John Mee

Resulting Trusts and Voluntary Conveyances of Land: 1674-1925

This article considers whether a resulting trust could arise upon a voluntary conveyance of land prior to 1926, a question which was the subject of much controversy amongst leading judges and writers in past centuries. Based on an analysis of the case law, which starts in the seventeenth century, the article argues that the better view is that no resulting trust could arise in the relevant situation prior to 1926. Arguments are advanced to explain why this interpretation is consistent with principle, emphasising the complexity inherent in the proposition that a resulting trust doctrine existed alongside the presumption of resulting use in the context of voluntary conveyances of land.

Presumed Resulting Trusts, Intention and Declaration

Rejecting the competing positions of Swadling and Chambers, this article argues that the law of presumed resulting trusts reflects a very old rule that, upon a voluntary transfer, the fate of the beneficial interest in the property depends on the intention of the transferor. The case law shows that the presumption is of an intention to create a trust for the transferor or provider of the purchase money. It makes no difference if, reflecting the historically important concept of “retention”, this is phrased in negative terms as a presumption that the intention of the transferor was not to pass the beneficial interest to the transferee.