Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Table of abbreviations
- Useful websites
- Table of statutes
- Table of statutory instruments
- Table of cases
- 1 Trusts introduced
- 2 The evolution of the private express trust
- 3 Taxation, wealth-holding and the private trust
- 4 Creating the Trust – I
- 5 Creating the Trust – II
- 6 Trusts and public policy
- 7 Flexibility in relation to beneficial entitlement
- 8 The taxation of private trusts
- 9 An introduction to trustees and trusteeship
- 10 Aspects of the management of trusts
- 11 Trusteeship, control and breach of trust
- 12 Imputed trusts and family breakdown
- 13 Trusts in commerce I: occupational pension schemes
- 14 Trusts in commerce II: commerce and equitable remedies
- 15 Trusts in commerce III: commerce, credit and the trust
- 16 Trusts in commerce IV: fiduciary relationships, commerce and the trust
- 17 Trust, contract and unincorporated associations
- 18 An introduction to the law of charity
- 19 A legal definition of ‘charity’
- 20 The regulation of charities
- Index
12 - Imputed trusts and family breakdown
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Table of abbreviations
- Useful websites
- Table of statutes
- Table of statutory instruments
- Table of cases
- 1 Trusts introduced
- 2 The evolution of the private express trust
- 3 Taxation, wealth-holding and the private trust
- 4 Creating the Trust – I
- 5 Creating the Trust – II
- 6 Trusts and public policy
- 7 Flexibility in relation to beneficial entitlement
- 8 The taxation of private trusts
- 9 An introduction to trustees and trusteeship
- 10 Aspects of the management of trusts
- 11 Trusteeship, control and breach of trust
- 12 Imputed trusts and family breakdown
- 13 Trusts in commerce I: occupational pension schemes
- 14 Trusts in commerce II: commerce and equitable remedies
- 15 Trusts in commerce III: commerce, credit and the trust
- 16 Trusts in commerce IV: fiduciary relationships, commerce and the trust
- 17 Trust, contract and unincorporated associations
- 18 An introduction to the law of charity
- 19 A legal definition of ‘charity’
- 20 The regulation of charities
- Index
Summary
Introduction
This chapter is concerned with the role played by imputed trusts in resolving disputes over the ownership of family property. By ‘family property’, we mean property acquired by spouses or unmarried cohabiting partners during the course of their relationship, usually (but not always) for their joint use. The disputes with which we are concerned often arise between unmarried partners rather than spouses because, for reasons we shall explore, questions of ownership by married couples are dealt with in other ways. Also, because of the costs involved, these disputes are litigated only when there is property of significant value at stake; and for many couples, the most significant asset will be the owner-occupied family home. Hence, most disputes are over the parties' respective entitlements, on the breakdown of a non-marital cohabiting relationship, to the money value (ie sale proceeds minus any outstanding mortgage) of the family home. There may also be cases where issues of ownership arise in disputes between family members and a third party (such as a mortgage lender): here, the question of ownership is just as important for spouses as for unmarried couples.
The origins of the imputed trust (in the shape of the ‘resulting use’) can be traced back to the latter half of the fifteenth century (see Baker An Introduction to English Legal History (4th edn, 2002) p 251). This chapter, therefore, provides a further illustration of the theme, pursued elsewhere in this book, of the adaptability of ancient trust-forms to new functions.
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- Chapter
- Information
- Trusts LawText and Materials, pp. 580 - 643Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005