Where property is purchased in the joint names of two or more co-owners, a statutory ‘trust of land’ arises. Where property is held on a trust of land, the legal estate and equitable estate are separate. The co-owner trustees must hold the legal estate as joint tenants. A legal joint tenancy cannot be severed and when one joint tenant dies his legal interest in the property automatically passes to the surviving joint tenant(s). However, co-owners can hold the beneficial interest in the property on trust for themselves (and any additional co-owners) as: • joint tenants, or • tenants in common Tenants in common are also each entitled to the whole property, however, each tenant has an interest in a notional

‘Sold as seen’ is not a term specifically defined in law, but usually denotes that the property is sold in the condition in which it is in at the time of the sale—ie no warranties or guarantees are given regarding its condition or defects. When applied in respect of chattels, it will usually mean that no guarantees are given regarding those chattels. When a bank repossesses a property, it will usually inform the occupier of the need to remove their personal

The rule in Saunders v Vautier The rule in Saunders v Vautier is that all beneficiaries of a trust who are of full age (now 18) and who have capacity are entitled to terminate the trust and require the trustees to distribute the assets according to the terms of the trust. There are two factors to note about the case: • it involved only one beneficiary but was extended to trusts with multiple beneficiaries • the rule applies even if there is a contrary provision in the Will/trust instrument.

This Q&A assumes that the mortgage is a legal mortgage; and that the mortgagee has taken no steps to enforce the possession order or to enforce a power of sale. The remedies available to a mortgagee (ie the lender) in the event of default by the mortgagor (ie the borrower) include the right to enforce possession against the mortgagor, and to sell the property. While usually exercised in conjunction, they remain distinct remedies. In theory, a mortgagee can sell a mortgaged property without first obtaining possession of it. However, most purchasers will insist on vacant possession, and so any mortgagee selling without first having obtained vacant possession would risk breaching the contract

Prior to the coming into force of the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002), land registration in England and Wales was primarily governed by the Land Registration Act 1925 (LRA 1925) . LRA 1925, s 123 introduced the idea of compulsory registration (in areas specifically designated as subject to compulsory registration) which originally applied to conveyances on sale of freehold land, the grant of a lease for a term of more than 40 years and the assignment on sale of leasehold land having not less than 40 years to run from the date of assignment. ‘Conveyance on sale’ was defined as: ‘an instrument made on sale by virtue whereof there is conferred or completed a title under which an application for registration as first proprietor of land may be made under this Act, and include a conveyance

There is no statutory definition of a non-matrimonial asset, but the distinction between such assets and those that form part of the marital acquest has been considered at length in case law. An interest acquired by a spouse during the course of a marriage in a parent’s home may be regarded as akin to inherited property and thus, for the purposes of classification in financial remedy proceedings, non-matrimonial in nature. An interest may be in effect a lifetime gift or an advance inheritance. A consideration will be whether the spouse does not have immediate

We have assumed that the occupier is a statutory tenant under the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976 (R(A)A 1976). Agricultural workers who live in a property which is owned by their employer (or by a landlord who has an arrangement with their employer) enjoy statutory protection. There are two types of statutory protection, depending on the date on which the worker’s occupation of the property began. For occupation which began before 15 January 1989, R(A)A 1976 applies. For occupation which began on or after 15 January 1989, the Housing Act 1988 applies. The purpose of R(A)A 1976 is to provide security of tenure for agricultural workers living in accommodation that was provided with their job, and also to restrict

Section 5 of the Trustee Delegation Act 1999 substituted new provisions in section 25 of the Trustee Act 1925 (TA 1925). TA 1925, s 25(1) provides that: 'Notwithstanding any rule of law or equity to the contrary, a trustee may, by power of attorney, delegate the execution or exercise of all or

The direction in a Will that a legacy is free of tax refers to inheritance tax. A gift in a Will does not create a capital gains tax liability for the recipient in any case. The inheritance tax on a legacy which is expressed to be free of tax would be payable out of the residuary estate. Given the low value of the property, it may be that the value of the whole estate (assuming a market value of £225,000 for the property at the date of death) falls below the available nil rate band and, if the conditions are satisfied, the available residence nil rate band. In that case,

Section 62 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 (TCGA 1992) provides that, for the purposes of that TCGA 1992, the assets of which a deceased person was competent to dispose are deemed to be acquired on his death by the personal representatives (or other person to whom they devolve) for consideration equal to their market value at the date of death, but are not deemed to be disposed of by the deceased on his death, whether or not they are subject to a testamentary disposition (TCGA 1992, s 62(1)). The effect of this provision is that any assets held by the deceased at the date of his death

In circumstances where the petitioner has a real fear of domestic violence or harassment and wishes to withhold their address in the petition they should complete a Form C8. Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, 29.1 provides that, unless the court directs otherwise, there is no requirement to reveal: • the parties' home address or other contact details • the address or other contact details of any child, and • the name of a person with whom the child is living, if that person is not the applicant Where a Form C8 has been completed and is accepted by the

A lease will be protected under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 where the premises which are let are occupied by the tenant for the purposes of its business unless the original parties agree otherwise before it is granted and go through certain formalities to record that agreement. Where a lease has the protection of the Act, then the circumstances in which it can be brought to an end are restricted. The mere fact of protection will not however affect the terms of the lease or the effect of an assignment of it. In this scenario, the original tenant was given permission to allow works to be carried out at the premises. It is assumed therefore that the lease