Clayton v Clayton: A Step Too Far?

Abstract

This article considers the New Zealand Court of Appeal decision in Clayton v Clayton, which concerned a relationship property dispute involving assets held in trusts. The authors provide a brief discussion of the relationship property claims that Mrs. Clayton made against Mr. Clayton’s various trusts. In particular, the authors focus on the Court of Appeal’s rulings that one of the trusts was not illusory but that Mr Clayton’s power to add and remove beneficiaries was property. The article concludes that this decision was incorrect with relation to relationship property law and trust law.