Re Estate of EM McPherson [2024] VSC 744: Trust Variations Absent an Express Amendment Power

Executive Summary

The Victorian Supreme Court considered an application where a 1972 trust deed lacked an express variation clause with the vesting date approaching. The Court granted orders permitting specific variations (such as inserting streaming provisions and extending beneficiaries) to benefit the trust, but refused to grant a broad, general power of amendment to the deed.

Statutory Provisions & Authorities

Core Judicial Findings & Ratio Decidendi

• The Court approved specific amendments deemed to be for the benefit of the trust beneficiaries even where tax benefits were involved.
• The Court declined to insert a blanket, open-ended variation clause, recognizing that unlimited variation powers must be weighed against beneficiary rights and the original substratum of the trust.