Claire Stewart contemplates recent case law on disputed ownership in the light of Jones v Kernott ‘Traditionally, a constructive trust will arise in equity where it would be unconscionable to allow a legal owner of a property to retain the beneficial ownership of it.’ This article will consider the recent judgment of the Court of …
Continue reading "Trusts: Silence is golden"
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Ben Gildea considers the current position in respect of how a person’s entitlement to the equitable interest in a property may be ascertained following a leading Supreme Court decision. ‘From now on, a party may argue that the terms on which their equitable interests are held have changed over time.’ In Britain, there are more …
Continue reading "Co-Ownership: Breaking up is hard to do"
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Caroline Watson and Matthew Feldman discuss the impact of Jones v Kernott in cases where there is an express declaration of beneficial interests ‘The question now being asked by practitioners up and down the country is whether the judiciary will again be prepared to step in to clarify the law in cases where there is …
Continue reading "Trusts: Clear intentions"
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Amin v Amin is an interesting application of the test in Stack v Dowden, as Sofie Hoffman discusses ‘This article considers only a discrete part of the judgment relating to the determination of the beneficial interests in Kingswood Manor, particularly given the complex family relations, both business and domestic, which were governed by a mixture …
Continue reading "Constructive Trusts: House rules"
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Ellie Foster summarises the Supreme Court decision in Jones v Kernott and considers its impact ‘There is a real practical difficulty when it comes to analysing the respective contributions made to a property over a long period of cohabitation.’ The Supreme Court has been tasked with an unusually high amount of family work in recent …
Continue reading "Cohabitants: Clear intentions"
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James Carroll and Hannah Minty set out best practice when drafting cohabitation agreements ‘In the absence of fraud, mistake or duress, an express declaration of trust is conclusive evidence of beneficial ownership unless such interests are subsequently varied.’Family practitioners throughout the country breathed a collective sigh of relief on behalf of Patricia Jones when the …
Continue reading "Cohabitation Agreements: Be prepared"
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Luke Barnes highlights the cohabitant cases that fall outside of the judgment in Jones v Kernott and the applicable case law ‘The claimant in sole name cases continues to face a stern test to establish a beneficial interest by virtue of an inferred common intention. In particular, it continues to be unclear what conduct may …
Continue reading "Trusts: Different rules"
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Graeme Fraser and Adam Colenso explain the nature and timing of advice that residential property lawyers should provide to cohabitant buyers in light of Jones v Kernott and the SRA Code of Conduct 2011. ‘Jones v Kernott [2011] illustrates the serious problems that can arise when cohabitant purchasers do not enter into an adequate declaration …
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Web OnlyProperty, beneficial ownership
Case No: 1LS72368
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...
