X-Nico

2 unusual facts about discretionary trust


Discretionary trust

The popularity of discretionary trusts rose sharply after the decision of the House of Lords in McPhail v Doulton 1971 AC 424 where Lord Wilberforce restated the test for certainty of objects in connection with discretionary trusts.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the House of Lords rejected this argument.


Purpose trust

However, such conceptual objections seem less strong since the decision of the House of Lords in McPhail v Doulton 1971 AC 424 where Lord Wilberforce rode roughshod over objections to widening the class of valid discretionary trusts on the basis that there would be difficulty ascertaining beneficiaries for the court to enforce the trust in favour of.


see also