“The Law of Property Act 1925 s 53(1)(b) provides that ‘a declaration of trust respecting any land … must be manifested and proved by some writing signed by some person who is able to declare [the same]’. Like its predecessor (Statute of Frauds 1677 s 7), this provision does not prevent orally declared trusts of land from coming into existence, at least when an individual with the power to create one manifests an intention to do so. Rather, by restricting what evidence is capable of demonstrating their existence, the legislation tends to render unenforceable those trusts which have not been established in the required way. As one leading textbook puts it, ‘[s 53(1)(b)] does not regulate the creation of rights, … only the means by which such creation can be proved’ …”
€ (Westlaw)
Julius AW Grower, ‘Explaining informal trusts of land’ (2021) Conveyancer and Property Lawyer (4) 326-351.
First posted 2021-12-06 14:00:06
Leave a Reply