Emma Holland TEP and Judith Swinhoe-Standen describe disclosure applications by both beneficiaries and trustees and how common-law courts balance transparency and privacy in their decision-making

In recent years, transparency has become an increasingly high priority for the public, especially in terms of holding those in power to account. This has been reflected in the trusts sphere: disclosure applications have become not only more common but also more wide-ranging in scope. Although disclosure requests are most commonly made by beneficiaries against trustees, they are also made by trustees against beneficiaries and by beneficiaries against each other.

Courts are tasked with weighing the applicant’s right to disclosure of the documents they are seeking against the necessity of disclosing them and the entitlement to privacy of the subjects or owners of the documents.

While courts have been mindful of the fundamental principle that beneficiaries are entitled to hold trustees to account by viewing trust documentation, this article considers how far this principle extends and the circumstances in which disclosure can be, and has been, refused in England and Wales, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and New Zealand.

Read the full article in Trusts Quarterly Review in the STEP Journal (subscription required).