Land Law
Jo, Kal, Larry, Marian and Ned are all vets and have been in practice together for many years. They decided to set up their own veterinary practice in a village near Thirsk. They bought a registered freehold house (‘The Paddocks’) in a nearby village where they could all live, keep their own animals, and set up their business. The transfer stated that the friends held The Paddocks as beneficial joint tenants, and the property was registered in their joint names.
In December 2020, Jo died unexpectedly after being trampled by cattle. She had made a will leaving all her property to the local animal rescue charity.
In March 2021, Kal was offered a lucrative job at a large national veterinary practice in Somerset. Kal left The Paddocks and went to Somerset, where he rented a cottage and started his new job. In April 2021 he emailed Larry and Marian at Larry’s email address, offering to sell his share of The Paddocks to them. He said that if that was not an attractive idea, The Paddocks should be sold so that his share of the sale proceeds could be released to him. Unfortunately, the email went into Larry’s junk mail folder and was not found for over a week.
Later in the evening after Kal had sent the email, he was killed in a road accident. He had made a will leaving all his property to Ned.
Last month, Larry was declared bankrupt. The trustee in bankruptcy insists that The Paddocks be sold immediately.
- Explain who originally held the Property at law and in equity?
- Explain who now holds the property:
– at law
– in equity? - Explain whether the trustee in bankruptcy be able to force a sale of The Paddocks?