A look back at the most read stories on eprivateclient this week…
Monday
HMRC confirmed that the planned change to simplify the authorisation of agents by trustees has not gone ahead due to security concerns. The Trust Registration Service (TRS) process will remain unchanged, HMRC said, having previously updated its guidance on the TRS to confirm that from 29 June trustees would no longer need to claim a trust prior to authorising an agent.
Law firm Mishcon de Reya achieved B Corporation certification as certified by B Lab, the non-profit organisation behind the B Corps movement. B Corps are defined as "businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.”
Tuesday
Accountancy firm Saffery Champness appointed private client and trust specialist Fiona Graham as a consultant in its tax team. Prior to joining Saffery Champness, Ms Graham worked in legal practice for 18 years at the private client law firm Boodle Hatfield, where she was a partner in the firm's private client and tax team.
Following an investigation by the UK’s National Crime Agency, London based property developer Richard Leahy agreed to hand over assets worth almost £2 million to settle a civil recovery claim based on alleged involvement in cannabis cultivation, money laundering and fraud. The order relates to three London properties and £1,125,340 in cash in a bank account.
Wednesday
Multi-family office Stonehage Fleming acquired the private client services business of Maitland, a privately owned global advisory, administration and family office firm. Maitland will transfer into Stonehage Fleming, bringing legal, fiduciary, corporate and investment management services in nine locations worldwide. The transaction will add £1 billion of AUM and £15 billion of AUA, taking Stonehage Fleming’s AUM to over £16 billion and AUA to over £60 billion.
The UK’s Ministry of Justice announced plans to reform the lasting power of attorney (LPA) process to make it simpler and easier to use whilst shifting to a predominantly digital service. A 12-week consultation launched on 20 June will examine the entire process of creating and registering an LPA – with a view to boosting the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) powers to prevent fraud and abuse while introducing a mainly digital service.
Thursday
Saffery Champness made another hire with appointment of Chris Luckett as a tax partner, based in Harrogate. Mr Luckett has over 20 years’ industry experience and joins the firm from KPMG in Leeds where he was a director. Before this, he spent five years at fellow Big Four firm Deloitte. Mr Luckett was also named as an eprivateclient Top 35 Under 35 in 2013.
Litigation funding is increasingly being used to finance the costs of high net worth divorces, a private wealth law firm claimed. Boodle Hatfield said the funding is used by the lower-income partner to cover the costs of securing a high-value divorce settlement, as well as living expenses and is particularly useful in cases where the higher-income partner tries to drag out the divorce process, with the aim of causing the lower-income partner to run out of money for legal costs and accept a lower settlement.
Friday
Recruitment professional Richard Park joined the MDR Mayfair team as CEO of the new MDR Mayfair Executive Search division. MDR Mayfair Executive Search will be a new division of MDR Mayfair providing recruitment assistance in hiring key personnel for single family offices and UHNW individuals with a focus on C-suite executives. Launched by law firm Mishcon de Reya in 2014, MDR Mayfair has offices in London, Dubai and Singapore with staff made up of legal, trust and family office professionals.
HMRC published new proposals to clamp down on tax avoidance promoters. The measures are targeted at the most persistent and determined promoters and enablers of tax avoidance. The proposed legislative changes are designed to clamp down on the supply of tax avoidance arrangements.