Stack v Dowden
2007 · [2007] UKHL 17, [2007] 2 AC 432
Posted By lanbuk.com
- Facts
- An unmarried couple bought a house in joint names. Ms Dowden paid much more of the price. They separated and disagreed about shares.
- Issue
- How are beneficial shares decided where a family home is held in joint names with no express declaration?
- Held
- The starting point is that beneficial ownership follows the legal title, so joint names means equal shares. The party who says otherwise must prove it, looking at the whole course of dealing. On the facts Ms Dowden was entitled to 65 per cent.
- Principle
- In a domestic joint-names case, equity follows the law unless a different common intention is shown.
- Why it matters
- It largely replaces the presumed approach in English family-home cases, and is persuasive here.
Words and Latin in this note
- Resulting trust
- A trust under which the beneficial interest goes back to the person who provided the property, because he is presumed not to have meant a gift, or because an express trust did not use up the whole interest. Open the note.
- Trust
- An arrangement in which a trustee holds property at law but must use it for beneficiaries, or for a charitable purpose. The beneficiaries have the equitable interest. Open the note.
For study only. By lanbuk.com. Always check current sources and consult a qualified professional.