Abbott v Abbott
The Stack v Dowden approach of looking at the whole course of dealing applies where a home is in the sole name of one party.
Facts
Mr and Mrs Abbott lived in Antigua. Mr Abbott's mother gave them a plot of land, which was transferred to Mr Abbott in his sole name, and they built a house on it with the help of a mortgage. They paid the mortgage from a joint bank account, into which both paid their earnings, and Mrs Abbott was jointly liable on the mortgage. When the marriage broke down, Mrs Abbott claimed a share in the house.
Legal principle
The Privy Council held that Mrs Abbott was entitled to a half share. Lady Hale said that the parties' whole course of conduct in relation to the property must be taken into account in determining their shared intentions as to its ownership. The gift of the land by the husband's mother was intended to benefit both spouses, the parties had organised their finances entirely jointly, and Mrs Abbott had undertaken joint liability on the mortgage. The case showed that the approach in Stack v Dowden is not limited to properties in joint names.
Related cases on trusts of the family home
- Burns v Burns [1984] Ch 317
- Capehorn v Harris [2015] EWCA Civ 955
- Curran v Collins [2015] EWCA Civ 404
- Eves v Eves [1975] 1 WLR 1338
- Fowler v Barron [2008] EWCA Civ 377
- Geary v Rankine [2012] EWCA Civ 555
- Gissing v Gissing [1971] AC 886
- Grant v Edwards [1986] Ch 638
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