Osborne Family Trust

In the High Court of New Zealand, the case of Osborne Family Trust was heard and decided on 5 March 2021. The applicants, trustees of the Osborne Family Trust, sought to remove the notation "no survivorship" from a Record of Title constituted under the Land Transfer Act 1952. The applicants are not the registered proprietors entered on the relevant Record of Title due to the death of one trustee and the resignation of another. The purpose of the "no survivorship" notation is to alert persons dealing with the Land Registry to the fact that the registered proprietors are trustees.

The court needed to determine whether the notation should be removed. Key legal issues included the purpose of the notation, the effect of the 2017 Act on the notation, and the discretionary powers of the trustees under the Deed of Trust. The court considered whether the notation should remain given that Parliament had decided there was no further need for it, and that the trustees wished for it to be removed. The court also examined whether the final beneficiaries supported the removal and whether there was any prejudice to them.

Brewer J concluded that the application should be granted. The court was satisfied that the notation served no useful purpose and that there was no prejudice to any beneficiary. The Deed of Trust gave the trustees the full discretionary power to transfer or otherwise deal with any real property owned pursuant to the Trust. The final beneficiaries of the Osborne Family Trust had filed an affidavit supporting the removal of the notation. The court made an order sanctioning the removal of the endorsement "no survivorship" from the relevant Computer Freehold Register Identifier, dispensed with advertising and service, and awarded no costs.