Private wealth structures are not immune from insolvency. Here we examine the Jersey and Guernsey position from the trustee's perspective and consider the issues with which a trustee needs to be familiar.

Test for insolvency

Background

So what precisely is an asset protection trust and what is it, over and above a normal trust that an asset protection trust is seeking to achieve? This paper considers these issues from a Jersey law perspective and fundamentally asks the question to what extent a Jersey trust, once established, will protect assets from creditor claims.

Removal of requirement for sanction

Previously under section 165 IA 86, liquidators in a voluntary winding up would have to seek sanction of the company (in members’ voluntary liquidation) or of the court or liquidation committee (in creditors’ voluntary liquidation) in order to exercise their powers to pay debts, compromise claims etc. SBEEA removes this requirement so that liquidators can exercise those powers freely. This will aid expeditious winding up of companies. Equivalent provisions have also been put into place for trustees in bankruptcy.