Courts consider offshore trusts

The English courts have highlighted their willingness to look at the assets of offshore trusts, with the recent award of £48m in the UK's largest-ever contested divorce settlement. In the Charman v Charman case, the Court of Appeal upheld a previous decision which gave Mrs Charman 36% of the parties' assets. One of the main issues was whether an offshore trust, worth around £68m, should be taken into account when deciding the financial sum Mrs Charman would be awarded. Mr Charman had argued the trust should not be included in the settlement because it was a 'dynastic trust' and formed an ...