Equity and Trusts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Equity and Trusts - Essay Example 500 or part of it. The equitibility of the words â€Å"†¦ I regard the money in the account as much yours as mine† by Brian shall be construed with reference to the conduct of parties. A trust is a binding agreement between a testator and the trustee for the benefit of the beneficiary. Accordingly, for there to exist a valid trust, three certainties must be present. The â€Å"certainty of words† which reveals the intention of the testator, certainty of â€Å"subject matter† (property bequeathed) which in this case is the money and the â€Å"certainty of objects† (the intended beneficiary) as upheld byâ€Å"Lord Langdale MR† as he was then in â€Å"Knight V Knight (1840).† Besides, Lindley L J in â€Å"Re Hamilton [1895]†stated that the intention of the testator in every wording or disposition should as a rule of prudent practice is construed on the merits of each case. Whereas the current case presents quite a problematic and conf licting loyalty in the application of equity and trust, it can be regarded as a constructive trust. According to Lord Denning in â€Å"Hussey v Palmer (1972)† this is a trust imposed upon by the Court whenever justice, conscience or good objective judgment demands it to be vested in the beneficiary. From conduct of parties, Brian had the intention to create a valid constructive trust. ... It’s also correct that Premafacie, the words themselves are not sufficient enough to create a valid trust but coupled with Brian’s conduct, there is a manifestation of that intention by his assurance to Amanda. For example, in the case of Paul v Constance (1977), money was placed into the account â€Å"sole name of Constance.† As it were assurances were made to Mr. Paul that the money in the account was jointly owned. Paul argued that based on that construction, it was sufficient that the wording created a joint ownership of the account. It was held that the conduct of the parties created an intention of joint ownership. Similarly in â€Å"Re Vandervell’s Trust (No 2) (1974)†, the money in the settlement was used in purchasing shares. This was done in exercise of a prevailing option for the intended beneficiary. The Court held that the conduct of these parties where upon they used the money to pay dividends into the intended settlement was sufficien t evidence of the intention to create a valid trust although no specific words were used. Therefore, in the current case, although it’s difficult to state the words in the phrase â€Å"†¦ I regard the money in the account as much yours as mine† as sufficient to create a valid trust, it’s also correct from the above case law that this wording coupled with the conduct of Brian created a valid constructive trust as sufficient certainty for that requisite intention . I advise Amanda to institute an equitable claim on the above basis because equity â€Å"looks at the intent rather than the form.† It’s the spirit behind the conduct of the parties which is important rather than the form of the statement. She will first seek an injunction to maintain the statusquo until the Court decides discretionary