When couples buy a home together — or one moves into a home the other already owns — the legal title rarely captures the full story of who contributed what or what was promised. When the relationship breaks down, a solicitor has to work out the beneficial ownership: who is actually entitled to a share, and how big that share is. The common intention constructive trust is the main tool for answering that question, and it comes up constantly in family and property practice.
This lesson takes you through the analysis step by step, from first principles to final shares.
- Overview and Starting Presumptions — the core idea and the presumptions you begin from in joint and sole name cases.
- Express Declarations of Trust — why a valid declaration is the first thing to look for and when it settles the dispute.
- Joint Names Cases — how strong the presumption of equal shares is and what it takes to rebut it.
- Sole Name Cases — Establishing a Beneficial Interest — proving common intention and detrimental reliance from scratch.
- Detrimental Reliance — what conduct counts, and what surprisingly doesn't.
- Quantifying Beneficial Shares — inferring or imputing intention to fix the size of each share.
- Distinction from Resulting Trusts — when a home is treated differently from a pure investment.