Equity and trusts
Old could refer to the length of time the settlor has known the friends.
Old friends could mean former friends, ie, people who used to be friends of the settlor but are no longer.
Even if you can decide which meaning of ‘old’ was intended, there will be problems of scope: how old must you be to be aged? How many years must you know someone to be a long-standing friend?
“Friend” means something different to everyone. Some might claim to have three friends and some to have three hundred; perhaps one person is more popular than the other but much of the difference comes from the criteria they are applying for friendship.
