CG37500 - Absolute entitlement: Introduction

The basic principle is that a person is absolutely entitled as against the trustee if that person, subject to certain rights of the trustees to hold onto the asset or use it to meet tax liabilities and costs etc., has the exclusive right to direct how that asset shall be dealt with, see TCGA92/S60 (2). The purpose of this chapter is to examine certain types of cases where the precise rights of the beneficiary need to be established in order to determine whether that person has become absolutely entitled at a particular moment. CG34380 deals with other types of case where the question tends to be whether someone is already absolutely entitled, so that there is a bare trust.

In order to establish what the rights of a particular person are, it is frequently necessary to establish the relevant trust law. It is not merely a question of interpreting tax law. It should be appreciated that the law of the various constituent parts of the United Kingdom differs in significant respects.