In the matter of the R and RA Trusts (Guernsey C.A.) [470/2014] Dawn and Sarah Aughwane worked alongside Guernsey advocates advising beneficiaries who were the subject of an innovative application by trustees for disclosure of information against the beneficiaries in the context of an application to the Court by the trustees for the blessing of a trustee decision.

In Durham v Lambton & Others [2013] EWHC 3566 (Ch), Dawn acted for the Earl in proceedings before the English courts in which those claiming pursuant to Italian forced heirship rules fought to stay the proceedings on the basis of forum non conveniens in favour of the Italian Courts.

Dawn and Sarah Aughwane worked alongside Jersey advocates for the successful beneficiaries in The Matter of the A and B Trusts [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 proceeded to suspend the protector’s powers and removed him from office due to not only him having misunderstood his duties to the beneficiaries but also as a result of his failure to keep a watchful eye on the trustee’s management of the trusts.

Re C Trust Company Limited [2009] JRC 048 was a Jersey case on ring-fencing trust assets from the impact of divorce, in which the Court adopted a novel approach to protecting beneficiaries’ interests from relief proceedings in the family courts.

A Trustees Limited v W,X,Y and Z [2008] JRC 097 was a Jersey case on conflicts of interest and the approval of a distribution to beneficiaries, in which the Royal Court of Jersey confirmed the basis on which it will give or withhold such approval.

Charman v Charman (no 4) [2007] EWCA Civ 503 is an important England & Wales (and to some extent Bermuda) case on trusts as a resource in divorce, where the Court of Appeal found that awarding the former wife £48 million on divorce (36.5%) was not wrong in principle as a result of the special contribution doctrine.

Wood v Holden [2006] EWCA Civ 26, a case regarding the residence of a company for tax purposes.

In Sherrington v Sherrington [2005] EWCA Civ 326, Dawn acted for the deceased’s first family at first instance and on appeal in this English probate dispute case.

Lemos v Coutts (Cayman) Ltd [2003] CILR 381, a Cayman Islands case dealing with no contest clauses and entrenched heirship rights under Greek law coming into conflict with a Cayman island discretionary trust.

Hambro v Duke of Marlborough [1994] 3 WLR 341, a case on Settled Land Act powers.

Wahr-Hansen v Bridge Trust Company Ltd [1994-95] CILR 435; [1997] CILR 527 in the Cayman Islands, which brought together a jurisdiction challenge, charity law and questions on the validity of trusts.

Dawn’s non-litigation track record includes numerous situations where settlors from the Gulf, South Africa, Central and Latin America, Russia, CIS and Ukraine or their trustees have sought advice on structuring or restructuring trusts to endeavour to make them more robust in the face of geopolitical risk.

She also combines her experience as a former divorce lawyer as well as a trust and succession litigator to advise families and trustees on structuring wealth to mitigate the risk of damage through divorce, family breakdown or where a clawback claim might arise under entrenched inheritance rules pursuant to Civil or Quranic law.

Dawn advises trustees and other fiduciaries on reducing fiduciary risk and dealing with the consequences should an error occur in such a way as to minimise damage to all concerned. Being a member of a trustee body for an international UHNW family trust since 2014 has given her first-hand experience of the pressures, responsibilities, range and complexity of decisions which trustees need to make. This invaluable insight enables her better to advise on enhancing decision-making and processes to preserve the family’s aspirations, the integrity of the trustees’ decision-making and the protection of the structure.