Take a puff, forfeit trust distributions

Duncan Bannatyne, a British multi-millionaire businessman and best selling author who is famous for his appearances on the BBC program Dragons’ Den, has recently terminated one of his daughter’s interest in a trust fund after he caught her smoking.

The daughter’s puffing cost her about £400 (USD $545) per month.

According to Anna Davis, No smoking in the dragon’s den, Evening Standard, Jan. 22, 2009:

“She had probably smoked for a couple of weeks when I caught her four years ago. I smelt it in her bedroom and opened her window and saw ash on the windowsill.

“I didn’t confront her about it, I just stopped her direct debit. She called me and said her money hadn’t come through, and I said, ‘I know, I stopped it because you broke the rules of the trust’.”

Mr Bannatyne cut his daughter’s money for two months until she stopped smoking.

He said: “* * * I would encourage other parents to do the same. She said to me, ‘You are controlling us’. But I said, ‘I am not stopping you from smoking, I will just not pay for your cigarettes. You make your choice’.” Mr Bannatyne, who was brought up in Clydebank in Scotland, smoked 30 cigarettes a day for 10 years before he gave up 30 years ago.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.