When can informal agreements give rise to a constructive trust or estoppel? Sarah Bolt looks back at the decision in Culliford It does appear that the courts are taking a more liberal approach to the cases that come before them, particularly within modern cases where there are more and more people cohabiting and making informal …
Continue reading "Constructive trusts and estoppel: Is my word my bond?"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Winter 2020 #181The deceased purchased a property in Weston-super-Mare (the Weston property) in his sole name in 2002 with the aid of a mortgage loan. He met the defendant in early 2010 and by the end of the year the defendant had moved into the Weston property with the deceased and it became his main residence. The defendant undertook repair and decoration jobs around the property, including repairing the boiler and decorating the main bedroom, and undertook work for others in return for work on the property by them. The general outgoings for the property and for the lifestyle of the deceased and the d...
Naveed Ali outlines the development of the constructive trust principle to aid cohabitees ‘The court should establish the intentions of the parties with evidence; where intention cannot be inferred, the court may impute an intention which the parties may never have founded.’ The regulation of proprietary rights after a breakdown of marriage is extensive: the …
Continue reading "Constructive trusts: Keeping up with the Jones"
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Mark Pawlowski examines the continuing role of the resulting trust in the context of investment and family property ‘Where property was purchased as an investment (as opposed to a family home), the presumption of joint ownership does not apply.’ Although the resulting trust has played a lessening role as an appropriate mechanism for determining beneficial …
Continue reading "Trusts: Mixed messages"
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Joss Knight examines a claim for a common intention constructive trust where a cohabitee has passed away ‘The administrators found themselves defending proceedings on behalf of the estate and attempting to deny the existence of a conversation to which they were not, on anyone’s case, a party.’ Claims for a declaration that property is held …
Continue reading "Constructive trusts: Gone, but not forgotten"
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Graeme Fraser and Stephen Morrall consider the treatment of joint investments in properties and businesses by a cohabiting couple ‘The courts treat properties used as family homes and investment properties differently and are much more inclined to find a common interest constructive trust in relation to a family home.’ The volatile stock market, high property …
Continue reading "Cohabitants: An unequal partnership?"
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