Privy Council makes “far-reaching” ruling on insolvent offshore trusts

In a decision that lawyers say will have a “far-reaching and long-lasting” impact on the offshore trusts industry, the UK Privy Council has found that trustees have a proprietary interest in trust property in relation to their rights of indemnity, which survives when a successor takes over – and that successive trustees should be ranked pari passu in respect of that interest if there aren’t enough trust assets to go round.