Resulting trusts and voluntary conveyances of land, 1674-1925

This article considers whether a resulting trust could arise upon a voluntary conveyance of land prior to 1926, a question which was the subject of much controversy amongst leading judges and writers in past centuries. Based on an analysis of the case law, which starts in the seventeenth century, the article argues that the better view is that no resulting trust could arise in the relevant situation prior to 1926. Arguments are advanced to explain why this interpretation is consistent with principle, emphasising the complexity inherent in the proposition that a resulting trust doctrine existed alongside the presumption of resulting use in the context of voluntary conveyances of land.