LW202-5-FY-CO:
Equity and Trusts
2024/25
Essex Law School
Colchester Campus
Full Year
Undergraduate: Level 5
Current
Thursday 03 October 2024
Friday 27 June 2025
30
21 May 2024
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
LLB M100CS Law,
LLB M100MS Law,
LLB M100TS Law
Equity and Trusts introduces students to foundational principles governing the law of trusts. The module encompasses the historical development of equity, equitable principles, and equitable remedies, and considers the social and legal contexts in which a variety of trusts arise. Throughout the module, students are encouraged to understand and apply relevant law using hypothetical scenarios.
The aims of this module are:
- To introduce students to foundational principles governing the law of trusts and foster understanding of the social and legal contexts in which trusts arise.
- To introduce students to a range of trusts, including private purpose trusts, public purpose (charitable) trusts, and express private trusts.
- To foster understanding of the relative roles/functions of settlor, testator, trustee, and beneficiary.
- To foster understanding of the duties, powers and liabilities of trustees, and the appointment and removal of trustees.
- To provide opportunities for students to critically analyse legally relevant issues in complex scenarios, apply relevant law, and reach reasoned (evidenced) conclusions.
By the end of the module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Recognise different types of trust and the contexts in which they arise.
- Identify the constituent elements of a fully constituted private express trust and recognise instances where a trust is not fully constituted.
- Explain how the intestacy rules and the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 operate in practice.
- Evaluate breach of fiduciary duty and breach of trustees’ duties.
- Differentiate between personal and proprietary remedies for breach, and identify the most appropriate remedy in specific circumstances.
- Critically analyse legally relevant issues in a scenario.
- Apply legal principles and rules and provide reasoned (evidenced) conclusions in problem scenarios.
- Identify missing or ambiguous information, consider legally logical outcomes, and assess legal consequences in problem scenarios.
- Communicate analysis, conclusions and advice clearly.
- Understand and use appropriate legal terminology.
Autumn term:
- Equity & equitable principles
- The nature of trusts & the relationship between parties
- Resulting trusts
- Constructive trusts
- Public purpose (charitable) trusts
- Appointment and removal of trustees
- Equitable remedies
Spring term (Express Private Trusts):
- Capacity
- Certainties
- Formalities
- Constitution
- Variation of trusts
- Trustees’ powers and duties
- Breach of fiduciary duty
- Remedies for breach of fiduciary duty
- Breach of trust
- Remedies for breach of trust
- Tracing
- Liability of third parties to the trust
The module is taught through a close study of relevant case law, statutory provisions and judicial interpretations. Students will be expected to read widely and prepare appropriately for all tutorials.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Exam |
Main exam: In-Person, Open Book (Restricted), 180 minutes during Summer (Main Period)
|
| Exam |
Reassessment Main exam: In-Person, Open Book (Restricted), 180 minutes during September (Reassessment Period)
|
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Ms Penelope Brearey-Horne, email: pbrear@essex.ac.uk.
Ms Penny Brearey-Horne, Dr Joanna Harwood, Mr Rees Johnson, Dr Francis King
Law UG Education Administrators: lawschoolug@essex.ac.uk
No
No
No
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
Essex Law School
* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.
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