Legal estate in trustees preserves equitable contingent remainders. Resulting trusts. Resulting trust part of old estate. of inheritance (f), to which I adverted in former Lectures (g), applies equally to the descent of trust estates as to the descent of estates at law. The rule that, in a settlement of real estate, a continuous seisin of the freehold must be provided for, so that any break in such seisin was fatal at law to any contingent remainder which could not come into possession the very moment the particular estate determined, was not followed by the courts of equity. The legal estate vested in the trustees was considered sufficient to preserve all equitable contingent remainders, although an interval might elapse between the death of the equitable tenant for life, and the time when the equitable remainder should become an estate in possession. Of this we had an example in the case of Hopkins v. 'Hopkins (h), to which I referred in a former Lecture. You will observe that the Statute of Frauds excepts resulting trusts from the enactment requiring that every trust should be created by writing. I have already spoken of resulting uses under the Statute of Uses (i). Resulting trusts are of a similar nature. If a man conveys real estates unto and to the use of trustees and their heirs, so as to vest the whole legal estate in them, upon certain trusts which do not exhaust the whole beneficial interest, as, for example, in trust for A. for his life, without saying more; here the trust of the estate results to the grantor, in remainder expectant on the decease of A.; and, after A.'s death, the trustees will hold the lands in trust for the grantor and his heirs. The trust which results to the grantor is considered to be part of his old estate, in the same way as a resulting use executed by the Statute of Uses forms part of the old estate. If (f) Stat. 3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 106. the Freehold, pp. 70-98. (h) Cas. temp. Talbot, 44; 1 Atk. 581; ante, p. 24. (i) Ante, pp. 17-19. the conveyance had been made to trustees and their heirs, to the use of A. for life, without more; in this case, we have seen (4) that the use undisposed of by the deed will result to the grantor and his heirs; giving him a legal estate in remainder expectant on the decease of A. So a resulting trust gives to the grantor an equitable estate of a similar kind. In making a settlement of lands, one of the first and Settlements. most important matters to be considered is, whether the legal estate in fee simple in the lands shall be vested in the trustees of the settlement, in trust for the persons intended to be benefited; or, whether the Statute of Uses shall be rendered available, so as to give a legal estate and interest to each party entitled, according to the order in which he is to come into possession, and to give to the trustees powers of sale, exchange and other powers which, as you have seen (1), may be created under that statute, irrespective of legal ownership. There are advantages and disadvantages in both Legal estate methods. I may say, generally, that, in small settle- in trustees. ments, especially where a sale is contemplated, it is thought better and is more usual to vest the whole legal estate in the lands in the trustees of the settlement. In large settlements, especially where the property is Not in trusintended to be entailed upon the eldest son, it is usual tees. and thought more convenient to resort to the Statute of Uses, giving to the parties successively to be entitled legal estates in the land, and relegating the powers which the trustees are to possess to the doctrine of powers under the Statute of Uses. If the whole legal estate is vested in the trustees, there is no doubt this inconvenience, that, when the settlement comes to an end, it will be necessary that the trustees should execute a conveyance of the legal estate so vested in them to the person or persons, whoever they may be, who, at the conclusion of the settlement, are in equity entitled to the property. But, as a set-off against this, there is no occasion for the same nicety in the construction of the powers which the trustees are to possess. If trustees have no other powers than such as are expressly given to them by virtue of the Statute of Uses, and independently of any ownership, it is necessary that the powers should be very carefully constructed; as every event must be provided for, and the trustees can do nothing but what they are expressly authorized to do. But, if you vest the whole legal estate in fee simple in the trustees, you at once give them at law, by virtue of their ownership, all the powers which an owner in fee simple can possess over land. They have power to convey. They have power to lease. All, therefore, that is wanted is merely to restrict them in the exercise of the powers which the law gave them by virtue of their ownership. For instance, they are not to sell without the consent, say of the husband and wife, or of the survivor, in the case of a marriage settlement. So, without such consent, it may be stipulated that they may not grant any lease; and the term and length of the lease they may grant may be and should be stipulated for in the settlement. Whereas, if the settlement is so framed that the beneficiaries are to take the legal estate, then, when the settlement comes to an end, the last beneficiary having the legal estate, there will be no occasion for the trustees of the settlement to make any conveyance to him; for in truth they will have nothing to convey. Again, if the tenant for life under the settlement has the legal estate vested in him, he may deal with the tenants of the estate himself, without troubling the trustees, who, if the legal estate be vested in them, are the persons who must eject refractory tenants, and take all legal proceedings with respect to the property. The possession by the trustees of the legal estate, does not, however, necessarily carry with it the right of management of the Management. lands, to the exclusion of the cestui que trust for life; for the court will often give him the management, unless it appear to be the intention of the author of the trust to vest it solely in the trustees (m). I hope in my next Lecture to finish so much of the present subject as directly relates to the explanation of the Statute of Uses. use. LECTURE V. THERE are two sections in the Statute of Uses (a) of which frequent use is still made in conveyancing; and Rent-charges they are the 4th and 5th sections, which relate to rentby way of charges created by way of use. These sections recite that where divers persons stand seised of any lands, tenements or hereditaments, in fee simple or otherwise, to the use and intent that some other person or persons shall have and perceive yearly to them and to his or their heirs, one annual rent of 107., or more or less, out of the same lands and tenements, and some other person one other annual rent to him and his assigns for term of life or years, or for some other special time, according to such intent and use as hath been heretofore declared, limited, and made thereof; and they enact that in every such case the same persons, their heirs and assigns, that have such use and interest to have and perceive any such annual rents out of any lands, tenements or hereditaments, that they and every of them, their heirs and assigns, be adjudged and deemed to be in possession and seisin of the same rent, of and in such like estate as they had in the title, interest or use of the said rent or profit, and as if a sufficient grant or other lawful conveyance had been made and executed to them by such as were or shall be seised to the use or intent of any such rent, to be had, made or paid according to the very trust and intent thereof; and that all and every such person and persons as have or hereafter shall have any title, use and interest in or to any such rent or profit, shall lawfully distrain for non (a) 27 Hen. VIII. c. 10. |