Original news
Mikki v Duncan [2016] EWCA Civ 1312, [2017] All ER (D) 157 (Feb)
A prominent High Court case involving TV presenter Trinny Woodall and her late ex-husband’s creditors has provided a useful insight into the handling of debts following a divorce.
Ms Woodall married Johnny Elichaoff in 1999 and after a ten year marriage, the couple divorced in 2009.
During the divorce settlement it was agreed that Mr Elichaoff would pay Ms Woodall and their daughter £24,000 a year and repay a sum of £1.4 million to her.
However, just nine days before the divorce was finalised Mr Elichaoff was made bankrupt and the repayment was later declared void.
January 2017
Practice Group: Restructuring & Insolvency
Banking & Asset Finance
Modernised UK Insolvency Rules Arriving April 2017
By Jonathan Lawrence
The updated UK Insolvency Rules 2016 will come into force on 6 April 2017. The new rules have four aims:
o to reflect modern business practice and increase efficiency; o to restructure and modernise the 1986 Rules; o to implement policy changes; and o to consolidate the 1986 Rules and subsequent amendments.
Background
In the case of Horton v Henry, the Court of Appeal has recently upheld the High Court’s decision that a Trustee in Bankruptcy cannot compel a bankrupt to draw down his pension rights where the bankrupt has not elected to do so.
The facts
In May 2015, I wrote an article about the conflicting lower court decisions in Raithatha –v- Williamson and Horton –v- Henry, concerning undrawn pension entitlements and income payment orders. The Court of Appeal has now finally handed down its long expected Judgment.
31/10/2016 Pensions Update October 2016 http://bakerxchange.com/rv/ff002b980788f142ab3974e23146b6f2e393d02b 1/4 Pensions Update October 2016 In this issue Court of Appeal clarifies treatment of pensions on bankruptcy PPF publishes consultation on 2017/2018 levy DWP consults on valuing pensions for the advice requirement Regulator declares rule change void Next steps in leaving the European Union Committee publishes new evidence on regulation of pension schemes Regulator launches blog Government cancels plans t
Gowling WLG's finance litigation experts bring you the latest on the cases and issues affecting the lending industry.
Uncrystallised pension pot remains protected following bankruptcy
1. Introduction
The Insolvency Rules 2016 (“the 2016 Rules”) were published and laid before parliament on 25 October 2016. The rules will come in to force on 6 April 2017. The following note summarises the key features of the rules. For further detail the reader is referred to the following sources:
The Court of Appeal in England has confirmed that a Trustee in Bankruptcy (“TIB”) cannot force a bankrupt person to elect to take their uncrystallised pension benefits solely so that the TIB can recover the benefit as income for the member's creditors. The decision in Horton v Henry (2016) clarifies the legal position after previous conflicting judgements had been given by the Courts.
The recent Court of Appeal decision in Horton v Henry has highlighted the protection afforded to a bankrupt holding a private pension to the detriment of his bankruptcy creditors.
Facts