When a trustee or fiduciary breaches their duty, the beneficiary's first target is usually the wrongdoer themselves. But what happens when the trustee has vanished, has no money, or has dissipated the fund? Equity allows the beneficiary to look to someone else: a third party who dishonestly helped the breach happen — even if that person never received a penny of the trust property. For a solicitor advising a defrauded client, or defending an adviser accused of complicity, this claim is a powerful and frequently used tool.
This lesson builds the claim up piece by piece, then shows you where the real fight lies — dishonesty.
- The Claim and Its Elements — what dishonest assistance is, why it's personal not proprietary, and the four elements you must establish.
- Trust or Fiduciary Relationship and Assistance — which relationships qualify and what counts as 'assistance' in practice.
- The Test for Dishonesty — the two-stage test combining what the defendant actually knew with the standards of ordinary decent people.
- Applying the Dishonesty Standard — how wilful blindness and professional status sharpen the assessment.
- Liability, Remedies and Knowing Receipt — joint and several liability, equitable compensation, and how this claim differs from knowing receipt.