Family Trusts - Time for Reconsideration

Abstract

The protective legislation which frequently resulted in assets held within a family trust being removed from the ambit of a matrimonial property claim needed legislative amendment and judicial reconsideration in order to prevent potential inequity of division. This article explores the problems and anomalies in the family trusts regime in the 1990s: the Matrimonial Property Act 1976, the Trustee Act 1956, and s 182 of the Family Proceedings Act 1980. The author concludes that the question of whether there is truly equity after separation might not be able to be avoided in an increasingly sophisticated financial society.