Dear Everyone

I thought that you might be interested to know that the New Zealand Trusts Bill has now been reported back to Parliament, and awaits its second reading.  The Bill remains very similar to that introduced last year, and still largely adopts the recommendations of the New Zealand Law Commission.

Most notable  are 

• the continued attempt to state the key characteristics of a trust
  
• setting out mandatory and default duties
  
• the prohibition on deeds giving immunities to trustees for gross negligence ( although the Bill now has a Wendesbury type definition of gross negligence, and a list of factors to take account of
  
• the requirement that trustees provide information unless there are  reasons that would mean that information should not be provided
  

For English and Wales readers the Bill is our effort to do what your Law Commission has promised to look at in its Trusts and Global Britain project

kind regards 

Geoff