This Q&A assumes that: • the deed of appointment was validly executed • the trust instrument gives the trustees the power to make an appointment which is revocable If the trust instrument requires a deed to effect the exercise of a power of appointment, once such a deed of appointment is executed, it cannot be revoked unless it reserves a power of revocation, even if the instrument creating the power expressly authorises revocation. See Commentary: Need for express reservation of power: Halsbury's Laws of England [609]. Therefore, if the deed of appointment which conferred an absolute beneficial interest on a person

If the beneficiaries of a trust have died, the default clause or long-stop provision in the trust instrument usually dictates in whom the settled property should vest absolutely, eg see clause 4 in Precedent: Life interest trust—flexible, clause 6 of Precedent: Discretionary trust and the accompanying Drafting Notes. The precise terms and wording of the trust instrument in question should be checked carefully in this respect. See Practice Note: Creation of trusts—beneficiaries,

Section 4(1) of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984) provides that on the death of any person, tax shall be charged as if, immediately before his death, he had made a transfer of value, and the value transferred by it had been equal to the value of his estate immediately before his death. IHTA

It is assumed that: • the vulnerable person's trust created by the settlor meets the conditions for a disabled person's trust set out in sections 89, 89A and 89B of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984) • the appointment by the trustees of the discretionary trust would result in the appointed property ceasing to be relevant property The appointment by the trustees of the discretionary trust would result in the appointed property ceasing to be relevant property. The appointment will therefore,

We have assumed that the spouse of the settlor (or one of them) does not have an interest in possession in the settled property. Section 102 and Schedule 20 to the Finance Act 1986 (FA 1986) set out the basic rules for determining whether property given away by a donor is subject to a reservation. FA 1986, s 102(1) provides that the reservation of benefit provisions apply where an individual disposes of any property by way of gift on or after 18 March 1986 (and the other conditions are met). FA 1986, s 102(6)–(7) make specific provision

In order to qualify as a trust for bereaved minors (TBM) for the purposes of inheritance tax (IHT), the conditions of section 71A of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984) must be satisfied. For further details on the qualifying conditions of a TBM, see Practice Note: Taxation of trusts for bereaved minors—IHT. The Practice Note states that the provisions concerning entitlement to capital are not breached merely because the trustees of a TBM have powers of advancement under section 32 of the Trustee Act 1925, which may allow them to advance funds on new trusts which do not qualify as a TBM. The breach would occur when those powers are

Generally speaking, where the trustees of a trust (other than a bare trust or nominee arrangement) acquire a chargeable interest as trustees they are treated for stamp duty land tax (SDLT) purposes as purchasers of the entire interest acquired including the beneficial interest. See paragraph 4 of Schedule 16 to the Finance Act 2003 (FA 2003). There is an exception to this in relation to the 3% higher rate of SDLT on additional residential property for life interest trusts, which is referred to below, and different rules apply to bare trusts and nominee arrangements. See FA 2003, Sch 16 for the SDLT provisions relating to trustees. The rate of SDLT depends

For the purposes of this question, we have assumed that the mortgage is on standard terms, secured only on the property in question, and there is no other person who is liable for the mortgage debt, other than the deceased. Section 35 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (AEA 1925) provides that where the deceased, by his will, disposes of property, or an interest in property, which at the date of his death is charged with the payment of money, the property so charged shall be primarily liable for the payment of that debt unless the deceased has expressed a contrary intention in his will or other written document. A common example is that of a house subject to a mortgage. It is important to note, however, that

The rules in respect of private law proceedings relating to children are largely contained in Part 12 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955 (FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 12) and the accompanying FPR 2010, PD 12B—the Child Arrangements Programme (CAP). In relation to an application under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) the following must be made respondents to the proceedings: • every person whom the applicant believes to have parental responsibility for the child • where the child is the subject of a care order, every person whom the applicant believes to have had parental responsibility immediately prior to the making of the care order, and • in the case of an application to extend, vary or discharge an order, the parties to the proceedings leading to the order that it is sought to have extended, varied or discharged An application for an order

Delivery Under section 1(2) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, a deed must be: • in writing • clear on its face that it is intended to be a deed • executed and • delivered For more information on delivery of deeds, see Practice Note: Deeds—Formalities (4): delivery and Commentary: Delivery of Deed: Halsbury’s Laws of England [231]. Escrow Where delivery is conditional, the instrument is known as an escrow rather than a deed and, once executed, will not take effect as a deed until the conditions have been complied with (see Practice Note: Deeds—Formalities (4): delivery and Commentary: Escrow (conditional

Whether an amount in a contract is inclusive or exclusive of VAT generally turns on the terms of the particular contract. If there is nothing in the contract between the parties at all, it is usually considered that section 19(2) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 suggests a presumption that the amount is inclusive of VAT. However, the contract must be interpreted as a whole in the light of all of the circumstances of the parties’ relationship and the relevant facts surrounding the transaction as known to them (see para [24] of the Court of Appeal decision in CLP Holding Co Ltd v

What are the requirements in relation to serving demand? The starting point is to consider whether the requirements (if any) are set out in the charge document to serve demand on the borrowers before any enforcement action can be taken. Any demand should be served in accordance with these requirements. We cannot advise on this since this is document-specific and depends on the terms of the charge document (and, potentially, the loan documentation). The following Practice Note: How to serve a demand for payment may be useful in