ONLINE TRUSTS TUTORIAL

Tutorial 1: Intention to create a trust

This tutorial will display clauses from actual wills for you to consider. Some of these wills are those of the rich and famous. Others come from ordinary people of their time.

The aim of this tutorial is to consider clauses from the various wills given to you, and decide whether the testator intended to create a trust.

Remember that the settlor (or testator) must intend to validly create a trust.

Intention to create a trust can sometimes be hard to detect. This is particularly so with wills. It may not be clear what the testator intended.

The clauses you will be given may be able to be interpreted in other ways. If the testator did not intend to create a trust, what type of gift was intended?

Some of these wills resulted in litigation. If so, this tutorial directs you to the relevant court decisions construing the clauses in those wills.

Other wills were never disputed, or come from other countries.

In those cases, this tutorial asks you to suggest the interpretation that probably would be given to the clauses by an Australian Court, based on the cases you have been referred to in class.

If you are unfamiliar with wills, you can go to Anatomy of a Will for an explanation before you get started.

Please send any comments regarding this tutorial to Vicki Vann.
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