Trusts of Land & Orders for Sale - Exploring the Court’s Approach

Introduction

In the family context, the home will not only be at the centre of family life providing accommodation for the parties and any children, but in most cases will also be the most valuable asset owned by the parties.

This new webinar will consider the court’s approach to co-ownership disputes upon relationship breakdown where one party wishes to preserve the property as a home and the other seeks an order for sale so as to realise their investment in the property.

The question of whether and when the court will order the sale of co-owned property does not only arise in the context of relationship breakdown.

Disputes over the ownership and sale of land also arise in wide variety of family and commercial contexts, as well as following insolvency and charging order applications by creditors.

In the course of the webinar, we will also look at the different considerations that may apply where a sale of property is sought in a trusts of land context by a trustee in bankruptcy or creditor or where the property has been held primarily as an investment, rather than as a home.

It is likely that we can expect to see more of these sorts of applications, against the difficult economic climate brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• The statutory framework for claims for orders for sale pursuant to s. 14 and 15 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996
• The principles governing the exercise of the court’s discretion in claims for orders for sale
• The differing considerations that apply where the claim is made by a former cohabitee; a creditor with a charging order; or a trustee in bankruptcy where the exceptional circumstances test under s. 335A(3) of the Insolvency Act 1986 and the three-year ‘use it or lose it’ provisions under Section 283A of the IA 1986 may apply
• Procedural and tactical considerations, including when the Part 8 procedure for issuing claims will be appropriate and when the matter should be issued as a Part 7 claim
• Bringing the application, how to improve your prospects of securing an order
• Being on the receiving end of an application and what can be done to resist it
• Rights of pre-emption and securing an order permitting a beneficiary to buy out the claimant
• Drafting the order, and ancillary issues concerning the implementation of the order for sale and costs

This webinar was recorded on 1st March 2021