The 2024 Practitioners’ Forum on Stress Testing Trust Structures

Networking & Registration
09:00

Chairperson's Welcome
09:30

Analysing Angles of Attack and the Importance of Stress Testing for Mitigating Risks
09:40

Internal Attacks 

• Family Issues 
• Diminished Capacity
• Disgruntled Beneficiaries 

External Attacks 

• Divorcing Spouses 
• Creditors 
• Tax Authorities 

Avoiding Attacks on 3 levels 

• During the establishment of a trust 
• During trust administration 
• When a claim is made against a trust 

Insights Into the Role of Trustees in Stress Testing Trust Structures
10:20

• A trustee’s duties and obligations 
• How stress testing can impact their decision making 
• The scrutiny trustees are subjected to from beneficiaries, creditors, divorcing spouses and their lawyers 
• What should a trustee do in the event of an attack 

Networking & Refreshment Break
11:00

Jurisdictional Issues: Examining the Influence of Varied Trust Legislation on the Stress Testing Process
11:20

• Different stresses across different jurisdictions
• Flee clauses
• Firewall provisions and their protective powers

New Families and Old Trusts: Preventing Your Trust from Becoming Archaic
12:00

• Addressing outdated language and rules within the trust 
• Updating the trust to include contemporary family issues 
• Succession planning 
• Second families and unknown love children 

Examining Variations in Trusts and How They Can Leave Trusts Vulnerable 
12:40

• Varying a trust without leaving it vulnerable 
• Situations in which you’d be looking to vary a trust 
• Trusts as a resource 
• The wishes of the settlors and beneficiaries – how relevant are they

Networking & Lunch Break
13:10

Fortifying Trusts Against Tax Authority Attacks
14:10

• Changes in tax law that could leave a trust vulnerable 
• Trust and corporate residence issues 
• Mitigating tax implications 
• Implementation of tax advice over time 
• Other commonly encountered tax issues  

Ensuring Resilience Against Fraud and Insolvency
14:50

• Stress testing against creditor claims 
• Financial irregularities 
• Trustee duties in periods of financial difficulty  
• Is insolvency becoming more applicable to trusts 
• Sham & illusory trusts

Networking & Refreshment Break
15:30

Understanding the Potential Benefits and Risks Associated with Private Trust Companies
15:50

• Can PTCs undermine the stress testing process
• What are the general pros & cons of PTCs
• Varying jurisdictional PTC rules and how they impact tress testing

Exploring How Diminished Capacity Can Impact a Trust
16:30

• What to do in the event of diminished capacity 
• Attacking previous decisions based on the capacity of the decision maker 
• Proper Purpose rule 

Chairperson's Closing Remarks
17:00