Equity and the Law of Trusts - Essay Example

? Equity and the law of trusts Equity and the law of trusts Scotland is a country with strong families and family morals. Government of Scotland does not get involved in family matters and they make sure that family stays a personal matter for the people. The government of Scotland tries to make sure that they help people by making sure that they are inculcating family values and trusts amongst each other and not making rules and regulations regarding what to do and how to behave with each other or raise their children.1 The laws which are designed for the family, in such laws the rules are regarding the responsibilities which are related to the couples, the parents along with the people who are a part of it and who participate in the children welfare. Family lives and also the rules and regulations related to family evolved in Scotland laws.2. Scotland Act 2006 is basically talking about the rules and regulations which are reflecting the family life and are a part of the lives of the people. There are majorly three areas which the reforms cover which include covering the rules and regulations regarding children safety and the safety of the rights of children and their interest. Promotion of stable families along with supporting a firm family system. The rules and regulations should reflect the family life of Scotland and should depict the real and true family life of Scotland. Cohabitant refers to couple who are living together as husband or wife or even as civil partners. As per the Scotland rule and regulations if someone is living with their parents for many years they still do not have right over their property like married people. Act 2006 abolished the rules made for the couple who lived together and thought of getting married. Scotland Act 2006 safeguards the rights of cohabitants particularly referring to cases where the relationship breaks down or if one partner dies. It clearly distinguishes between the rights of people who are married , are civil partners with those who were living together.3 There is a booklet which is based on the marriage which is produced by the Scottish executive along with civil partnerships based in Scotland which was produced by Scottish Executive which needs to be clearly read and understood by the people who are preparing to start a living in relationship or people who are trying to move in with their partners thus a proper formal commitment is essential to be established.4 1 Hugh James solicitors (2009).  2 LegalBeagles.info (2012) 3 Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006." 4 Scotland Act 2006." Scotland Act 2006. The rules and regulations in the Scotland Act 2006 covers the rules and rights of opposite sex partners living in together and it excludes the couples which are of same sex. The law of Scotland talks about the commodity distribution and sharing as well between the couples , when the couple was living together and when it separated. 5 If the couples are not able to come up with a mutual consent of the commodity distribution which includes the household goods the law will make an assumption that it is for both of them and it should be jointly shared. 6 There should also be an equal distribution which is made of the money from the allowances which are made by the couples of the expenses and property of the house. The house where the couple is living in is excluded from this. Here also financial provisions are kept in mind once the relationship ended which basically means that if one partner left his/her job so that she/he can take care of the house or even the children if any, here the partner can ask the court to keep in account the ability of the partner to earn money which he/she ignored for the benefit of the house and relationship after the relationship ended. 7 If the partners had any children while they were living together , the cost of the child care will be equally sharing the cost just like they were before the relationship ended. If one of the partner dies without a proper will, in that care there is a right which is applied by the court related to the estate property as oppose to no right on the property being there for the partner left behind in case one cohabiting partner died without a proper will. 8 Before the Scotland Act 2006 the partner left behind had to leave the house however after the Act 2006 the partner can claim something from the estate.9These laws clearly are not for couples with registered civil partnership and only are applicable for cohabiting couples. The main aim of the Scotland minister was to safeguard the adults and also the children in case their relationship ended, along with making sure that freedom were granted if they wanted it in case the relation ended. 10 There are some rules which are kept in account when a claim is registered for an award by partner of the couple which include checking the time duration of the couple who stayed together, the kind of relationship which they shared whether it was legally bided or not .Financial decisions made by them related to the bank account being joint and the financial support which was provided to each other.11 All these points are thoroughly checked before a decision is made related to the claim. There is a time set for claims to be registered after the relationship is ended which basically is a year if the relations are ended and 6 months in case one of the partners dies. 12 5 andersonbain (2012) 6 Cohabitation (2012) 7 Hunter and Robertson 8 Macleod and MacCallum 9 Cohabitees and the principle of fairness.  10 Cohabitee’s Rights « J&G Collie pg 556.  11 Cohabitee rights plan 12 SAS Daniels LLP." There are many couples which are living in England and Wales who are not married or are in a civil partnership co habiting, an approximate amount being almost 2.5 million. In England’s law just like Scotland Act 2006 there is a clear distinction between the married couple and couple who are not married but are living together. These couples need to be aware of this difference clearly. 13 Partner dying without a clear will provided related to the property here has different rules, in England the co habitee cannot claim a right from the property of the deceased partner however civil partners or married partners will receive a proper share from the property of the deceased partner. As per the Scotland Act 2006 partner can claim a right on the property of the deceased partner who died without a proper will incase the claim is filled within 6 months of the partner’s death. 14 As per the England law the surviving partner or the co habitee does not have any automatic claim on the deceased partner’s estate except for the assets which were jointly owned as they will pass automatically however individual owned property of the deceased gets transferred to the children if there is any or any other family member of the deceased partner. 15  England and Wales government make sure that the rules passed are clearly covering the modern living setup which is established by the law. Now the couples who are living together for at least five years however they are not married will still obtain the status and legal rights like a married couple would have. The couples who lived for around 2 years to 5 years would have a claim on half of the amount of the estate. Now also if there are children of the couple , then also the right of the property will automatically gets transferred to the partner of the deceased partner , not keeping in account the time span of the couple living together. 16 13 Rights Of Cohabitees(2009-2010) 14Cohabitee’sRights«J&GColliepg556.  15Cohabitation(2012) 16 LegalBeagles.info (2012)  Now as per the Provision for Family and Dependants Act which is of 1975 which talks about the reasonable financial provision the co habitee if is living together for more two years can also now claim a right on the property of inheritance under this act. Here the decision which is about this will depend on the case filled and the circumstance of the case however a proper legal professional is essential to take care of such case being filled.17 Such cases are expensive, extended along with being disturbing. Here if children are involved especially children under 18 , the court here will approve the settlement filled. As per the Inheritance Act the court will actually firstly go through some important details which includes what things are a part of the “co habitation” along with the period start and end time. A proper will is crucial to avoid such court issues as per the England law. 18 There are various cases in England and Wales which deals with the unmarried couples rights and claims which split up after living together.Court gives equal share of property owned to both the partners after they split. 19 In case one of the partner takes care of the mortgages of the house after the couple split and partner is also taking care of the expenses of the house, in such cases the other partner can just have 10% right on the property while 90% goes to the partner who is paying the mortgages in cases where the property is basically jointly held. 20 Now in cases where the unmarried couples will split the general law of England is that they will have equal right on the property under the legal laws and rules. 17OfficialBlogforDivorcepg1896 18Cohabiteesandtheprincipleoffairness 19 Cohabitee’s Rights « J&G Collie pg 556 20 Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006."   REFERENCES " Rights of co-habitees currently fall short of those of married couples." 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