Disputes Over Trust Property Surge As Impact Of Stock Market Crash Continues

Legal disputes up another 150% in a year Professional and lay trustees alike being sued Legal disputes over assets, such as property and shares, held in trusts have continued to soar as fall-out from the stock market and property market slump continues says Wedlake Bell, the City law firm.

Disputes launched in the High Court in London over property held in trust, jumped 152% in the last year to 111 (year to Dec 31 2010) up from 44 in the previous year. In 2007, before the credit crunch took hold, there were just three such cases which reached the High Court in London.*

Trusts are widely used in the UK to hold assets for the benefit of third parties (beneficiaries - frequently family members).

The collapse in the value of many investments held in trusts, such as shares or residential property has led to a surge in the number of beneficiaries of these trusts suing their trustees for mismanagement.

As many cases are settled out of court the number of High Court cases...