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Commercial and Charitable Trusts - LAWS3023

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Undergraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 3

Enrolment Requirements:

Pre-requisites: Equity & Trusts (LAWS2385/JURD7285) and Business Associations (LAWS1091/JURD7224) OR Property & Equity 1 (LAWS2385/JURD7285) and Business Associations 1 (LAWS2010/JURD7224).

Excluded: JURD7623

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

The course seeks to introduce the students to the law of trusts by exploring the concept of the trust and its use in a modern context. The course will allow students to investigate and distinguish types of trusts, trust powers, different types of fiduciary relationships, the elasticity of the trust concept, the creation and enforcement of trusts, the principles governing charitable, resulting and constructive trusts. The course will examine equitable interests in land, the duties of trustees and the remedies for breach of trust. An important aim of the course is to build a conceptual foundation upon which students will be able to make practical use of the elasticity of the trust concept. The course will, where relevant, focus upon the trust as a commercial tool and will analyse the interaction between trusts and contracts.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, students will have:

A functioning knowledge of the trust concept
An appreciation of how the trust functions as a means of wealth planning tool and also how it may function in a commercial setting
Developed or enhanced their ability to identify legal issues, analyse them, and apply the relevant principles of law to provide solutions
An ability to evaluate and criticize many rules of law
An understanding of the development of trust principles
Developed the capacity to research into practical issues and find solutions
An understanding of the social contexts in which trust law operates
Ability to form a value judgment about social responsibility of using trust as an avoidance tool, the obligations of those having properties or control of properties belonging to others as well as the responsibilities to the wider community through investments

Main Topics

Classification of trusts
Family trusts and unit trusts
The settlor’s Intentions and the three certainties
Discretionary trusts and powers
The beneficiary principle
Charitable trusts
Non-charitable purpose trusts,
Gifts to unincorporated associations;
Resulting trusts
Public appeal fund surpluses
Trustees' fiduciary duties
Protector concept
Investment powers
Trusts in commerce, including Quistclose trust and Kayford trust

Assessment

Class participation, including preparation and participation in class discussion: 10%
Individual exercises and Mid-Term test: 20%
Final examination: 70%

Course Texts

Prescribed