Co-Ownership - Severance summary power point

Co-Ownership
Severance of Equitable Titles

, Legal
Concepts and rules on Legal and Equitable equita
Types of Co- Legal Title Equitable Title backgr
titles
Ownership
There are two types of
o Maximum of 4 Trustees (i.e. 4 legal
owners registered at the Land
o
o
Unlimited number can hold
Can be held by U18’s and those that
Whenever
a trust of l
co-ownership: Registry) lack mental capacity
• the joint automatica
o All must be ‘sui juris’ (+18 and of o Can be held as joint tenancy or imposed (T
tenancy and sound mind) tenancy in common
• the tenancy in and Appo
o Must hold as joint tenants. This o Equitable joint tenancy can be Trustees
common. means the 4 unities must be severed into tenancy in common involves th
Legal title
These relate to both present and the right of o Survivorship also applies to equitable thelegal
Held
legal and equitable title. survivorship applies. joint tenancy, but not to an equitable titles.trus
A common feature of o The joint tenancy cannot be tenancy in common  The
both type of co- severed into a tenancy in common
ownership is unity of own
Joint Tenancy
possession Land
Powe
Where there is a joint tenancy all co-owners are Joint tenancy: key factors man
 Single entity
deemed to constitute one single entity, and own the  No shares: composite
whole property as one collective entity. Legal Titl
ownership
Owners
 Level of contribution  Joint
As joint tenants are viewed as a single entity, they irrelevant
Trus
must hold the four unities: AG Securities v  Must have 4 unities
 Both
 Survivorship applies
Tenancy in
Vaughan [1990] AC 417. Equitable Title at th
Regi
 Held by the beneficiary
A tenancy in common requires only unity of
Common Tenancy in common: key
 (NB a person can belegaboth
possession, although the other unities may be present. factors
 Each person has own a beneficiary)
 Names kept private an
This is because tenants in common are not viewed as a share
 Individual but ‘undivided’ arrangements relating to
single entity, but as each having a ‘distinct but title do not appear on th
shares
undivided share’ in the land. Each has a clearly  Share can be
quantified share of the whole, say 25%, but cannot point Equitable Title – Joint Owne
proportionate to
 Joint owners are the Ben
to any particular part of the land and say ‘that is my contribution
 Must have unity of They hold the property o
25%’. If they could, that would mean that there was no themselves in equity
unity of possession! possession
 No survivorship: share
passes with Will