The Property (Relationships) Act 1976 and Trusts: Proposals for Reform

Abstract

Trusts often have the effect of undermining the social aims of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976. In the absence of legislative action, the courts have been sympathetic to a range of arguments aimed at accessing trust assets that would have been subject to division between the parties but for the trust. None of these judicial responses adequately addresses the current deficiencies of the Property (Relationships) Act or the potential detriment to trusts and their beneficiaries. This paper considers a range of potential reforms and argues that any reform should seek to strike a balance between the social aims of a relationship property regime and the right of owners to structure their property interests as they wish.