Rinehart Kids Set Conditions to Drop Lawsuit Vs Mum: Gina Must Step Down as Trustee
In spite of Australia and Asia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, changing the vest date of the trust to April 30, 2012 from 2068, her three estranged adult children are continuing their court battle against their mother.
Lawyers for John Hancock, Hope Welker and Bianca Rinehart said the only action on the part of their mother which would make them drop the lawsuit would be for her to step down as trustee of the bare trust set up to replace the Hope Margaret Hancock Trust and grant them access to the trust's records which they have been seeking for years.
Mr Hancock said that their mother stepping from the new bare trust is the simple solution to their legal battle. The bases of their request are allegations that Ms Rinehart was engaged in serious misconduct, gross dishonesty and deception.
Ms Rinehart surprised the court on Wednesday when she revealed her change in strategy by moving back the vest date by 56 years. While the move would grant her three estranged children access to their shares, they could not sell the shares to anyone outside the direct lineal descendants of Ms Rinehart.
That would mean only the youngest of the siblings, Ginia, could purchase their share, but she has taken the side of her mother in the family court feud.
Besides seeking the removal of Ms Rinehart from the trust, the three are also waging a separate legal battle over dividends based on their claim that a deed was signed between 2006 and 2007 which guaranteed them regular, non-discretionary cashflow from the dividends, supposed to begin January 2012.
With Ms Rinehart still in control of 75 per cent of Hancock Prospecting, she has the sole authority to determine if the company would pay dividends, which is what the three Rineharts are apparently also counting on to support their lifestyle of high-living with no apparent employment or other source of income.