STEP Guernsey Lecture

Matt Guthrie and Diana Rodriguez will be speaking at the first Guernsey STEP Lecture of the 2026/27 series. 

The Guernsey court recently blessed the onshoring of three substantial Guernsey trusts with the express purpose of paying a significant amount of tax to HMRC, in a decision that has drawn attention in the offshore world and beyond. Matt and Diana were the advocates for the protector who applied for the court's blessing, they will discuss the case and consider:

• Practical points on how the fiduciary decision was reached and how the blessing application was presented
• The extension of the Public Trustee v Cooper jurisdiction to fiduciaries other than trustees
• The meaning of ‘benefit’, and how the court may approach decisions motivated by social or ethical considerations rather than financial return
• The proper purpose test, and how fiduciaries should approach relevant but unknowable considerations, such as the likely attitudes of unborn beneficiaries
• What the case may signal about changing attitudes to wealth