Bermuda Law Blog

21 Sep 2016

Succession on Intestacy – who will get a piece of your pie?

While most people prefer to leave nothing in life to chance, there are many who don’t get around to making a Will, for one reason or another. Life is busy after all and planning for death is surely to tempt fate in the wrong direction. Those who are married often make the assumption that the surviving spouse will take everything, in all circumstances. Sadly, this is not the case.

12:51 / Wills, Trusts & Estates / Jane Collis

16 Sep 2016

Bermuda’s Supreme Court confirms that property owners have an indefeasible right to title deeds

It may seem obvious to practitioners that where there is no mortgage on a property, the legal owner is entitled to retain the title deeds to the property. However, it was recently argued in a dispute over whether a deposit could be forfeited by the vendor in a failed property transaction that the purchaser’s attorneys should be permitted to hold onto the title deeds until the vendor returned the full deposit.

19:42 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Property Law / Louise Charleson

19 Jul 2016

Bermuda Passes Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)

A Bill to protect the personal information of Bermuda residents - the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) - has been passed in the House of Assembly. Last year the Government of Bermuda, under the Ministry of Economic Development, introduced a Draft Model Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) that fortified privacy protection rights for all residents. The PIPA Draft Model was sent out for public consultation from July 10th to August 17th, 2015. It covered personal information in both the online and offline environments (ie. filing cabinets), including provisions for the protection of children’s personal information, the use of “sensitive” information such as details about one’s race, religion, sexual orientation, etc, and access to medical records. This very timely and important piece of legislation passed in the House on Friday July 15th.

15:15 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Bermuda Government / Agathe Holowatinc

11 Jul 2016

Bermuda LLCs on the Way

Legislation was recently put before Parliament to introduce Bermuda’s newest form of commercial vehicle: the limited liability company (“LLC”). The new law establishing the Bermuda LLC is heavily (and intentionally) influenced by the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act to accommodate the main efficiencies of a Delaware LLC.

15:54 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Commercial Law / Company & Commercial Law / Brian Holdipp

08 Jul 2016

Bermuda’s Brexit Blues?

Setting aside the effects on the UK economy, which are already being felt with political turmoil, the fall of the pound, billions being slashed from UK stocks worldwide and the potential break-up of the United Kingdom itself, one little examined effect is how its overseas dependent territories, of which Bermuda is one of the largest, would fare in the post-Brexit world, particularly in their relationship with the EU that the UK is leaving behind.