Three Certainties Flashcards
Which case established the three certainties?
Knight v Knight (1840)
What are the three certainties?
Certainty of intention (creation)
subject matter (property, beneficial interests)
object (beneficiaries)
What effect do precatory words have? I.e. confidence, wish, belief, hope
If there is no certainty of intention then the donee takes absolutely (gifted, no trust)
Which case established that the phrase ‘in full confidence ‘ is precatory?
Re Adams & The Kensington Vestry
Is the phrase ‘absolutely in full confidence’ precatory?
No, under Comiskey v Bowring-Hanbury
Trust or no trust (due to precatory words)?
“At her disposal in any way she may think best..”
No trust, under Lambe v Eames
Can intention to create a trust be demonstrated by conduct?
Yes, under Re Kayford - where a mail order co opened a customer account and by doing so created a trust
Can informal words be used as evidence of intention?
Yes, under Paul v Constance - where the words of a bank manager were taken as evidence of intention
Is the phrase ‘reasonable income’ sufficiently certain as subject matter?
Yes, under Re Golay’s Trust
Which case established that the beneficial interest must also be certain?
Boyce v Boyce - where the testator left two houses to his two daughters, but one could choose whichever house she wanted. She died without choosing, so the subject natter was not certain and the trust failed
What was the ruling in Re London Wine Co?
That because buyers of wine had no segregated the wine in the warehouse from the general stock, a trust could not be established. This established that the degree of certainty for intangible assets is higher than for tangible ones
Which intangible assets do not the same degree of certainty?
Shares, as they are all identical, under Hunter v Moss
Which are the only trusts that need not be for ascertainable beneficiaries?
Charitable trusts, under Re Vanderwell’s Trusts
What is the test to determine if a fixed trust has certainty of subject matter?
It must be possible to draw up a complete list of all beneficiaries, under IRC v Broadway Cottages
What right do beneficiaries of a discretionary trust have?
To be considered by the trustees in the exercise of their discretion
Is the term ‘friends’ a conceptually certain set?
No, it is not but ‘relatives’ is, under Re Baden’s Deed Trusts
What is evidential uncertainty?
Where the settlor’s words are sufficiently precise, but they are difficult to apply due to uncertainty of facts, i.e. the term ‘employees’ could refer to past/present employees as the category changes. Re Tuck Settlement Trust
Which case is an example of administrative unworkability?
R v west york met county council, where the the category of beneficiaries was so wide it did not form a class at all
What did Re Barlow’s show?
That the term ‘family’ is conceptually certain, and that because this was a series of gifts rather than a trust there was no requirement to establish all members of the trust
What is an example of a capricious trust?
Brown v Burdett, in which the testatrix said that parts of her house should be bricked up for 20 years after her death
