True/False Quiz

With the exception of the first two questions, answer the questions below based on the facts of this short scenario. In 2003, A decided to set up a trust over No. 1 Main Street to ensure that family were provided for from his large estate. He wanted to ensure that his eldest son would be a tenant for life and that his eldest child would then become the freehold owner of the estate once his father died. Once this trust had been set up, with ABC Bank as trustees, and A had died, some disputes arose between A's eldest son, D and his eldest child, E. A had not specified in the trust documentation how any disputes should be dealt with. D believes that the estate should be split and sold in parts and the money then invested to provide both him and E with future income. E wishes to keep the estate as a whole as he wishes eventually to live there. The land is registered land.

Statute Quiz

Here you should outline the main effect, role, etc. of the provisions below. This is designed as a guide to the most important provisions, and as a means to improve your recall of the statutory provisions.

Case Law Quiz

Here you should attempt in one or two sentences to outline the main points to be taken from these cases and also three or four key words with their subject matter. This should assist in revision.

Short Answer Questions

Podcasts

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Podcast Script

This podcast discusses the key differences between the rules contained in the Settled Land Act 1925 and Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996.

In the previous podcast of this series we looked at co-ownership interests and the issues of severance and the operation of TLATA to concurrently owned interests. In this podcast we will be considering co-ownership interests of a different kind, successive interests. In particular we will consider the operation of the 1996 Act in relation to successive interests and will outline some of the key differences between the old rules contained in the Settled Land Act 1925 and those applying to trusts for sale, and those rules in the 1996 Act.

Prior to the introduction of the 1996 Act, the law in this area was outdated and was being made to work, rather than being reflective of the reality of our modern land law system. The introduction of TLATA was warmly welcomed and was more reflective of the reality of the modern family property structure.  This Act now governs all attempts to create successive interests in land. The strict settlement is now abolished for all new successive interests.

In this podcast we will examine the provisions of TLATA and explain the key differences between this and the Settled Land Act 1925 in particular. We will consider the role of trustees, the restriction and management of the trustees’ powers, and the position of purchasers of land over which there are successive interests.

(1) The role of trustees and the management and restriction of their powers.

Under the Settled Land Act, the tenant for life had legal title to the land. This was reflective of his “current entitlement” to make use of the land, and left him in effective control of the land. This caused some considerable problems, especially on the death of the life tenant as title was required to be conveyed with the associated cost and complexity. Under TLATA 1996 legal title vests with the trustees and will do so through the remainder of the trust. This means that if a trustee dies, the remaining trustees will retain legal title through the operation of the right of survivorship.

The trustees are said as a result of Section 6 to have all the powers of an absolute owner. They can sell, charge or lease the property unless there is another restriction on their powers contained in the Act or in the terms of the trust itself. This can be seen in Section 8. An example of such a restriction would be a requirement that the trustees obtain the beneficiaries’ consent to any transaction. This gives the settlor control over the management of the trust, but it also ensures that unless any restriction is explicitly imposed, the trustees are free to manage the trust in accordance with the best interests of the beneficiaries. Thus when compared with the Settled Land Act, it is clear that the operation of the trust will be smoother.  The trustees under TLATA are given the task also of managing the occupation rights under the trust and ensuring that any beneficiary entitled to immediate possession of the trust property is compensated where appropriate if they are not able to occupy property where that is the purpose of the trust. This can be can seen in Sections 12 and 13.

Furthermore, the trustees are also able to delegate their powers. Crucially, these powers can be delegated to a beneficiary so meaning that a large trust corporation for example, whilst retaining overall control of the trust, is able to temporarily leave control to a beneficiary where appropriate. This gives a large degree of flexibility to the management of the trust.

(2) The position of purchasers of land over which there are successive interests

TLATA brings the position of land with successive interests binding it into line with all other trust property. A purchaser will only be bound by any equitable interests in the property if those interests are not overreached and they are protected by actual occupation such that they are overriding interests. A restriction may also be placed on the register although this is also the case with the older forms of trust under the SLA or a trust for sale. This means that all trust land can be dealt with in the same way by purchasers and the same enquiries would be required.

In the next podcast we will be discussing leases and in particular the key requirements of exclusive possession, a fixed term, and rent. Today’s key concept- TLATA 1996 and successive interests.