Disclaimer: This work was produced by one of our expert legal writers, as a learning aid to help law students with their studies.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of LawTeacher.net. Any information contained in this case summary does not constitute legal advice and should be treated as educational content only.

Re Wilford’s Estate

289 words (2 pages) Case Summary

12 Oct 2018 Case Summary Reference this LawTeacher

Jurisdiction / Tag(s): UK Law

Re Wilford’s Estate (1879) 11 Ch D 267

Co-ownership of land – Severance – Mutual Agreement – Course of Conduct

Facts

Two sisters jointly owned a property as joint tenants.  They agreed between each other to both make a will in which they would leave their property to the surviving sister in the event that one of them died.  One of the sisters then died.  The deceased sister’s estate applied to the court for a ruling on whether or not the surviving sister was to be considered a joint tenant and so entitled to the right of survivorship over the property.

Issues

Whether the sister’s agreements to make a will disposing of their interests in the land jointly owned was enough to amount to a ‘course of conduct’ indicating that the parties were dealing with their property as tenants in common, or whether or not the agreement to make wills leaving the property to each other in this way was itself a ‘mutual agreement’ to sever the tenancy.

Decision/Outcome

The tenancy was severed.  The sisters’ agreement to make a will disposing of the property in the way they had determined showed a clear intention that the parties had agreed to sever their joint tenancy.  Furthermore, the making of wills distributing their property in this way also amounted to what could easily be seen as a ‘course of conduct’ that showed that the parties were indeed mutually dealing with their property as tenants in common rather than as joint tenants.  Following Williams v Hensman (1861) 70 E.R. 862 this was a clear way in which a joint tenancy could properly be severed and so the court had no difficulty ruling that the parties had agreed to do so.

LawTeacher

LawTeacher

LawTeacher.net is the UK’s leading provider of academic legal support, offering both writing services and an extensive collection of law study resources for students in the UK and overseas.

Founded in 2003 by Grey’s Inn graduate Barclay Littlewood, the Company was built on a commitment to excellence, with unique guarantees and a high standard of service from day one.

The team includes over 500 UK legally qualified writing experts, with many practising solicitors and barristers, and several former lecturers.

Areas of Legal Expertise

Contract Law Criminal Law Constitutional and Administrative Law EU Law Tort Law Property Law Equity and Trusts Jurisprudence Company Law Commercial Law Family Law Human Rights Law Employment Law Evidence Public International Law Legal Research and Methods Dispute Resolution Business Law and Practice Civil Litigation Criminal Litigation Professional Conduct Taxation Wills and Administration of Estates Solicitors’ Accounts

Cite This Work

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below:

Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.
Reference Copied to Clipboard.

Related Services

View all

Related Content

Jurisdictions / Tags

Content relating to: “UK Law”

UK law covers the laws and legislation of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Essays, case summaries, problem questions and dissertations here are relevant to law students from the United Kingdom and Great Britain, as well as students wishing to learn more about the UK legal system from overseas.

Related Articles

Prices from

£ 99

Estimated costs for: Undergraduate 2:2 • 1000 words • 7 day delivery

Place an order

Delivered on-time or your money back

Reviews.co.uk Logo (292 Reviews)

Rated 4.2 / 5

Give yourself the academic edge today

Each order includes

  • On-time delivery or your money back
  • A fully qualified writer in your subject
  • In-depth proofreading by our Quality Control Team
  • 100% confidentiality, the work is never re-sold or published
  • Standard 7-day amendment period
  • A paper written to the standard ordered
  • A detailed plagiarism report
  • A comprehensive quality report