Law of Equity and Trusts - Essay Example

The first determination of the presence of a trust is with regards to a written declaration of it. There is no written declaration for the purposes of s. 53(1)(b) of the Law of Property Act (LPA) 1925 with regards to the home. The only written declaration of the trust is Uncle David’s Will. Thus, if Lorraine has to establish an interest, it must be under the rules ofPettitt v Pettitt(1970) later affirmed by Lloyds Bank v Rosset(1991), by way of resulting or constructive trust. This would result in an equitable interest for Lorraine.

Resulting trusts are formed when there is a contribution made to the purchase price, which, in this scenario is not the case.The facts do not say whether she actually contributed to the purchase price by way of outright sum or through mortgage payments, both of which are accepted ways of establishing an interest in the house, and thus, it is presumed that Jonathan was the sole proprietor of the house. Lorraine joined him as a young girlfriend, and for that reason, her interest has to be established by way of constructive trust, which is formed in the presence of an oral assurance on which reliance has been made by the claimant to her detriment (see Lloyds Bank).

The promise made by Jonathan can be easily evidenced as it was in the presence of witnesses. In 2009, he declared, “all of my property including our lovely barge home is as much yours Lorraine as it is mine”. This takes the form of an oral promise, and judging from the fact that it was made on several occasions, Lorraine can establish that it amounts to an interest of some kind in the property (Ungarian v Lesnoff (1990) and Eves v Eves (1975)). Thus, the second step for Lorraine in order to establish her equitable interest in the property would be to prove that she relied upon the promise to her detriment.

Lorraine spent a considerable amount on structural repairs and decoration, to the tune of 65000 pounds and contributed half of her salary to