[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-276717-105":53,"doc-detail-276717-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":119,"head_meta":121,"extra_data":123,"updated_unix":125},105,"en","memoranda-of-wishes","Memoranda of Wishes","","Memoranda of Wishes are examined as a mechanism used by settlors of discretionary trusts to record and update intended distribution arrangements for trustees. The text analyzes the legal relevance of such letters when discerning the purposes of trust powers, including conflicts with the deed of trust and how trustees should handle multiple memoranda over time. It also addresses duties of trustees to ascertain and disclose memoranda, considers settlor oral wishes, and summarizes key case law and concluding 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Avery","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-09-15",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"What purpose do Memoranda of Wishes serve in discretionary trusts?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"They record a settlor’s intentions regarding how trustees should distribute income and capital, and may be updated as those intentions change over time.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"Are Memoranda of Wishes relevant when determining the purposes of a trust power?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"The document discusses authority suggesting letters of wishes are not relevant for discerning the purposes of a trust power, as treating them as relevant would be wrong in principle.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What duties do trustees have regarding Memoranda of Wishes?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"Trustees are expected to ascertain the settlor’s wishes and there is an obligation to disclose memoranda of wishes, while also managing situations where memoranda conflict with the deed.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},276717,1790357957,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":40,"category_name":41,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":20,"language":135,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":136,"faqs":137,"seo_title":138,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":139,"read_time":47},1099523882367,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Memoranda of Wishes  \nAnthony Grant  \nBarrister  \nContents  \nAlarm……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4  \nThe Current NZ Enthusiasm for Memoranda of Wishes …………………………………………………………………………………4  \nThe Reason Why a Settlor's Subjective Intentions for a Trust are Irrelevant  \nwhen Considering the Purposes of a Trust ………………………………………………………………………………………………………5  \nA Solution……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………6  \nExtending the time for providing Memoranda of Wishes………………………………………………………………6  \nRecommendation………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………6  \nWho Can Provide Memoranda of Wishes?………………………………………………………………………………………………………6  \nThe Importance of the Memoranda of Wishes ……………………………………………………………………………………………6  \nThe Need for a Comprehensive Set of Principles to be Stated in the Deed……………………………………………7  \nSome Recent Cases on Memoranda of Wishes…………………………………………………………………………………………………7  \nIn the Matter of the R Trust [2019] SC(Bda) 36 Civ(3 June 2019)………………………………………………………………8  \nThe Obligation on Trustees to Disclose Memoranda of Wishes…………………………………………………………………9  \nThe Supremacy of the Deed of Trus………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10  \nMemoranda that Conflict with a Deed of Trust………………………………………………………………………………………1  \nConstruing a Settlor's Intentions……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1  \nA Need to Take All Relevant Factors into Account………………………………………………………………………………………11  \nMultiple Memoranda:Which One Should Prevail?………………………………………………………………………………12  \nA Settlor's Oral Wishes Should Also be Considered……………………………………………………………………………………13  \nTrustees Have a Fiduciary Duty to Ascertain the Wishes of a Settlor………………………………………………………13  \nConcluding Observation………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………13  \n1 In the 20th century there was a significant move away from the use of fixed interest Trusts todiscretionary Trusts.With a fixed interest Trust the settlors have little or no discretion andthey simply implement the settlor's instructions as to which beneficiaries are to receivecapital,which are to receive interest,and in what sequence.  \n2 The inflexibility of fixed interest Trusts was a problem that would be resolved by creatingdiscretionary Trusts where trustees would have freedom to distribute income and capital asthey wished.  \n3 Trusts are not created in a vacuum and it is obviously important that trustees of discretionaryTrusts should try to learn the kind of distribution arrangements that the settlor intends for aTrust.  \n4 The way that this has commonly been done is by the settlor making a\"Memorandum ofWishes\"or Memorandum of Guidance when the Trust is formed in which his/her intentionsfor the Trust are recorded.And because a settlor's intentions for the Trust will usually changeover the course of time,the practice has arisen of settlors making a series of Memoranda ofWishes as their intentions for the Trust change.  \n5 I suspect that most lawyers would consider the process of making Memoranda of Wishes tobe sensible and helpful for trustees and that it should be upheld by the Courts.  \n6 So,too,did l until I read an article that was published in the journal Trusts &Trustees in 2019where it was said that letters of wishes are not relevant when trying to discern the purpose ofa Trust power.  \n7 The two authors of the article are accomplished Trust specialists-Toby Graham of Farrer &Co in London and David RussellQC.Toby practises in a leading London law firm and David isan Australian QC who practises in(among other countries)Australia,England and Dubai.Theyare the current co-editors of Trusts &Trustees.  \n8 They referred in their article to two cases in which the English Court of Appeal and the EnglishSupreme Court had identified the purpose of powers in(a)a Company and(b)a pensionscheme.¹In discerning the purpose of a power that is available to directors of a Company itwas held that a Court should consider the Company's Memorandum and Articles ofAssociation,using es","cbCaigUt8YhoQyS6","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigUt8YhoQyS6","pdf",6865600,"English","# Contents\n## Alarm\n## The Current NZ Enthusiasm for Memoranda of Wishes\n## The Reason Why a Settlor's Subjective Intentions for a Trust are Irrelevant when Considering the Purposes of a Trust\n## A Solution\n## Extending the time for providing Memoranda of Wishes\n## Recommendation\n## Who Can Provide Memoranda of Wishes?\n## The Importance of the Memoranda of Wishes\n## The Need for a Comprehensive Set of Principles to be Stated in the Deed\n## Some Recent Cases on Memoranda of Wishes\n## The Obligation on Trustees to Disclose Memoranda of Wishes\n## The Supremacy of the Deed of Trus\n## Memoranda that Conflict with a Deed of Trust\n## Construing a Settlor's Intentions\n## Multiple Memoranda: Which One Should Prevail?\n## A Settlor's Oral Wishes Should Also be Considered\n## Trustees Have a Fiduciary Duty to Ascertain the Wishes of a Settlor\n## Concluding Observation","[{\"question\":\"What purpose do Memoranda of Wishes serve in discretionary trusts?\",\"answer\":\"They record a settlor’s intentions regarding how trustees should distribute income and capital, and may be updated as those intentions change over time.\"},{\"question\":\"Are Memoranda of Wishes relevant when determining the purposes of a trust power?\",\"answer\":\"The document discusses authority suggesting letters of wishes are not relevant for discerning the purposes of a trust power, as treating them as relevant would be wrong in principle.\"},{\"question\":\"What duties do trustees have regarding Memoranda of Wishes?\",\"answer\":\"Trustees are expected to ascertain the settlor’s wishes and there is an obligation to disclose memoranda of wishes, while also managing situations where memoranda conflict with the deed.\"}]","Memoranda of Wishes | PDF",1789494972]