Date 10 May 2011
A recent Supreme Court judgement has set a precedent that has underlined the importance of unmarried couples deciding how much of their home each owns by means of declaration of trust.
It would be surprising although welcome if the Supreme Court seek to re-write cohabitation law which has always been based upon strict property law rules, particularly when parliament has continuously refused to legislate on the topic.
The issue being determined is effectively whether the Court can infer what the intentions of the parties were by their actions, thus varying the shares that they hold according to the title deeds.
Thus far, the Courts have tended to look for express declarations by parties from which their intentions can be gleaned, however if the court start to infer what may have been in the parties minds by reference to their behaviour then the Court could have a wiser discretion to adjust cohabitees property rights in the future.
To read a related blog post, click here.
To read the full BBC report on cohabitation law, click here.
© SA LAW 2011
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