Oliver's story: Getting rightful ownership of a trust property

**Names have been changed to protect our client’s identity.

Oliver** brought a successful breach of trust claim against his mother, who was the Trustee of his trust for the transfer of a trust property to Oliver, after she repeatedly failed to do so. Not only did we secure the property for Oliver, but it also resulted in a significant cost award being made personally against the Trustee.

Timeline of events

Early 2000

The property was purchased in trust for Oliver until he reached the age of 18 years. Oliver’s mother was appointed as his trustee and lived in the property with him.

2008

Oliver turned 18 and the property should have been transferred into his sole name.

2022

Oliver approached us to help him with trying to obtain the transfer of the property to him.

How Lime Solicitors helped Oliver’s case

Oliver suffered a birth defect which was exacerbated during a negligent medical operation. A claim was brought against the local authority by his mother which resulted in a settlement for Oliver. As part of that settlement, a property was purchased for Oliver’s benefit to be held in trust for him until he reached the age of 18 by his mum, and another individual who subsequently stepped down as a trustee.

After Oliver turned 18 his mum failed to transfer the property to him, despite numerous requests. She argued that she had a beneficial interest in the property. She had also taken out an equity release mortgage and charged Oliver, his partner and his other siblings rent for living in the property, in breach of her fiduciary duties as a trustee.

Attempts to resolve the issues were made prior to the issue of court proceedings but Oliver’s mother refused to engage. Proceedings were therefore brought against her for breach of trust and for the transfer of the property into Oliver’s name.

Mediation was attempted but was unsuccessful. We therefore proceeded with an application for summary judgment which resulted in the court ordering Oliver’s mum to transfer the trust property into Oliver’s name and to pay Oliver a significant lump sum and his legal fees.

A note from Alistair Spencer

“This was an appalling situation. Oliver had long standing health issues which had been significantly exacerbated by his mother’s refusal to comply with her duties as a trustee over many years”.

“Oliver’s case was clear cut but his mother simply refused to accept Oliver’s entitlement to the property. Ultimately her refusal to see sense left us with no option but to pursue the matter through the Courts and obtain the transfer of the property, a lump sum payment to Oliver and a significant cost award against her”.

“This case is a lesson to Trustees that the role of a trustee is onerous and should be taken very seriously.  A trustee cannot personally benefit from a trust when they are not a beneficiary of that trust and they need to act in the best interests of their beneficiaries even if it is against their own interests”.

Trust disputes guide

For more information on trusts, the role of trustees and how to navigate potential problems with trusts, please see our full guide to handling trust disputes >>