Wills & Trusts Law Reports | March 2016 #157This appeal concerned a dispute over the beneficial ownership of the property whose legal title was at all times held by the appellant alone. At trial, the judge made the following findings:
- (i) A former property had been purchased in the joint names of the respondent and appellant in 1987.
- (ii) In 1991 the legal estate in that property was transferred into the sole name of the appellant to allow her to claim benefits as though she was a single woman living alone. The outstanding mortgage on that property at the time was converted to an endowment secured by a policy...
Barnes v Phillips explores the circumstances in which the beneficial shares of unmarried co-owners should be varied, as Mark Simeon Jones explains ‘This evolution of the modern law has been marked by two significant milestones; first, the judgment of the House of Lords in Stack v Dowden, and second, the judgment of the Supreme Court …
Continue reading "Co-Ownership: Inference, imputation and child maintenance"
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Deborah Jeff considers potential changes to the law relating to cohabitants and provides a timely reminder of the limited remedies currently available ‘The Cohabitation Rights Bill aims to provide basic protection for cohabitants, whether same-sex or opposite-sex, which is similar to, but not as generous or extensive as, the rights available to married couples.’ Figures …
Continue reading "Cohabitants: A new age?"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | January/February 2016 #15688 Leyland Road, London (property) was purchased by the parties in January 1996 for approximately £135,000 using approximately £25,000 from their savings for the deposit and taking out a joint repayment mortgage for the balance with HSBC. It was registered in their names as joint tenants. Both contributed to the cost of installing double glazing, resurfacing the driveway and landscaping the garden. The appellant, who had acquired other buy-to-let properties in his sole name, told the respondent in early 2005 that he wanted to remortgage the property because of debt problems. The property...
Sukhninder Panesar discusses Barnes v Phillips [2015], which has lessons on the role of inference and imputation in shared ownership disputes ‘An inference is an important exercise in establishing whether the parties’ original beneficial ownership has changed, and imputation is integral to establishing the exact shares once a finding of change in intention is established.’ …
Continue reading "Co-Ownership: Share with care"
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Sarah Haren explores the lessons from Graham-York v York [2015] on the quantification of beneficial interests in the family home ‘The court’s task is to work out what shares would be fair having regard to the whole course of dealing between them in relation to the property.’The Court of Appeal’s decision in Graham-York v York …
Continue reading "Beneficial Interests: When equity is not equality"
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Divorce case Arif v Anwar and Rehan [2015] raises interesting points on beneficial ownership and also costs, as Penelope Reed QC and Nicholas Fairbank report ‘There are no winners when the overall assets are reduced so significantly by the legal costs that adequate provision for the parties is circumscribed.’ In Sofia Arif v Arif Anwar, …
Continue reading "Trusts And Divorce: Family divided"
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Sukhninder Panesar examines a case where one of the beneficiaries to a common intention constructive trust of land had been involved in an illegal purpose ‘O’Kelly provides an excellent example of when a constructive trust will be imposed in cases where the legal title is taken in the sole name of one of the cohabiting …
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | November 2014 #144Mr Quaintance (the defendant) appealed against the decision of HHJ Ellis granted on 24 May 2012. The original decision had been made in a contested application made by Miss Tandan (the claimant) under the Trusts of Land and Trustees Act 1996 for a determination of shares in a property (the property). The outcome of the decision was that the net proceeds of sale following the discharge of the mortgage currently being held by the mortgagee should all be paid to the claimant. Half of these had been paid to the claimant following the decision. The defendant appealed in respect of th...
Nathan Gopichandran investigates a custom with unforeseen consequences ‘Ultimately, Ullah v Ullah highlights the frailty of unwritten property rights and agreements.’ The recent High Court case of Ullah v Ullah [2013] highlighted the long standing custom within some parts of the Asian community of the family property and business being held by various family members …
Continue reading "Case Study: It’s a matter of trust"
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