The Londonderry Principle

Trusteeship can be onerous, particularly within the context of family trusts with their attendant risk of strife between beneficiaries and trustees. It was judicial recognition of this fact which gave rise to what is now known as the Londonderry principle from Re Londonderry’s Settlement [1965] Ch 918.

Here, it was held that even if documents ought properly to be described as trust documents, meaning that beneficiaries have a proprietary interest in them, they are protected from having to be disclosed to beneficiaries in order to preserve the confidentiality of trustees&rsquo...