and others [2020] in which the executors and trustees of Dame Zaha Hadid's estate sought the Court's blessing of a decision to pass significant assets to an Employee Benefit Trust. The Court accepted submissions made on behalf of the former employees and other representative parties that the decision should not be blessed. Click here to read the judgment.

Reported at [2020] 2 WLR 61, Sarah and Paul Hewitt represented Mrs Cowan in her claim for reasonable financial provision from the estate of her late husband. In July 2019, the Court of Appeal unanimously gave her permission to bring her claim out of time. Here is a link to the Court of Appeal judgment and to our article. The defendants subsequently conceded her claim and settled with Mrs Cowan.

Sarah and Dawn Goodman for the successful beneficiaries in The Matter of the A Trust [2012] JRC 169A, where the Royal Court of Jersey made new law on the scope of the duties of trust protectors and the grounds on which they may be removed from office. The Royal Court found that, as with trustees, the correct test for removal of a protector arises from Letterstedt v Broers. Due not only to the protector's misunderstanding his duties to his beneficiaries but also his failure to keep a watchful eye on the trustee's management of the trusts, the Royal Court suspended his powers and removed him from office.

Sarah also acted with Dawn Goodman in The matter of the R and RA Trusts (Gsy C.A.) [470/2014] which concerned an unusual application for disclosure by trustees against beneficiaries of the trusts.

Sarah and Dawn Goodman advised the successful beneficiaries in Henchley v Thompson [2017] EWHC 225 ch in their claim against the trustee of a family trust for an account dating back over 40 years from.

Stephen Richards and Sarah advised in Twin Benefits v Barker [2017] EWHC and subsequently Barker v Confiance & Others [2018]] EWHC 2965, which arose from a failed Baxendale-Walker scheme.