H and W got married and H was given some land by his mother in his sole name. H and W took out a joint loan with joint liability for the building of a home. H and W’s earnings went into a joint account and paid off the mortgage jointly. Privy Council held that the presumption of sole ownership was rebutted by the parties’ course of conduct relating to the property. When a parent gives a present for the purposes of building a matrimonial home it is for the benefit of both parties and the fact that the parties did all their financial dealing together implies an agreement to share ownership. Thus each party would be given a 50% share. This was reasoned on the basis of Stack v Dowden, the speech of Lord Bridge in Rosset now being overturned in law.
