ONLINE LECTURE OUTLINE – SEMINAR FOUR
PART A: CONTEXT & HISTORY:
Lecture 1: The Legal Context:
o Background:
Property being shared on a more than casual basis
(family home)
Legal title not in the name of the claimant
No concept of ‘common law marriage’ the idea that if
two people live together for a certain period of time they
then become entitled to certain rights as if they were
married (a myth)
No immediate entitlement to property on the end
of a relationship, irrespective of duration
o Informal Sharing of Property:
Young couples do not think about legal implications of
property sharing until the relationship breaks down:
Increasing incidence of cohabitation rather than
marriage
Forty years ago, most people married – it wasn’t
until the liberation in the 60s/70s/80s that people
started to cohabit rather than marry
Marriage gives different rights
Elderly Relatives:
May live with family
Contribute to household and/or mortgage
expenses – does this give them some entitlement
to the property?
Same sex couples:
No rights in the property if not registered as civil
partners or married
o Formal Sharing of Property by Express Trust:
Legal owner, as settlor, creates a trust for himself and
partner in equity:
Normal formalities apply
Needs to be intended (three certainties) and fully
constituted
Rights of parties determined by the trust
instrument
Often not used:
Parties do not think about breakdown of
relationship
Parties not always recipients of good legal advice
o The ‘common law marriage’ fallacy
PART A: CONTEXT & HISTORY:
Lecture 1: The Legal Context:
o Background:
Property being shared on a more than casual basis
(family home)
Legal title not in the name of the claimant
No concept of ‘common law marriage’ the idea that if
two people live together for a certain period of time they
then become entitled to certain rights as if they were
married (a myth)
No immediate entitlement to property on the end
of a relationship, irrespective of duration
o Informal Sharing of Property:
Young couples do not think about legal implications of
property sharing until the relationship breaks down:
Increasing incidence of cohabitation rather than
marriage
Forty years ago, most people married – it wasn’t
until the liberation in the 60s/70s/80s that people
started to cohabit rather than marry
Marriage gives different rights
Elderly Relatives:
May live with family
Contribute to household and/or mortgage
expenses – does this give them some entitlement
to the property?
Same sex couples:
No rights in the property if not registered as civil
partners or married
o Formal Sharing of Property by Express Trust:
Legal owner, as settlor, creates a trust for himself and
partner in equity:
Normal formalities apply
Needs to be intended (three certainties) and fully
constituted
Rights of parties determined by the trust
instrument
Often not used:
Parties do not think about breakdown of
relationship
Parties not always recipients of good legal advice
o The ‘common law marriage’ fallacy
