Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2018 #171W and M were married in 1969 and divorced in 1974. During their marriage, they bought a leasehold property with the proceeds of their former matrimonial home and a mortgage loan for the balance. The benefit of the long lease of the property was conveyed to them as joint tenants. M moved out of the property in 1973 and began divorce proceedings. No steps were taken in the divorce to deal with the ownership of the house, which remained vested in them as joint tenants. After M left the property, W had treated it as his own, insuring, maintaining and improving it and, soon after the divorce,...
Don McCue examines the lessons from Curran v Collins [2015] ‘Two issues currently need to be resolved as a matter of some urgency… First, in no-agreement cases, whether the Rosset threshold requirement should be relaxed. Second, the question of inference or imputation needs clarification.’ Claims on constructive trust principles to a share of the beneficial …
Continue reading "Constructive Trust Claims: Excuses, detriment and imputation"
This post is only available to members.
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...
Clare Williams analyses claims under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 and the court’s potential creativity in such cases ‘It is not always easy to find simplicity in a TOLATA 1996 case, particularly where there are interlinked assets and personal relationships involved.’Most family lawyers specialising in financial dispute resolution work mainly …
Continue reading "TOLATA 1996: Unfamiliar territory"
This post is only available to members.
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"
This post is only available to members.
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"
This post is only available to members.
Ruth Hughes considers the requirements of actual occupation and the level of involvement in a mortgage grant that will prevent a co-owner from claiming priority over the mortgagee A vivid example of the principle that a person prevented from being at a property against his will can nevertheless be in actual occupation of it is …
Continue reading "Co-Owners In Actual Occupation: High priority"
This post is only available to members.
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | January/February 2012 #116Patricia Jones and Leonard Kernott bought a property together (Badger Hall Avenue) in May 1985 and lived there until their relationship ended in October 1993. The legal title to Badger Hall Avenue was held by them jointly. Ms Jones had contributed £6,000 of the £30,000 purchase price with the balance funded by an interest-only mortgage. An extension had been built and funded by Mr Kernott and had increased the value of Badger Hall Avenue to £44,000. Ms Jones and Mr Kernott had a daughter (born 1984) and a son (born 1986) together.
It was common ground that, until October 1993, the...
Mark Pawlowski provides an update on Jones v Kernott and its consequences for constructive trusts and the home ‘In Kernott v Jones, it was not in dispute that the parties had held the beneficial interest in the house in equal shares: the question for determination was whether, and if so to what extent, their respective …
Continue reading "Co-Ownership: A new approach to beneficial entitlement?"
This post is only available to members.
