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GDL Law Notes GDL Equity and Trusts Notes

Intro To Trusts Notes

Updated Intro To Trusts Notes

GDL Equity and Trusts Notes

GDL Equity and Trusts

Approximately 631 pages

A collection of the best GDL notes the director of Oxbridge Notes (an Oxford law graduate) could find after combing through many applications from mostly first class students and carefully evaluating each on accuracy, formatting, logical structure, spelling/grammar, conciseness and "wow-factor". In short these are what we believe to be the strongest set of GDL notes available in the UK this year. You'll notice that we include several different authors' worth of notes. The first is our 2017 author...

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  • - Split ownership in trust: legal + equitable.

    • legal ownership: trustees – responsibilities but no beneficial enjoyment of trust property.

    • equitable/beneficial ownership: beneficiaries – right to beneficial enjoyment.

    • 2 interests may be dealt with separately.

    - Use of trusts: extremely flexible – can be designed to meet a variety of circumstances.

    • examples: gift to minor; maintenance of incapable person; income to one person for life (e.g. widow) while ensuring capital goes to another (e.g. children); tying up gift so beneficiary cannot waste it; ensuring gift cannot be claimed by beneficiary’s creditors; postponing a gift; discretionary trust: trustees can split among class according to circumstances.

    • express private trusts: deliberately created by settlor – normally used for protection/preservation of wealth.

    • charities: form of public trust – normally exist to promote a purpose rather than specific people.

    • implied trusts: resulting + constructive trusts – imposed by law in certain circumstances; no intention necessary.

    - Classification of trusts

    • express trusts: usually deliberately set up by settlor (but: can be deduced from conduct).

      • private: for benefit of private individuals.

      • charitable: for public purposes, not private individuals.

    • implied trusts: implied by law, sometimes despite settlor’s intentions.

      • resulting: property ‘results’/returns to settlor (e.g. because not fully disposed of, or because retained beneficial interest).

      • constructive: imposed by law in some cases to remedy fault or facilitate transaction (e.g. contracts, esp. for sale/purchase of land).

      • statutory: implied by statue (e.g. intestacy: statutory trusts arise under Administration of Estates Act 1925, amended by Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996).

    • bare trust: beneficiary absolutely entitled to trust property Saunders v Vautier rights: can dissolve trust + have trust property transferred to them.

    - Saunders v Vautier [1841] rule: assimilates equitable + legal ownership.

    • right to dissolve trust: beneficiaries of bare trust given same rights as absolute legal owners – because they really ‘own’ the property.

      • based on principle in wills: sole legatee of vested interest could demand immediate payment even if testator had stipulated executor should accumulate interest first.

    • development: application to multiple beneficiaries + discretionary trusts in some circs.

      • multiple beneficiaries: Curtis v Luken [1842] – if sui juris + in agreement.

      • discretionary trust:

        • Re Smith [1928]: beneficiaries together absolutely beneficially entitled.

        • Gartside v IRC [1968] and Sainsbury v IRC [1970]: beneficial interest of discretionary beneficiaries in suspense until selected by trustees.

        • large no. of beneficiaries: may not work – difficult to reach agreement.

    • powers: S v V does not apply – objects of powers have no rights to property.

    - Private trusts: 3 main types relevant.

    • 1. fixed trusts: settlor determines in trust deed the beneficial interest of each beneficiary.

      • e.g. “to TI and T1 on trust for A for life remainder to B absolutely”

      • successive interests possible: life tenant – interest for life, only entitled to income; remainderman – benefit when life tenant dies, entitled to capital.

      • vested vs. contingent interests:

        • vested: unconditional

          • ‘vested in possession’: right to present enjoyment; or

          • ‘vested in interest’: present right to future enjoyment.

        • contingent: subject to condition which may or may not be met.

    • 2. discretionary trusts (or ‘trust powers’): trustees given discretion, usually over (a) whether to pay income out and (b) to whom; usually within a class. flexible: provision for beneficiaries according to future needs.

      • e.g. “to T1 and T2 on trust for such of my nephews and nieces as they in their absolute discretion shall select”.

      • exhaustive vs. non-exhaustive:

        • exhaustive: trustees obliged to pay out all income per year.

        • non-exhaustive: trustees have additional...

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