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Justice Iain Morley finds late businessman had not completed the legal steps required to make his only son beneficiary of the Frigate Bay Trust

CHARLESTOWN, NEVIS — The High Court in Nevis has ruled that an approximately US$5.2 million trust fund established by the late businessman James Perry is to be held for the Union Church of Guatemala, rejecting a claim by Perry’s only son, Nathan Perry, that he was entitled to inherit the fund.

The decision was delivered on July 20, 2026, by Justice Iain Morley KC following a two-day trial on July 13 and 14.

The proceedings concerned the “Frigate Bay” Trust, administered by Trident Trust Company (Nevis) Limited under Nevis law.

Nathan Perry, 44, argued that his father, who died in November 2022 at age 78, intended him to become the successor beneficiary. He relied in part on his father’s will, conversations between them and correspondence sent to Trident in the months before James Perry’s death.

Nathan alternatively argued that Trident had been negligent by failing to complete the changes necessary to place him on the trust.

But the court rejected both arguments.

Justice Morley found that James Perry’s will, executed in Guatemala in 2012, did not contain the specific reference to the Frigate Bay Trust required under the trust documents for the fund to pass to Nathan.

The judge also found that no formal amendment deed making Nathan a beneficiary had been completed.

The judgment records that James Perry had earlier taken formal steps to designate the Guatemala church as the charitable beneficiary. On March 4, 2022, he signed an amendment deed naming the church.

Months later, in September 2022, James emailed Trident with the subject line indicating a desire “to include my son on all the trusts.”

Trident subsequently requested a signed letter confirming his intention to add Nathan to the Frigate Bay Trust, along with a notarized passport and proof of address for his son.

According to the judgment, follow-up correspondence was sent in October, including to Perry’s assistant, but the requested documentation was never completed before his death on November 21, 2022.

Justice Morley concluded that, although James had discussed Nathan inheriting the trusts and had taken some steps toward exploring the change, the evidence did not establish that he had finally decided to remove the church as beneficiary of the Frigate Bay Trust.

The judge said James’ lack of response to repeated requests from Trident was significant, particularly because he continued communicating with the trust company on other matters.

The court also rejected the allegation that Trident breached its duty.

Justice Morley found that Trident, through its representative Vernesia Walters, had made repeated attempts to obtain the documents needed to process any change and could not unilaterally amend the trust without James Perry’s authorization and signature.

The judgment noted that Nathan had already inherited or was expected to inherit substantial assets from his father, estimated in the proceedings at about US$8 million, including property, bank accounts and other trust assets in the United States, Guatemala and Turks and Caicos.

The court also considered the Perry family’s long association with the Union Church of Guatemala. The judgment states that the family helped establish the church, regularly worshipped there, and that a room at the church is dedicated to the Perry family.

Justice Morley ultimately declared that the approximately US$5.2 million Frigate Bay Trust is held by Trident for the Union Church of Guatemala.

Neither side was ordered to pay the other’s legal costs. The judge indicated that Trident’s costs were expected to be met from the trust fund, subject to court scrutiny to ensure they were not excessive and did not unnecessarily reduce the church’s benefit.

The judgment also addressed separate linked litigation involving another Trident-managed trust known as Navigator, valued at approximately US$1.9 million.

Nathan’s claim to that fund had previously been dismissed in March 2026. Justice Morley observed that the findings in the Frigate Bay proceedings also supported the conclusion that James Perry had not ultimately intended Nathan to inherit Navigator.

The ruling brings the Frigate Bay dispute to an end at the High Court level, with the court emphasizing that the case ultimately turned on the formal trust documents, the correspondence and the legal steps James Perry completed — and those he did not complete — before his death.

TIMES CARIBBEAN