Equity & Trusts
Make sense of Equity & Trusts.
Students sometimes treat equity as imprecise, and that is where they lose marks. Each doctrine is in fact a structured test, and treating it that way produces stronger answers. The subject covers fiduciary duties, the trusts and the equitable remedies.
The subject, module by module
Twelve modules, end to end
Each guide sets out the idea, the cases at a glance, the rules with their shapes, the worked examples and the way the examiners test it. The practice bank holds 119 problems, each with a Pass answer, an H1 answer and examiner's comments.
Where equity comes from, how it operates on conscience, and the maxims that steer every later module.Guide
Who is a fiduciary, the no conflict and no profit rules, and the remedies for breach.Guide · Drills (10)
The anatomy of the trust, its social and commercial functions, and the taxonomy of trusts and powers.Guide
The formalities for declared trusts and the certainties of intention and subject matter.Guide · Drills (9)
The complete list and criterion certainty tests, powers and trust powers, and the ways a class fails.Guide · Drills (10)
Money lent for an exclusive stated purpose, the trust that arises when the purpose fails, and who can enforce it.Guide · Drills (10)
The four heads of charity, public benefit and the personal nexus rule, and the statutory overlay.Guide · Drills (9)
The core duty, the statutory investment code, ethical investment and relief from liability.Guide · Drills (11)
Purchase money contributions, the presumptions and their displacement, and illegality.Guide · Drills (11)
Common intention and joint endeavour constructive trusts, and when retention becomes unconscionable.Guide · Drills (9)
Knowing receipt and knowing assistance, the Baden scale, and the alternatives when the design threshold fails.Guide · Drills (11)
Following value through mixed accounts, the presumptions and the lowest intermediate balance, and the defences.Guide · Drills (13)
Sixteen integrated scenarios in the format of the real paper, 33 marks each, with model answers and examiner's comments. Four follow the combined Section A format with an essay part.Practice bank
The challenge
Where students get stuck
The problems reward precision. The fiduciary analysis requires identifying the relationship, the no conflict and no profit rules, and the consequences. The trusts, whether express, resulting or constructive, each have requirements that must be established. The three certainties are a strict test that students often apply loosely. The remedies, including equitable compensation, an account of profits and the constructive trust, are separate questions and are sometimes confused with the duties that gave rise to them.
How the guides handle it
Each doctrine is treated as a structured test: the rule with authority, each requirement established on the facts, then a conclusion, with the trusts and the remedies kept apart. Equity mixes strict tests with discretionary remedies, and the guides show which one you are in.
The method
One method, every problem
Four steps run every argument: name the issue, state the rule, apply it to the facts, conclude. Almost every legal rule takes one of six shapes. Any of these six shapes may carry a twist. Learn the six shapes and the twist →
Common questions
Equity & Trusts: common questions
Does this cover fiduciary duties and the trusts?
Yes. Fiduciary duties, express, resulting and constructive trusts, breach of confidence and the equitable remedies.
Equity feels vague to me. What fixes that?
Each doctrine is set out as a structured test, so the answers get precise.
Related subjects: Property, Contracts, Remedies. See all subjects.
Make sense of Equity & Trusts.
Work through the twelve module guides, then test yourself on 119 problems with model answers and examiner's comments.