Elements Of Constructive Trust

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Trust has many connotations. One of such falls under the legal context developed by the Court of Equity. Trust in regards to Law deals with the legal and beneficial element of a property. What happens if a property becomes a subject of unfairness? It then becomes the “responsibility” of Constructive Trust to set it right. Whenever a defendant deals with a property in an “unconscionable manner”, Constructive trust comes into play. “Unconscionable” may include the stealing of a property via fraud and so on. According to Section 53 (2) of the Law Property Act 1925 , Constructive Trust comes into action when there is unconscionability. Common intention is one of the important elements in Constructive Trust. In Gissing v Gissing , the wife who…show more content…
In Oxley, H’s contribution was more than O. Therefore, H was awarded forty percent of the share. This approach was followed in Cox v Jones. In analysing cases in regards to family home, Constructive Trust does not seem to be fair to many. It appears to be rather rigid. However, it can be concluded that this rigidity will indirectly influence individuals in a relationship to have a better understanding when it comes to their property. An example of unauthorised profit will be…show more content…
Therefore, it was seen as a relationship between creditor and debtor instead of a trustee and beneficiary. It should be noted that according to Attorney-General v Blake, Lister & CO V Stubbs is still binding. Why was it disapproved in Attorney General for Hong Kong v Reid? In my opinion, I feel that the fiducial element was more visible in Attorney General for Hong Kong v Reid. Looking at it in the point of law, though in both cases the plaintiffs tried to relate the bribery with constructive trust, the mere presence of a receipt in Lister denied the chance of establishing Constructive Trust. However in Reid the receipt caused Constructive Trust to arise almost immediately. Thomas Allen in his article entitled “The Modern Law Review” feels that “Constructive Trust may be available as a remedy within the discretion of the court.
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