Frequently Asked Questions

The Trust can permit any Beneficiary to occupy, use and enjoy any part of the Land. The majority of the Landowners of a particular parcel of Land can surrender part [or all] of that Land to the Landowners [to enable those Landowners to grant an occupation right or lease], provided that the land is vacant, and not already committed to a project of the Trust.

To best enable the Trust to succeed, they have delegation powers to any officers or employees.

An important Specific Power of the Trustees is to be able to establish a Business Management Company, pursuant to the Companies Act 2017 which shall be wholly owned by the Trust.

The Businerss Management company can manage the property contained in the Leases under the Trust deed, and any other property or assets included in the Trust Fund.

The company is an agent of the Trust, and must act in accordance with the Deed. Any Trustee may act as director, officer or employee of the company or subsidiary.

 

The responsibilties are to work constructively and incusively with all Trustees to maximise the success of the Declaraton.

To work transparently, sharing all activities with family Lines.

To promote the purpose, benefit, and activities of the Trust to all third parties.

To establish and govern a small operating company that can manage the day-to-day activities of the Trust (including legal, financial operational, and reputational issues).

Trustees have a fixed period of service, and service expectations outlined in the Trust deed.

Ensure that your family Line is properly represented in the Dectaration of Trust (schedule 2).

Complete your succession documents – we will help you – for your land.

Nominate and promote a Trustee from your Family line.

Agree with your family Line what, if any, of your Atiu land could be leased to the George Family Declaration of Trust.

Identify opportunities to which your land could be used for Trustee consideration e.g., you personally, collectively, or via third party business activities.

Participate and contribute (financially/physical) to any of the Projects that are initiated on Atiu.

Be an avid follower of progress – in a constructive, inclusive, manner to support our mutual success.

A George Family Declaration website is established.  It will have public pages and then Family-only pages. The website will be a critical source of shared information on issues (such as succession), Projects, and Trust activities, meetings, attendance, minutes, and viewing.

The existence of the Trust enables the power of collective ownership to be enhanced, rather than act as a barrier to positive outcomes.

The Trust will enable beneficiaries to collectively ensure George Family land is cared for and creates intergenerational benefit consistent with the purpose of the Trust for decades to come: Economic, envirommental, social, and cultural enhancements.

Collaboration in effort can be coordinated through the Trust, including identifying access to resources (i.e., leased George land), and aggregation of resources (financial and physical) using George Family capability and conncetions.

Land owners can choose to lease their holdings to the Trust, gaining lease income and also profit share in any business undertakings on that land.

George family members for decades to come can benefit from:

• Lease Income (to land owners)
• Personal business establishment (all beneficiaries)
• Rental and profit share income from third parties subleasing the land (land owners and succession)
• Trust financial distributions from surplus capital earned (to all beneficiaries).

The George Family can achieve this with ther comfort and kbwledge that their Trust is setting the parameters of land use consistent with the Family’s desired economic, environmental, social, and cultural needs.

The beneficiaries of the Trust are those who come from the family Line (the children) of Te Ariki Akamuri Itoro O Tere Ā (again, as set out in the Second Schedule of the Declaration).

• Being all known descendant of each of the family ‘Line’ as at the date of this Deed; and
• Any child or lineal descendant of any of those persons so named; and
• Including children by adoption as well as natural born children.

Trust Funds will be accumulated and shared with George Lines as based on the Declaration.

Funds would include all money, investments, property and assets from time to time owned or held by the Trust including, but not limited to, the Leases.

George Family land collectively owned on Atiu is at different stages of:

• Legal allocation: some land has specific register of title, some is under succession order by multiple family members, and many family members who have the right to succession are unaware, unmotivated, or as yet unable to follow the succession process.

 

• Care: The variety of legal status, the collectively-succeeded status, the island geographical remoteness, and some family disconnection to the succession process means that minimal (if any) economic, cultural, environmental, and social activitiy is taking place on Atiu by or on behalf of the George family Lines. George Family members are very rarely visiting or living on Atiu.

The George Family Declaration is established as a means of ensuring that our Lands are managed in a manner that raises the economic, cultural, social, and environmental outcomes for George lines and the people of Atiu for decades to come.  The benefits of this activity will accrue to the all George family members.

The Trust does not stand in the way of ongoing George family member succession or ‘register of title’.

It instead provides a viable option for the management of Lands under a lease structure, with George Family oversight as a Trust. Succession and local habitation is encouraged.

George family Landowners can lease their land to the Trust.

Landowners include the native freehold owners from time to time of any Land, as evidenced by the register of title for that Land, or by any succession order made by the High Court of the Cook Islands in respect of that Land.

It is an option to lease land to the Trust – not an obligation.

The Trust would manage any land (the Land) leased to it on Atiu by George Family landowners.

The Trust becomes the lessee. This will include any future land that may be leased to the Trust,

or otherwise acquired by the Trust.

The role of a Trustees is to manage activities on George Family land leased to the Trust in a prudent commercial basis, so that the Trust becomes a successful, financially autonomous, George family asset.

This means they would need to do all acts, matters and things that the Trustees consider necessary or conducive to further or attain the objects of the Trust set out above.